Willem Werner Hubert "Willy" Claes (; born 24 November 1938) is a Belgian
politician
A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...
who served as the
eighth Secretary General of NATO, from 1994 to 1995. Claes was forced to resign from his NATO position after he was found guilty of corruption, which was uncovered during the investigation into
André Cools
André H.P. Cools (1 August 1927 – 18 July 1991) was a Belgian politician and a senior figure within the Walloon Socialist Party (PS) in the Liège region. He was assassinated in 1991 and the subsequent investigation uncovered widespread graft ...
' death. Claes was a member of the
Flemish Socialist Party.
Claes was born in
Hasselt, Belgium. He graduated in political and diplomatic sciences at the
Vrije Universiteit Brussel
The Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) () is a Dutch and English-speaking research university located in Brussels, Belgium.The Vrije Universiteit Brussel is one of the five universities officially recognised by the Flemish Community, Flemish gov ...
(VUB).
Political career
Claes began his political career in the Hasselt city council. In 1968, he was elected to the
national parliament
In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...
. In 1972, he entered the
cabinet
Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to:
Furniture
* Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers
* Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets
* Filing ...
for the first time as minister of education. Between 1973 and 1992, he was minister of economic affairs of Belgium three separate times. He also served as deputy prime minister five times, and was an important negotiator in the formation of coalition governments during the 1980s.
Claes was
Minister of Foreign Affairs
A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between cou ...
from 1992 until 1994, during which period he presided over Belgium's withdrawal from the UN peacekeeping mission in Rwanda during the
Rwandan genocide
The Rwandan genocide occurred between 7 April and 15 July 1994 during the Rwandan Civil War. During this period of around 100 days, members of the Tutsi minority ethnic group, as well as some moderate Hutu and Twa, were killed by armed Hutu ...
. Belgium's withdrawal is thought to have dramatically worsened the situation on the ground, leading to thousands of deaths.
Claes was also Secretary General of
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
from 1994 until 1995, when he resigned after the discovery of a bribe of over 50 million
Belgian franc
The Belgian franc ( nl, Belgische frank, french: Franc belge, german: Belgischer Franken) was the currency of the Kingdom of Belgium from 1832 until 2002 when the Euro was introduced. It was subdivided into 100 subunits, each known as a in Dutch ...
s (BEF), accepted at the time he was minister of economic affairs and connected to the defence contract negotiations with
Agusta and Dassault. A criminal trial was handled by the Court of Cassation, which is responsible for cases involving minister in function. Claes received a 60 000 BEF fine, a three-year probationary sentence and a five-year prohibition on running for public office. An appeal at the
European Court of Human Rights
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR or ECtHR), also known as the Strasbourg Court, is an international court of the Council of Europe which interprets the European Convention on Human Rights. The court hears applications alleging that a ...
resulted in the confirmation of the Belgian sentence.
Honours
* Minister of State
* Knight Grand Cross of the
Order of Leopold II
The Order of Leopold II is an order of Belgium and is named in honor of King Leopold II. The decoration was established on 24 August 1900 by Leopold II as Sovereign of the Congo Free State and was in 1908, upon Congo being handed over to Belgi ...
.
References
External links
NATO Declassified – Willy Claes (biography)
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Claes, Willy
1938 births
Belgian conductors (music)
Belgian male musicians
Male conductors (music)
Belgian Ministers of State
Belgian Socialist Party politicians
Belgian socialists
Foreign ministers of Belgium
Free University of Brussels (1834–1969) faculty
Living people
Presidents of the Party of European Socialists
Recipients of the Grand Cross of the Order of Leopold II
People from Hasselt
Secretaries General of NATO
Socialistische Partij Anders politicians
21st-century conductors (music)
21st-century male musicians