Lode Craeybeckx (24 November 1897 – 25 July 1976) served as mayor of Antwerp,

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 ...

from 1947 until his death in 1976, becoming the longest-serving mayor of the city in its history.

Biography

François Ferdinand Louis Craeybeckx, better known as Lode, was born in Antwerp in 1897. His father was a policeman from

Limburg Limburg or Limbourg may refer to: Regions * Limburg (Belgium), a province since 1839 in the Flanders region of Belgium * Limburg (Netherlands), a province since 1839 in the south of the Netherlands * Diocese of Limburg, Roman Catholic Diocese in ...

, while his mother came from Liège. He studied at the Athenaeum of Antwerp before going to the new

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 ...

in 1917. For collaborating with the German occupiers during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, he was sent to prison for five years, but he was released after two years. Lode Craeybeckx married Irma Lauwers in 1921. They had two children, Hilda and Herman. From 1925 until 1931, he worked as a journalist for the newspaper '. In 1932, Craeybeckx started to work as a lawyer and entered the world of politics. He became a

councillor A councillor is an elected representative for a local government council in some countries. Canada Due to the control that the provinces have over their municipal governments, terms that councillors serve vary from province to province. Unl ...

in Deurne for the Belgian Socialist Party. The same year, he entered the Belgian Parliament, where he would stay until 1968. He was the successor of as mayor of Antwerp in 1947, and remained in that position for nearly thirty years, a record for the city. When Lode Craeybeckx died in 1976, the first Alderman , Christian democrat and collaborationist mayor of Antwerp under Nazi occupation, took over ad interim, until a new mayor was sworn in. Frans Detiège Alderman for Social Affairs, socialist, and longtime companion of Craeybeckx, fulfilled the position until the end of term. At the 1976 municipal election, the sitting coalition of socialists and Christian democrats were re-elected and

Mathilde Schroyens Mathilde Joséphina Schroyens (28 December 1912 – 27 February 1996) was a Belgian politician associated with the Belgian Socialist Party and subsequently the Parti Socialiste. She was mayor of Antwerp from 1977 to 1982. The daughter of Fo ...

took office as Mayor of Antwerp in 1977.

Achievements

During his run as mayor, Antwerp was massively changed. The (RUCA) university (1965) and the UIA university (1971) were founded (both were merged with the older UFSIA in the

University of Antwerp The University of Antwerp ( nl, Universiteit Antwerpen) is a major Belgian university located in the city of Antwerp. The official abbreviation is ''UA'', but ''UAntwerpen'' is more recently used. The University of Antwerp has about 20,000 stud ...

in 2003). The Middelheim, an open-air museum for modern sculptures, was created in 1951. The city got improved traffic infrastructure and the city and

Port of Antwerp The Port of Antwerp-Bruges is the port of the City of Antwerp. It is located in Flanders (Belgium), mainly in the province of Antwerp but also partially in the province of East Flanders. It is a seaport in the heart of Europe accessible to ...

were massively expanded. During this period, many of the older buildings of the city, ranging from the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

to the 19th century, were replaced by modern high-rise buildings, of which many have been criticized for being bland or ugly.

The "Craeybeckx Incident"

In April 1964, Craeybeckx was reported to allegedly have had a drunken row with a group of Jews in a bar on the Grote Markt. He was reported to have publicly shouted that "it is a pity that the German crematoria did not make more disappear of their sort". There was widespread controversy, but he was nonetheless placed at the top of the Socialist list at the next municipal elections as other party members argued that "someone with so many services given to the movement" could not just be put aside. According to his biographers, he benefited from support during this serious controversy from the Antwerp Catholic press and of the conservative satirical weekly, '' 't Pallieterke'', which had an anti-resistance position and opposed the purging of collaborators after World War II.Wim Geldof, Camille Huysmans en Lode Craeybeckx 1922–1968. Het verhaal van een politieke relatie in goede en in kwade dagen», Antwerpen, Facet, 1999, , pp.278–292

Notes

External link

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Craeybeckx, Lode 1897 births 1976 deaths Belgian Socialist Party politicians Mayors of Antwerp, Belgium Ghent University alumni Government ministers of Belgium Members of the Chamber of Representatives (Belgium) Knights Commander of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany