Karel Emiel Hubert, Baron Poma (14 March 1920 – 27 December 2014) was a

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...

liberal and politician for the PVV. He was a son of Carolus Poma, who was a lieutenant of the Antwerp fire brigade, and subsequently council member (1946–1958) and mayor (1953–1958) of the town

Wilrijk Wilrijk (; former, original spelling: ''Wilrijck'') is a district of the municipality and city of Antwerp in the Belgian province of Antwerp. Wilrijk had been a separate municipality before January 1, 1983; the enlarged municipality of Antwerp wa ...

. He was married to Juliana Walgraeve, and together they had two children; a son Peter (b. 1950) and a daughter Kathleen (b. 1954).

Education

Poma went to high school at the Royal Athenaeum of Antwerp, where he graduated in ''Latin-Sciences'' (1938). In 1943, he obtained a Licentiate in Sciences at the

University of Ghent Ghent University ( nl, Universiteit Gent, abbreviated as UGent) is a public research university located in Ghent, Belgium. Established before the state of Belgium itself, the university was founded by the Dutch King William I in 1817, when the ...

(

Ghent Ghent ( nl, Gent ; french: Gand ; traditional English: Gaunt) is a city and a municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the East Flanders province, and the third largest in the country, exceeded in ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

). In 1946, he obtained a PhD degree in science from the same university. He graduated as a bacteriologist at the Universite Libre de Bruxelles (ULB) in 1946. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, he was active in the resistance against the

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

occupation of

, for which he was honored after the war.

Professional career

Poma started his professional career in 1945 at the

Antwerp Water Works The Antwerp Water Works ( nl, Antwerpse Water Werken) or AWW produces water for the city of Antwerp (Belgium) and its surroundings. The AWW has a yearly production of and a revenue of 100 million euro. History Between 1832 and 1892, Antwerp was ...

(AWW) and became head of the laboratory of the AWW. He left the AWW in 1971, to be able to dedicate himself entirely to his political mandate. He was part-time docent environmental hygiene, for engineers and graduates of health care (physicians and nursing staff) at the

Vrije Universiteit Brussel The Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) () is a Dutch and English-speaking research university located in Brussels, Belgium.The Vrije Universiteit Brussel is one of the five universities officially recognised by the Flemish government. listof all ...

(1979–1990).

Political career

From 1965 to 1985, Poma was a member of the Belgian parliament for the liberal party PVV. From 1965 to 1971 and 1981 to 1985, he was a

senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

. From 1971 to 1981, he was a

member of parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

. From 1977 to 1981, he was floor leader for the PVV in the Culture Council and, from 1980 to 1981, of the

Flemish Council The Flemish Parliament (Dutch language, Dutch: , formerly called Flemish Council or ''Vlaamse Raad'') constitutes the legislature, legislative power in Flanders for matters which fall within the competence of Flanders, both as a geographic reg ...

. Poma was twice a member of the executive: * From 1974 to 1977 he was a secretary of state for the environment in the first government led by

Leo Tindemans Leonard Clemence "Leo" Tindemans (; 16 April 1922 – 26 December 2014) was a Belgian politician. He served as the prime minister of Belgium serving from 25 April 1974 until he resigned as minister on 20 October 1978. He was a member of the Chr ...

. * From 1981 to 1985 Poma was a member of the Flemish Executive as its vice-chairman and minister for culture, media, sport, youth and research and development. From 1976 to 1982, he was a member of the village council of Wilrijk; and 1982 to 1988, a member of the city council of Antwerp (Wilrijk became a part of Antwerp in 1982). In 1968 and from 1973 to 1974, he was president of the

Liberaal Vlaams Verbond The Liberaal Vlaams Verbond (E: Liberal Flemish League) was founded in 1913. From its origin it wanted to promote the Flemish cause and drew attention to social matters, within the Belgian Liberal Party. Together with the Willemsfonds and the Lib ...

(LVV).

Honours

* knighted by King Albert II * 8 July 2005 : created

baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knig ...

by royal decree. * : 7 December 2009 :

minister of state Minister of State is a title borne by politicians in certain countries governed under a parliamentary system. In some countries a Minister of State is a Junior Minister of government, who is assigned to assist a specific Cabinet Minister. In o ...

* : Grand cross in the

Order of Leopold II The Order of Leopold II is an order of Belgium and is named in honor of King Leopold II. The decoration was established on 24 August 1900 by Leopold II as Sovereign of the Congo Free State and was in 1908, upon Congo being handed over to Belgi ...

* : Grand Officer in the Order of Leopold * : Grand Officer in the Order of the Phoenix

Bibliography

* ''Wat men moet weten over het Belgisch liberalisme'' (1954), together with Frans Janssens * ''Knoeien met ons Leefmilieu'' (1973) * ''Energie en Democratie'' (1976) * ''Actie Vrijmetselaren, een politieke benadering van de moderne vrijmetselarij'' (1996) * ''Een visie op de Grote Architect van het Heelal'' (1999) * ''De Verlichting. Pijler van onze beschaving'' (2009)

References

Sources

Karel Poma
{{DEFAULTSORT:Poma, Karel 1920 births Politicians from Antwerp Belgian resistance members Ghent University alumni 2014 deaths Barons of Belgium Belgian Ministers of State