Fernand Collin was a Belgian

Belgium

Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...

 businessman. He was president of the Kredietbank

KBC Bank

KBC Bank N.V. is a Belgian universal multi-channel bank, focusing on private clients and small and medium-sized enterprises. Besides retail banking, insurance and asset management activities , KBC is active in European debt capital markets, domestic cash equity markets and in the field of corporate...

 from 1938 to 1973 and was also a professor at the Catholic University of Leuven

Catholic University of Leuven

The Catholic University of Leuven, or of Louvain, was the largest, oldest and most prominent university in Belgium. The university was founded in 1425 as the University of Leuven by John IV, Duke of Brabant and approved by a Papal bull by Pope Martin V.During France's occupation of Belgium in the...

.

At the start of World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, Fernand Collin, together with Alexandre Galopin

Alexandre Galopin

Alexandre Galopin was a Belgian businessman. He was director of the Société Générale de Belgique, a large Belgian company founded in 1822 by William I....

 (Société Générale de Belgique

Société Générale de Belgique

The Société Générale de Belgique was one of the largest companies that ever existed in Belgium. It was founded in 1822 by William I, and existed until 2003, when its then sole shareholder, Suez Lyonnaise des Eaux, merged it with Tractebel to form Suez-Tractebel.-History:As part of the terms of the...

) and Max Léo Gérard (Banque de Bruxelles) were given a mandate to manage the Belgian economy during the war. Paul-Henri Spaak

Paul-Henri Spaak

Paul Henri Charles Spaak was a Belgian Socialist politician and statesman.-Early life:Paul-Henri Spaak was born on 25 January 1899 in Schaerbeek, Belgium, to a distinguished Belgian family. His grandfather, Paul Janson was an important member of the Liberal Party...

 told them in May 1940 Nous vous confions la Belgique (E: We trust you with Belgium).

He was CEO of the pudding

Pudding

Pudding most often refers to a dessert, but it can also be a savory dish.In the United States, pudding characteristically denotes a sweet milk-based dessert similar in consistency to egg-based custards, though it may also refer to other types such as bread and rice pudding.In the United Kingdom and...

 producing company Imperial Products, which merged in 1968 with Devos-Lemmens into Continental Foods (it was sold to Campbell Soup in 1985). In 1962, he published an article in the Yale Law Journal

Yale Law Journal

The Yale Law Journal is a student-run law review affiliated with the Yale Law School. Published continuously since 1891, it is the most widely known of the eight law reviews published by students at Yale Law School...

, where in a note on the The Unit of Account he expanded on the idea of a European currency

Euro

The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...

in order to to revitalize the international money markets.

Source

• Fernand Collin
• Vandeputte Robert, Fernand Collin en zijn tijd, Tielt, Lannoo, 1985