François Xavier Gustave Marie Joseph Corneille Hubert,

Knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

de Donnea de Hamoir (born 29 April 1941 in Edegem,

Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...

) is a Belgian

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

and a former mayor of the City of Brussels and

Minister-President of the Brussels-Capital Region The minister-president of the Brussels-Capital Region (; ) leads the government of the Brussels-Capital Region of Belgium. (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) The post is appointed for five years a ...

. He is also a former member of the Olivaint Conference of Belgium.

Biography

François-Xavier de Donnea was the

defence minister A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divid ...

and minister of the Brussels-Capital Region in the government Martens-IV from 1985 to 1988. He is currently a member of the

Belgian Chamber of People's Representatives The Chamber of Representatives (; ; ) is one of the two chambers in the bicameral Federal Parliament of Belgium, the other being the Senate. It is considered to be the "lower house" of the Federal Parliament. Members and elections Article 62 o ...

for the political party MR. In December 1990, he performed the wedding of the duke of Brabant and Mathilde d'Udekem d'Acoz in the City town hall. While échevin of Brussels, he called

graffiti Graffiti (singular ''graffiti'', or ''graffito'' only in graffiti archeology) is writing or drawings made on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from simple written "monikers" to elabor ...

an "urban leprosis". As the Mayeur of Brussels, he neglected the bust statue of

Peter the Great Peter I (, ; – ), better known as Peter the Great, was the Sovereign, Tsar and Grand Prince of all Russia, Tsar of all Russia from 1682 and the first Emperor of Russia, Emperor of all Russia from 1721 until his death in 1725. He reigned j ...

and gave a centerpiece attention to the bust statue of Baudouin of Belgium. In 2001, his proposition to create a Tintin theme in the newly renovated Atomium was approved by the Hergé Foundation. He also made it possible to exhibit publicly the Ishango bone at the Brussels' institut d'histoire naturelle. In 2006, he became a board member of WildlifeDirect. On 17 July 2008 he was one of three senior Belgian politicians commissioned by King Albert II to investigate ways of enabling constitutional reform talks in the light of the long-running Belgian constitutional crisis. In 2009, he was appointed President of the Sahel and West Africa Club (SWAC). In 2014, as he ran for the 17th time for the Brussels Mayor office, his name was misspelled in the list of candidates, forcing him to run as "François de Donnea". In March 2020, he stepped down from the Presidency of the insurance company Integrale, a subsidiary of Nethys.

Honours

* : ** Croix Civique. ** Minister of State by Royal Decree. ** Knight Grand Cross in the Order of Leopold II. ** Grand Officer in the Order of Leopold. * Officer of the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

. * Knight Grand Cross in the

Order of Merit of the Italian Republic The Order of Merit of the Italian Republic () is the most senior Italian order of merit. It was established in 1951 by the second President of Italy, President of the Italian Republic, Luigi Einaudi. The highest-ranking honour of the Republi ...

. * Knight Grand Cross in the Royal Order of the Polar Star. * Knight Grand Cross in the

Order of the Dannebrog The Order of the Dannebrog () is a Denmark, Danish order of chivalry instituted in 1671 by Christian V of Denmark, Christian V. Until 1808, membership in the Order was limited to fifty members of noble or royal rank, who formed a single cla ...

. * Knight Grand Cross in the Order of Merit, Korea. * Knight Grand Cross in the Order of the Liberator. * Knight Grand Cross in the

Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (, or , BVO) is the highest state decoration, federal decoration of the Federal Republic of Germany. It may be awarded for any field of endeavor. It was created by the first List of president ...

. * Knight Grand Officer in the Order of the Oak Crown. * Knight Grand Officer in the Order of Merit, France. * Knight Grand Officer in the

Order of Isabella the Catholic The Royal Order of Isabella the Catholic (; Abbreviation, Abbr.: OYC) is a knighthood and one of the three preeminent Order of merit, orders of merit bestowed by the Kingdom of Spain, alongside the Order of Charles III (established in 1771) and ...

. * Knight of the

Order of Saint Stanislaus The Order of Saint Stanislaus (, ), also spelled Stanislas, was a Polish order of knighthood founded in 1765 by King Stanisław August Poniatowski of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. It remained under the Congress Poland, Kingdom of Pola ...

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Donnea, Francois-Xavier De 1942 births Living people Belgian knights Knights Commander of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Liberal Reformist Party (Belgium) politicians Mayors of the City of Brussels Members of the 46th Chamber of Representatives (Belgium) Members of the 47th Chamber of Representatives (Belgium) Members of the 49th Chamber of Representatives (Belgium) Members of the 50th Chamber of Representatives (Belgium) Members of the 51st Chamber of Representatives (Belgium) Members of the 52nd Chamber of Representatives (Belgium) Members of the 53rd Chamber of Representatives (Belgium) Members of the Senate (Belgium) Ministers of defence of Belgium Ministers of state of Belgium Minister-presidents of the Brussels-Capital Region People from Edegem Recipients of the Grand Cross of the Order of Leopold II Reformist Movement politicians