Léon Antoine Bekaert ( Zwevegem, 9 December 1891 - Zwevegem, 19 December 1961) was a Belgian industrialist and politician. He was the son of

Leo Leander Bekaert Leo or Léo may refer to: Acronyms * Law enforcement officer * Law enforcement organisation * '' Louisville Eccentric Observer'', a free weekly newspaper in Louisville, Kentucky * Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity Art ...

, who founded the family business in 1880. He expanded the family venture ''Tréfileries Léon Bekaert'' (1935), at Zwevegem (production of steel

wire Overhead power cabling. The conductor consists of seven strands of steel (centre, high tensile strength), surrounded by four outer layers of aluminium (high conductivity). Sample diameter 40 mm A wire is a flexible strand of metal. Wire is co ...

) into Bekaert, a global company. He was President of the League of Christian Employers (1934–1961) and President of the Belgian league of the metallurgical industry ( Fabrimetal) from 1946 up to 1952, after which he accepted the chairmanship of the Federation of Belgian Enterprises. From 1926 until his death, he was burgomaster of Zwevegem and of 1938 up to beginning 1961 he was regent of the

National Bank of Belgium The National Bank of Belgium (NBB; nl, Nationale Bank van België, french: Banque nationale de Belgique, german: Belgische Nationalbank) has been the central bank of Belgium since 1850. The National Bank of Belgium was established with 100% pr ...

. In 1958, he was one of the co-founders of the permanent international secretariat of the UNIAPAC in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

, together with

Peter H. Werhahn Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a sur ...

and Giuseppe Mosca, who became its president.

Sources

* Vandeputte R. ''Leon A. Bekaert. Een groot man. Een goed mens.(1891–1961)'', Lannoo, 1979. 1891 births 1961 deaths People from Zwevegem European Union lobbyists 20th-century Belgian businesspeople {{Belgium-bio-stub

See also

Sources