Marie-Thérèse Bourquin (7 March 1916 – 5 December 2018) was a Belgian lawyer and the first female member of the Belgian Council of State.

Life

Marie-Thérèse Bourquin was born in

Neuilly-sur-Seine Neuilly-sur-Seine (; 'Neuilly-on-Seine'), also known simply as Neuilly, is an urban Communes of France, commune in the Hauts-de-Seine Departments of France, department just west of Paris in France. Immediately adjacent to the city, north of the ...

, France, on 7 March 1916. During the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

her family, from

Tournai Tournai ( , ; ; ; , sometimes Anglicisation (linguistics), anglicised in older sources as "Tournay") is a city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality of Wallonia located in the Hainaut Province, Province of Hainaut, Belgium. It lies by ...

, were refugees in France, where her father, Maurice Bourquin, worked for the Belgian government-in-exile. He had earlier been legal counsel to

Minister of State Minister of state is a designation for a government minister, with varying meanings in different jurisdictions. In a number of European countries, the title is given as an honorific conferring a higher rank, often bestowed upon senior minister ...

Paul Hymans Paul Louis Adrien Henri Hymans (23 March 1865 – 8 March 1941), was a Belgian politician associated with the Liberal Party. He was the second president of the League of Nations and served again as its president in 1932–1933. Life Hymans was ...

. Marie-Thérèse obtained the degree of

Doctor of Law A Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) is a doctoral degree in legal studies. The abbreviation LL.D. stands for ''Legum Doctor'', with the double “L” in the abbreviation referring to the early practice in the University of Cambridge to teach both canon law ...

at the

Université libre de Bruxelles The (French language, French, ; lit. Free University of Brussels; abbreviated ULB) is a French-speaking research university in Brussels, Belgium. It has three campuses: the ''Solbosch'' campus (in the City of Brussels and Ixelles), the ''Plain ...

in 1939, and in 1942 she did her traineeship in the law office of the Brussels barrister René Marcq. In 1947 she entered the civil service at the Ministry of Communications, only to leave the next year to join the Council of State, of which she was the only female member until 1963. In 1971 she was appointed auditor of the Council of State, and in 1972 first auditor. She retired on 7 March 1986. At the time of her hundredth birthday, 7 March 2016, she was living in a rest home. Bourquin died in December 2018 at the age of 102.Marie-Thérèse Bourquin
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References

1916 births 2018 deaths 20th-century Belgian lawyers Belgian women centenarians Belgian women lawyers Free University of Brussels (1834–1969) alumni 20th-century women lawyers {{Belgium-law-bio-stub