Théodore Joseph Albéric Marie "Théo" Lefèvre (17 January 1914 – 18 September 1973) was a lawyer at the Ghent court of justice. In 1946 he became deputy of the Belgian parliament for the PSC-CVP. Between 25 April 1961 and 28 July 1965 he was the

prime minister of Belgium german: Premierminister von Belgien , insignia = State Coat of Arms of Belgium.svg , insigniasize = 100px , insigniacaption = Coat of arms , insigniaalt = , flag = Government ...

Political career

Théo Lefèvre was elected to the Chamber of Representatives in 1946 and served until 1971, when he became a member of the

Belgian Senate The Senate ( nl, Senaat, ; french: Sénat, ; german: Senat) is one of the two chambers of the bicameral Federal Parliament of Belgium, the other being the Chamber of Representatives. It is considered to be the "upper house" of the Federal Parlia ...

(1971-1973). In September 1950 Lefèvre became Chairman of the PSC-CVP (1950-1961). In December 1958 he was appointed a

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 ...

. In 1961, after the fall of the fourth government of Gaston Eyskens and the following

snap election A snap election is an election that is called earlier than the one that has been scheduled. Generally, a snap election in a parliamentary system (the dissolution of parliament) is called to capitalize on an unusual electoral opportunity or to ...

, Lefèvre became Prime Minister of a coalition government with the Belgian socialists. During this period, the Belgian army intervened in Congo (

Operation Dragon Rouge __NOTOC__ Operation Dragon Rouge was a hostage rescue operation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo conducted by Belgium and the United States in 1964. The operation was led by the Belgian Paracommando Regiment to rescue hostages held by Simb ...

). His government encountered heavy opposition, and the planned health care reform only succeeded due to large concessions made by the government. Having become unpopular, Lefèvre lost the elections of 1965 and was excluded from the next government, which was a coalition government of Christian-democrats and liberals. In 1968 Lefèvre was again included in the government led by Gaston Eyskens (Eyskens V) as a minister without portfolio, charged with scientific policy (1968-1972). In 1972 (Eyskens VI) he became state secretary for scientific policy (Jan. 1972 - Jan 1973).

Personal life

On 26 August 1944, Theo Lefèvre married Marie-José Billiaert (1918–1998). They had three children.

Honours

* Minister of State, by royal Decree. * Commander in the

Order of Leopold Order of Leopold may refer to: * Order of Leopold (Austria), founded in 1808 by emperor Francis I of Austria and discontinued in 1918 * Order of Leopold (Belgium), founded in 1832 by king Leopold I of Belgium * Order of Leopold II, founded in Congo ...

. * Knight Grand Cross in the Order of the Crown. * Knight Grand Cross in the

Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (german: Verdienstorden der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, or , BVO) is the only federal decoration of Germany. It is awarded for special achievements in political, economic, cultural, intellect ...

References

External links

Théo Lefèvre
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ODIS - Online Database for Intermediary Structures

Archives of Théo Lefèvre
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ODIS - Online Database for Intermediary Structures
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lefevre, Theo 1914 births 1973 deaths Belgian Ministers of State Belgian Roman Catholics Christian Democratic and Flemish politicians Christian Social Party (Belgium, defunct) politicians MEPs for Belgium 1958–1979 Jurists from Ghent Prime Ministers of Belgium People of the Congo Crisis Grand Crosses 1st class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Politicians from Ghent