Sandor Szondi (25 August 1920 – 9 July 1997) was a Flemish politician of Hungarian descent. He grew up in a

Flemish Flemish (''Vlaams'') is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch (), Belgian Dutch ( ), or Southern Dutch (). Flemish is native to Flanders, a historical region in northern Belgium; ...

foster family Foster care is a system in which a minor has been placed into a ward, group home (residential child care community, treatment center, etc.), or private home of a state- certified caregiver, referred to as a "foster parent" or with a family me ...

and was naturalized Belgian because of his merits as a member of the resistance during the

Second World War 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 opposi ...

. He studied

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...

and chose a career at the

Ministry of Transport A ministry of transport or transportation is a ministry responsible for transportation within a country. It usually is administered by the ''minister for transport''. The term is also sometimes applied to the departments or other government ag ...

. Due to his experiences as a civil servant 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 ...

, he felt the treatment of Flemings by the French speakers was unjust. This caused him to take an initiative to improve the situation of native Dutch speakers in the capital city of

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 ...

. He founded the ''Verbond van Vlaams Overheidspersoneel'', 'Union of Flemish civil servants', and the ''Centraal Secretariaat van Vlaamse Verenigingen'', 'Central Secretariat for the Flemish Associations'. He was also an editor of several magazines and additionally made his point clear in speeches and letters he wrote to newspapers. In 1969, he founded a kindergarten for the children of native Dutch speakers in Brussels. Szondi was a municipal councillor for the '' CVP'', ''Christelijke Volkspartij'' or 'Flemish Christian Democrat Party', in the municipality

Etterbeek Etterbeek (French: ; Dutch: ) is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the eastern part of the region, it is bordered by the municipalities of Auderghem, the City of Brussels, Ixelles, Schaerbeek, Wolu ...

(in the Brussels Region). In that position, he regularly got into conflict with the French-speaking majority. Due to his merits for the

Flemish movement The Flemish Movement ( nl, Vlaamse Beweging) is an umbrella term which encompasses various political groups in the Belgium, Belgian region of Flanders and, less commonly, in French Flanders. Ideologically, it encompasses groups which have sought ...

, he received several Flemish honour awards. After his death, the Flemish community of Etterbeek – Brussels created a Foundation, called "Private Stichting Sändor Szondi". The Foundation issues an annual award in cash to an individual, group or organization which has given proof of positive activity to the benefit of the Flemish community, living in Brussels. Brussels

Sources

* ''This article is based on the translation of the corresponding article of the Dutch Wikipedia.''

External links

A Hungarian in the Flemish movement
{{DEFAULTSORT:Szondi, Sandor 1920 births 1997 deaths Politicians from Brussels Flemish politicians Hungarian emigrants to Belgium