Antoine Duquesne
Encyclopedia
Antoine Duquesne was a Belgian
Politics of Belgium
Politics of Belgium takes place in a framework of a federal, parliamentary, representative democratic, constitutional monarchy, whereby the King of the Belgians is the Head of State and the Prime Minister of Belgium is the head of government in a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by...

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

 and Member of the European Parliament
Member of the European Parliament
A Member of the European Parliament is a person who has been elected to the European Parliament. The name of MEPs differ in different languages, with terms such as europarliamentarian or eurodeputy being common in Romance language-speaking areas.When the European Parliament was first established,...

 for the French Community of Belgium
French Community of Belgium
The French Community of Belgium is one of the three official communities in Belgium along with the Flemish Community and the German speaking Community. Although its name could suggest that it is a community of French citizens in Belgium, it is not...

 with the MR/MCC/PRL, Member of the Bureau of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe
Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe
The Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe is a transnational alliance between two European political parties: the European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party and the European Democratic Party. It has political groups in the European Parliament, the EU Committee of the Regions, the...

 and sits on the European Parliament
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...

's Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs
Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs
The Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs is a standing committee of the European Parliament.-External links:*...

.

He was a substitute for the Committee on Constitutional Affairs
Committee on Constitutional Affairs
The Committee on Constitutional Affairs is a committee of the European Parliament dealing with institutional matters such as the treaties and the Parliament's rules of procedure. As of 2008, it is chaired by Jo Leinen MEP .-External links:*...

, a vice-chair of the Delegation for relations with Mercosur
Mercosur
Mercosur or Mercosul is an economic and political agreement among Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. Founded in 1991 by the Treaty of Asunción, which was later amended and updated by the 1994 Treaty of Ouro Preto. Its purpose is to promote free trade and the fluid movement of goods, people,...

 and a substitute for the Delegation to the EU-Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...

 Joint Parliamentary Committee.

Career

In 1965 Duquesne became a Doctor of Law at 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:...

. From 1965 to 1971 he served as an assistant lecturer
Lecturer
Lecturer is an academic rank. In the United Kingdom, lecturer is a position at a university or similar institution, often held by academics in their early career stages, who lead research groups and supervise research students, as well as teach...

 in the Faculty of Law of that university. He was a practicising lawyer from 1965 to 1975 and again from 1988.

From 1975 to 1977 he was Deputy Secretary-General of the National Committee for Training and Further Training
Training
The term training refers to the acquisition of knowledge, skills, and competencies as a result of the teaching of vocational or practical skills and knowledge that relate to specific useful competencies. It forms the core of apprenticeships and provides the backbone of content at institutes of...

 in Trade
Trade
Trade is the transfer of ownership of goods and services from one person or entity to another. Trade is sometimes loosely called commerce or financial transaction or barter. A network that allows trade is called a market. The original form of trade was barter, the direct exchange of goods and...

 and Commerce. Frol 1977 to 1982 he served as general administrator of the National Committee for Coordination and Dialogue on Continuing Education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...

 for Small Businesses and the French-Speaking Institute for Continuing Training for Small Businesses. From 1983 to 1988 he was the Director of the National Fund for Professional Credit.

Political career

From 1973 to 1987 Duquesne served as an advisor and chief of staff to various liberal state secretaries and ministers.
In 1988 he was elected a member of the Municipal Council of Manhay
Manhay
Manhay is a Walloon municipality of Belgium located in the province of Luxembourg.On 1 January 2007 the municipality, which covers 119.81 km², had 3,185 inhabitants, giving a population density of 26.6 inhabitants per km²....

 and was reelected in 1994 and 2000. He served until his resignation in 2003. From 1995 to 1999 he also served as mayor of Manhay. From 1994 to 2004 he was Chairman of the MR Federation of the Province
Provinces of Belgium
Belgium is divided into three regions, two of them are subdivided into five provinces each.The division into provinces is fixed by Article 5 of the Belgian Constitution...

 of Luxembourg
Luxembourg (Belgium)
Luxembourg is the southernmost province of Wallonia and of Belgium. It borders on the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, France, and the Belgian provinces of Namur and Liège. Its capital is Arlon, in the south-east of the province.It has an area of 4,443 km², making it the largest Belgian province...

.

From 1987 to 1988 Duquesne served as Minister of Education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...

. In 1988 Duquesne was elected a member of the Belgian Senate
Belgian Senate
The Belgian Senate is one of the two chambers of the bicameral Federal Parliament of Belgium, the other being the Chamber of Representatives. It is considered to be the "upper house" of the Federal Parliament.-History and future:...

. In 1990 Duquesne was made President of the PRL
PRL
PRL may refer to:* Parameter Request List, a DHCP option* Parti Réformateur Libéral, a former Belgian political party* Penn Eastern Rail Lines* Pennine Radio Limited...

. In 1991
Belgian general election, 1991
The 24 November 1991 Belgian general elections was a Belgian election for the Belgian Chamber of Representatives and Belgian Senate.The results represented a big loss for the majority parties . The Vlaams Blok on the other hand had a very big gain....

 Duquesne was elected as a member of the Belgian Chamber of Representatives, re-elected in 1995
Belgian general election, 1995
The 21 May 1995 Belgian general elections was a Belgian election for the Belgian Chamber of Representatives and Belgian Senate. The Christian People's Party won the elections, and Jean-Luc Dehaene continued as Prime Minister.-Senate:...

 and 1999
Belgian general election, 1999
The June 13, 1999 Belgian general elections was a Belgian election for the Belgian Chamber of Representatives and Belgian Senate. The federal general elections were held on the same day as the European elections and the regional elections. The Flemish Liberals and Democrats won the elections.The...

, and concurrently for a time served as a member of the Walloon Regional Council and the French Community Council (1991–1995). During this time he served as Quaestor (1995), Chairman of the Committee on Justice (1996–1999) and the Committee on Foreign Relations (1999) and Vice-President of the Chamber of Representatives and Chairman of the PRL-FDF parliamentary intergroup.

In the Verhofstadt I Government
Verhofstadt I Government
The Verhofstadt I Government was the federal government of Belgium from 12 July 1999 to 12 July 2003.It was the first government headed by Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt...

 Antoine Duquesne served as the minister of the interior (1999–2003). In 2003–2004 Duquesne served as President of the MR. In 2003 Duquesne was elected to the Senate once more, served as Chairman of the Senate's Committee on Agriculture and Small Businesses, but he resigned in 2004
European Parliament election, 2004 (Belgium)
Elections to the European Parliament were held in Belgium on June 13, 2004. The elections produced little overall change in the distribution of seats in the European Parliament among Belgium's many political parties. The two socialist parties improved their vote, while the Green parties lost ground...

 upon election to the European Parliament
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...

, in which he served 2004–2009. In 2006 Duquesne had a cerebral infarction
Cerebral infarction
A cerebral infarction is the ischemic kind of stroke due to a disturbance in the blood vessels supplying blood to the brain. It can be atherothrombotic or embolic. Stroke caused by cerebral infarction should be distinguished from two other kinds of stroke: cerebral hemorrhage and subarachnoid...

 which left him paralysed and unable to speak and which prevented him to fulfill his office of member of the European parliament for the remainder of his term or even to resign his mandate, as that formally required his signature, which he no longer was able to give.

Decorations

  • Officer, Commander and Grand Officer of the Order of Leopold
  • Grand Officer of the Order of Orange-Nassau
    Order of Orange-Nassau
    The Order of Orange-Nassau is a military and civil order of the Netherlands which was created on 4 April 1892 by the Queen regent Emma of the Netherlands, acting on behalf of her under-age daughter Queen Wilhelmina. The Order is a chivalry order open to "everyone who have earned special merits for...

  • 1998: Minister of State
    Minister of State (Belgium)
    The Minister of State is an honorary title in Belgium. It is formally granted by the Belgian monarch, but on the initiative of the Belgian federal government. It is given on a personal basis, for life rather than for a specified period. The title is granted for exceptional merits, generally to...


External links

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