Jacques Louis Gustave Van Offelen (Isleworth

Isleworth

Isleworth is a small town of Saxon origin sited within the London Borough of Hounslow in west London, England. It lies immediately east of the town of Hounslow and west of the River Thames and its tributary the River Crane. Isleworth's original area of settlement, alongside the Thames, is known as...

, 18 October 1916 - Ukkel, 22 February 2006) 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...

 liberal politician, burgomaster and minister for the PVV

Party for Freedom and Progress

The Party for Freedom and Progress was a liberal party in Belgium which existed from 1961 until 1992 and was the successor of the Liberal Party, which had roots dating back to 1846. It was succeeded in Flanders by the Flemish Liberals and Democrats and in Wallonia by the Parti Réformateur...

. He graduated from the Institut Supérieur de Commerce de l'Etat (1938) in Antwerp, and in 1939 became a licentiate in economy at the Universite Libre de Bruxelles

Université Libre de Bruxelles

The Université libre de Bruxelles is a French-speaking university in Brussels, Belgium. It has 21,000 students, 29% of whom come from abroad, and an equally cosmopolitan staff.-Name:...

. He obtained a PhD from the University of Liège

University of Liège

The University of Liège , in Liège, Wallonia, Belgium, is a major public university in the French Community of Belgium. Its official language is French.-History:...

 in 1943 and became a civil servant and docent.

Political career

He was burgomaster

Burgomaster

Burgomaster is the English form of various terms in or derived from Germanic languages for the chief magistrate or chairman of the executive council of a sub-national level of administration...

 of Ukkel (1964 -), a member of parliament (1958-1977) and senator (1977-1978) for the PVV

Party for Freedom and Progress

The Party for Freedom and Progress was a liberal party in Belgium which existed from 1961 until 1992 and was the successor of the Liberal Party, which had roots dating back to 1846. It was succeeded in Flanders by the Flemish Liberals and Democrats and in Wallonia by the Parti Réformateur...

 in the district Brussels

Brussels

Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...

. Van Offelen was Minister of Foreign Trade (1958-1961) and Minister for Economic Affairs (1966-1968) in the Belgian government.

Source

• Jacques Van Offelen (liberal archive) (PDF, Dutch)
• Jacques Van Offelen (MR, French)