Théodore Joseph Albéric Marie Lefèvre (; 17 January 1914 – 18 September 1973), better known as Théo Lefèvre, was a Belgian politician and lawyer who served as the

prime minister of Belgium The prime minister of Belgium (; ; ) or the premier of Belgium is the head of the federal government of Belgium, and the most powerful person in Belgian politics. The first head of government in Belgian history was Henri van der Noot in 179 ...

from 1961 to 1965. He was a lawyer at the Ghent court of justice, and became deputy of the Belgian parliament for the PSC-CVP in 1946.

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 ( ; ; ) is one of the two chambers of the Bicameralism, bicameral Belgian Federal Parliament, Federal Parliament of Belgium, the other being the Chamber of Representatives (Belgium), Chamber of Representatives. It is considered to be ...

(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 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 ...

. 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. Snap elections in parliamentary systems are often called to resolve a political impasse such as a hung parliament where no single political party has a ma ...

, Lefèvre became Prime Minister of a centre-left cabinet. During this period, the Belgian army intervened in Congo (

Operation Dragon Rouge Operation Dragon Rouge (, , meaning "Operation Red Dragon") was a hostage rescue operation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo conducted jointly by Belgium and the United States in 1964. The operation was led by the Belgian Paracommando Re ...

). 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. He died of cancer in September 1973.

Honours

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

References

External links

Théo Lefèvre
i
ODIS - Online Database for Intermediary Structures

Archives of Théo Lefèvre
i
ODIS - Online Database for Intermediary Structures
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lefevre, Theo 1914 births 1973 deaths Ministers of state of Belgium Belgian Roman Catholics Christian Democratic and Flemish politicians Christian Social Party (Belgium, 1945) 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