Henri Moreau de Melen
Henri Moreau de Melen | |
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Minister of Justice | |
In office 27 November 1948 – 11 August 1949 | |
Preceded by | Paul Struye |
Succeeded by | Albert Lilar |
Minister of Defence | |
In office 8 June 1950 – 16 August 1950 | |
Preceded by | Albert Devèze |
Succeeded by | Etienne De Greef |
Personal details | |
Born | Eugène Ernest Marie Henri Moreau de Melen 20 August 1902 Liège, Belgium |
Died | 31 May 1992 Liège, Belgium | (aged 89)
Political party | Christian Social Party PSC-CVP |
Eugène Ernest Marie Henri Moreau de Melen (20 August 1902 – 31 May 1992) was a Belgian soldier and politician, most notable for holding the position of Minister of Justice and Minister of Defence. He resigned his office and served with the Belgian battalion during the Korean War (1950–1953).
Background and personal life
[edit]Henri Moreau de Melen came from the Liège region of Belgium. His father, Eugène Moreau, was a professor at the University of Liège. His mother was Marie Malherbe. Henri studied for a law degree and practiced as a lawyer in Liège. In 1940, at the outbreak of World War II he was conscripted into the Belgian Army. He was taken prisoner by German forces, and held as a prisoner of war until 1945.
He married Marie-Louise Ancion (1904–63) in 1931. After her death, he re-married in 1970 to Countess Jacqueline de Lalaing (1910–2006). He had no children.
Career and Resignation
[edit]Henri Moreau de Melen began a political career in 1946 with his election as a member of the Senate in which he represented the interests of the District of Liège as a member of the Christian Social Party (PSC).[1]
He served as Justice Minister between 1948 and 1949.[1] During his tenure as Minister of Defence under the government of Joseph Pholien, the decision was taken to send Belgian forces to fight in the Korean War. Moreau de Melen was a staunch royalist,[1] and was so disillusioned by the resignation of Leopold III in August 1950 following the "Royal Question" that he resigned his ministerial post to enlist in the Belgian battalion sent to aide South Korea.[2]
He served in Korea with distinction with the rank of Major of the Reserve, second-in-command of the entire unit. He finished the war with the rank of lieutenant-colonel. He had a Brevet état-major.
After his return from Korea, he returned to politics and resumed his position as senator for Liège which he held until 1968. In 1968, in recognition of his service to Belgium, he was ennobled and given the title "Baron".
Reading
[edit]- Henri Moreau de Melen, Mémoires. Au terme de la route, 1988.
- Thierry Grosbois, Moreau de Melen. Mémoires: de Léopold III à la Corée, Racine, Brussels 2009.
References
[edit]- ^ a b c http://www.racine.be/content/racine/wbnl/listview/2/index.jsp?titelcode=13868 [dead link]
- ^ Libre.be, La (18 December 2023). "Pour son Roi et pour la liberté".
External links
[edit]- Henri Moreau de Melen in ODIS - Online Database for Intermediary Structures Archived 2016-04-28 at the Wayback Machine
- Belgian military personnel of the Korean War
- Military personnel from Liège
- 1902 births
- 1992 deaths
- Christian Social Party (Belgium, defunct) politicians
- 20th-century Belgian politicians
- Belgian barons
- Belgian military personnel of World War II
- Ministers of justice of Belgium
- Ministers of defence of Belgium
- Belgian prisoners of war in World War II
- Belgian Army personnel
- World War II prisoners of war held by Germany
- Politicians from Liège