Léon Antoine Bekaert (

Zwevegem Zwevegem () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the towns of Heestert, Moen, Otegem, Sint-Denijs and Zwevegem. On January 1, 2019, Zwevegem had a total population of 24,648. The total ar ...

, 9 December 1891 - Zwevegem, 19 December 1961) 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 ...

industrialist and politician. He was the son of Leo Leander Bekaert, who founded the family business in 1880. He expanded the family venture ''Tréfileries Léon Bekaert'' (1935), at Zwevegem (production of

steel Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistant ty ...

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 c ...

) into

Bekaert N.V. Bekaert S.A. (Euronext Brussels: BEKB) is a global company with headquarters in Belgium, employing 28,000 people worldwide. Its primary business is steel wire transformation and coatings. Operating in 45 countries, Bekaert generated combined ...

, a global company. He was President of the

League of Christian Employers The League of Christian Employers (Dutch: Verbond van Kristelijke Werkgevers, VKW) is a Flemish Christian employers organization. Herman Van de Velde is the president of the organization. Notable members * François-Xavier van der Straten-Waille ...

(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 The Federation of Enterprises in Belgium ( nl, Verbond van Belgische Ondernemingen, VBO, french: Fédération des Entreprises de Belgique, FEB) is the only Belgian non-profit organization representing companies in all three regions of Belgium. It ...

. 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 The International Christian Union of Business Executives or UNIAPAC is an ecumenical organization for Christian businesspeople. History The predecessors of the organization were national federations of Catholic employers in The Netherlands in 191 ...

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 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