Albert Jean Julien François, Baron Lilar (Antwerp, 21 December 1900 - 16 March 1976) 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...

 politician

Politician

A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...

  of the Liberal Party

Liberal Party (Belgium)

The Liberal Party was a Belgian political party that existed from 1846 until 1961, when it became the Party for Freedom and Progress, Partij voor Vrijheid en Vooruitgang/Parti de la Liberté et du Progrès or PVV-PLP, under the leadership of Omer Vanaudenhove.-History:The Liberal Party was founded...

 and a Minister of Justice.

Lilar was a renowned lawyer of Admiralty

Admiralty law

Admiralty law is a distinct body of law which governs maritime questions and offenses. It is a body of both domestic law governing maritime activities, and private international law governing the relationships between private entities which operate vessels on the oceans...

 and International Private Law

Private law

Private law is that part of a civil law legal system which is part of the jus commune that involves relationships between individuals, such as the law of contracts or torts, as it is called in the common law, and the law of obligations as it is called in civilian legal systems...

 in Antwerp, and Chairman of the International Maritime Committee. He was also a Professor of Law at the Université 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:...

 and the Vrije Universiteit Brussel

Vrije Universiteit Brussel

The Vrije Universiteit Brussel is a Flemish university located in Brussels, Belgium. It has two campuses referred to as Etterbeek and Jette.The university's name is sometimes abbreviated by "VUB" or translated to "Free University of Brussels"...

. He was the husband of the writer Suzanne Lilar

Suzanne Lilar

Suzanne, Baroness Lilar was a Flemish Belgian essayist, novelist, and playwright writing in French...

, and father of the writer Françoise Mallet-Joris

Françoise Mallet-Joris

Françoise Mallet-Joris is the nom de plume of Françoise Lilar.She was born in Antwerp, the daughter of the writer Suzanne Lilar and the Belgian Minister of Justice and Minister of State Albert Lilar, and the sister of the 18th century art historian Marie Fredericq-Lilar...

 (b. 1930) and the 18th century art historian Marie Fredericq-Lilar (b. 1934). In his political life, Lilar was a liberal senator of the Arrondissement

Arrondissement

Arrondissement is any of various administrative divisions of France, certain other Francophone countries, and the Netherlands.-France:The 101 French departments are divided into 342 arrondissements, which may be translated into English as districts. The capital of an arrondissement is called a...

 Anwerp (1946–1971) and four times Minister of Justice (1946–1947, 1949–1950, 1954-1958 en 1960-1961). He became Minister of State

Minister of State

Minister of State is a title borne by politicians or officials in certain countries governed under a parliamentary system. In some countries a "minister of state" is a junior minister, who is assigned to assist a specific cabinet minister...

 in 1969. Under the Gaston Eyskens

Gaston Eyskens

Gaston François Marie, Viscount Eyskens was a Belgian economist, Christian Democratic politician of the CVP-PSC, and statesman.He was a six-time Prime Minister of Belgium from 1949 to 1950, 1958 to 1961 and 1968 to 1973...

 Government (1958–1960), Lilar was vice-president of the Cabinet

Cabinet (government)

A Cabinet is a body of high ranking government officials, typically representing the executive branch. It can also sometimes be referred to as the Council of Ministers, an Executive Council, or an Executive Committee.- Overview :...

. As Vice-Premier, he was elected president of the Round Table

Round Table

The Round Table is King Arthur's famed table in the Arthurian legend, around which he and his Knights congregate. As its name suggests, it has no head, implying that everyone who sits there has equal status. The table was first described in 1155 by Wace, who relied on previous depictions of...

 in 1960 whose discussions lead to the independence of the Belgian Congo

Belgian Congo

The Belgian Congo was the formal title of present-day Democratic Republic of the Congo between King Leopold II's formal relinquishment of his personal control over the state to Belgium on 15 November 1908, and Congolese independence on 30 June 1960.-Congo Free State, 1884–1908:Until the latter...

. A great humanitarian and defender of human rights

Human rights

Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...

, no death penalties were carried out under his terms as minister of justice.

The Albert Lilar Prize from the Comité Maritime International is awarded for a leading work on maritime law published in any language in the world during the previous five years.

External links

• Biography and Inventory of the Liberal Archives Albert Lilar (in Dutch)
• The Round Table - Congo
• More on The Round Table - Congo
• Postwar Western Europe 1955-1956
• Postwar Western Europe 1956-1957
• Independence of the Belgian Congo
• Anti-Nazi activities 1936-1939
• Freemasonry during Nazi domination in Belgium
• FAIB website