Dehaene came relatively late to politics, in his 30s, but it was on the back of social activities such as running the Flemish scouts and the youth movement of the Christian Democrats.ĭehaene joined the staffs of different ministers, eventually becoming cabinet secretary for the then prime minister, Wilfried Martens. He attended a Jesuit school, and studied law and economics at the universities in Namur and Leuven. Son of Albert, a Bruges neuropsychiatrist, and Andrée (nee Verstraete), he was born in Montpellier, France, while his family fled the invading German army. His centre-left coalitions addressed Belgium's disastrous public finances, and his budgetary reforms, often bypassing parliament, helped ensure the country became one of the euro's founding countries in 1999 despite it having Europe's highest national debt.ĭehaene's career was characterised by a canniness that seemed at odds with his avuncular appearance. Dehaene's death, just 10 days before Belgians head to the polls in joint European, national and regional elections, seems to mark the passing of an era: Belgium's recent political upheavals have been attributed to the dearth of operators like Dehaene, able to roll up their sleeves and hammer out a compromise from seemingly irreconcilable positions.Īs prime minister from 1992 to 1999, he steered constitutional reforms that turned the country into a federal state by introducing direct elections for the parliaments of Belgium's regions and language communities.

Memoires van jean luc dehaene