Jean-François Thiriart
Encyclopedia
Jean-François Thiriart was a Belgian
far right
politician.
, Thiriart eventually adopted a form of non-Marxist
, Nationalist
Socialism.
Coming from a left-wing family, Thiriat was a member of some Socialist
and antifascist movements. During the World-War II, he joined the Fichte Bund (a National Bolshevist
association) and was associated with Les Amis du grand Reich Allemand in 1940, a group composed by former far-left activists which supported collaborationism
. He served time in prison for his collaboration, and upon his release set up business as an optometrist.
. Due to his opposition to this development he became associated with the Mouvement d’Action Civique (MAC), although he also became interested in a more international vision. Establishing links with French groups similarly opposed to decolonization
, he eventually became a European Nationalist
, convinced of the need for a united Europe. As a result, he formed Jeune Europe
as a movement to reach out across Europe, soon founding branches in Italy
, Spain
and France
. Domestically he continued to co-operate with MAC, which enjoyed close ties to Jeune Europe.
With a policy that was both Anti-American and Anti-Soviet
, Thiriart presented Europe as the true cradle of civilisation, and was opposed to uncontrolled immigration and imperialism
, instead supporting national liberation, sovereignty and self-determination for all Europeans and the so-called "allied ethnicities" of Europe. Thiriart's views won him many foes, on both the orthodox right and left. Thiriart denied that he was a Nazi, claiming to belong to the centre of the political spectrum. Thiriart attempted to put his ideas into practice by being instrumental in the formation of the National Party of Europe
, an unsuccessful attempt at creating a Europe-wide nationalist party.
Seeking to support radical revolutionaries in Latin America
and Black Power
movements in the United States
, Thiriart began to develop the idea of creating Political Soldier
s, and set up training camps to facilitate indoctrination. He also became an admirer of Nicolae Ceauşescu
, indicating a sympathy towards Stalinism
that displayed strong Nationalist characteristics. The People's Republic of China
was also admired for these same reasons. Historian Walter Laqueur
called his views a form of fascist
Maoism
.
and in later life he worked closely with such exponents of this idea as Aleksandr Dugin
. As well as being a member of the small pan-European European Liberation Front
, Thiriart came to spend a lot of time in Russia
where he saw the potential for an explosion in European Nationalism. He is the author of several books.
According to US academic George Michael
, Thiriart served as an adviser to Fatah
of the Palestine Liberation Organization
in the 1970s.
Thiriart died of a heart attack
.
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...
far right
Far right
Far-right, extreme right, hard right, radical right, and ultra-right are terms used to discuss the qualitative or quantitative position a group or person occupies within right-wing politics. Far-right politics may involve anti-immigration and anti-integration stances towards groups that are...
politician.
Youth
Initially a SocialistSocialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
, Thiriart eventually adopted a form of non-Marxist
Marxism
Marxism is an economic and sociopolitical worldview and method of socioeconomic inquiry that centers upon a materialist interpretation of history, a dialectical view of social change, and an analysis and critique of the development of capitalism. Marxism was pioneered in the early to mid 19th...
, Nationalist
Nationalism
Nationalism is a political ideology that involves a strong identification of a group of individuals with a political entity defined in national terms, i.e. a nation. In the 'modernist' image of the nation, it is nationalism that creates national identity. There are various definitions for what...
Socialism.
Coming from a left-wing family, Thiriat was a member of some Socialist
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
and antifascist movements. During the World-War II, he joined the Fichte Bund (a National Bolshevist
National Bolshevism
National Bolshevism is a political movement that claims to combine elements of nationalism and Bolshevism. It is often anti-capitalist in tone, and sympathetic towards certain nationalist forms of communism and socialism...
association) and was associated with Les Amis du grand Reich Allemand in 1940, a group composed by former far-left activists which supported collaborationism
Collaborationism
Collaborationism is cooperation with enemy forces against one's country. Legally, it may be considered as a form of treason. Collaborationism may be associated with criminal deeds in the service of the occupying power, which may include complicity with the occupying power in murder, persecutions,...
. He served time in prison for his collaboration, and upon his release set up business as an optometrist.
Cold War syncretism
Thiriart returned to the political scene in the 1960s, after Belgium gave up its claim to CongoDemocratic Republic of the Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a state located in Central Africa. It is the second largest country in Africa by area and the eleventh largest in the world...
. Due to his opposition to this development he became associated with the Mouvement d’Action Civique (MAC), although he also became interested in a more international vision. Establishing links with French groups similarly opposed to decolonization
Decolonization
Decolonization refers to the undoing of colonialism, the unequal relation of polities whereby one people or nation establishes and maintains dependent Territory over another...
, he eventually became a European Nationalist
Pan-European nationalism
The idea that Europe should be united politically has been present in European culture since the Middle Ages, and inspired several proposals for some form of confederation. With the growth of nationalism in the 19th century, several pan-national ideas of Europe developed, some of them based on...
, convinced of the need for a united Europe. As a result, he formed Jeune Europe
Jeune Europe
Jeune Europe was an Europeanist movement formed by Jean Thiriart in Belgium. Emile Lecerf, a later editor of the Nouvel Europe Magazine, was one of Thiriart's associates....
as a movement to reach out across Europe, soon founding branches in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
and France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. Domestically he continued to co-operate with MAC, which enjoyed close ties to Jeune Europe.
With a policy that was both Anti-American and Anti-Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
, Thiriart presented Europe as the true cradle of civilisation, and was opposed to uncontrolled immigration and imperialism
Imperialism
Imperialism, as defined by Dictionary of Human Geography, is "the creation and/or maintenance of an unequal economic, cultural, and territorial relationships, usually between states and often in the form of an empire, based on domination and subordination." The imperialism of the last 500 years,...
, instead supporting national liberation, sovereignty and self-determination for all Europeans and the so-called "allied ethnicities" of Europe. Thiriart's views won him many foes, on both the orthodox right and left. Thiriart denied that he was a Nazi, claiming to belong to the centre of the political spectrum. Thiriart attempted to put his ideas into practice by being instrumental in the formation of the National Party of Europe
National Party of Europe
The National Party of Europe was an initiative undertaken by a number of political parties in Europe during the 1960s to help increase cross-border co-operation and work towards European unity....
, an unsuccessful attempt at creating a Europe-wide nationalist party.
Seeking to support radical revolutionaries in Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
and Black Power
Black Power
Black Power is a political slogan and a name for various associated ideologies. It is used in the movement among people of Black African descent throughout the world, though primarily by African Americans in the United States...
movements in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Thiriart began to develop the idea of creating Political Soldier
Political Soldier
Political Soldier is a political concept associated with the Third Position. It played a leading role in Britain's National Front from the late 1970s onwards under young radicals Nick Griffin, Patrick Harrington and Derek Holland of the Official National Front...
s, and set up training camps to facilitate indoctrination. He also became an admirer of Nicolae Ceauşescu
Nicolae Ceausescu
Nicolae Ceaușescu was a Romanian Communist politician. He was General Secretary of the Romanian Communist Party from 1965 to 1989, and as such was the country's second and last Communist leader...
, indicating a sympathy towards Stalinism
Stalinism
Stalinism refers to the ideology that Joseph Stalin conceived and implemented in the Soviet Union, and is generally considered a branch of Marxist–Leninist ideology but considered by some historians to be a significant deviation from this philosophy...
that displayed strong Nationalist characteristics. The People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
was also admired for these same reasons. Historian Walter Laqueur
Walter Laqueur
Walter Zeev Laqueur is an American historian and political commentator. He was born in Breslau, Germany , to a Jewish family. In 1938, Laqueur left Germany for the British Mandate of Palestine. His parents, who were unable to leave, became victims of the Holocaust...
called his views a form of fascist
Fascism
Fascism is a radical authoritarian nationalist political ideology. Fascists seek to rejuvenate their nation based on commitment to the national community as an organic entity, in which individuals are bound together in national identity by suprapersonal connections of ancestry, culture, and blood...
Maoism
Maoism
Maoism, also known as the Mao Zedong Thought , is claimed by Maoists as an anti-Revisionist form of Marxist communist theory, derived from the teachings of the Chinese political leader Mao Zedong . Developed during the 1950s and 1960s, it was widely applied as the political and military guiding...
.
National Bolshevism and later life
Thiriart moved towards National BolshevismNational Bolshevism
National Bolshevism is a political movement that claims to combine elements of nationalism and Bolshevism. It is often anti-capitalist in tone, and sympathetic towards certain nationalist forms of communism and socialism...
and in later life he worked closely with such exponents of this idea as Aleksandr Dugin
Aleksandr Dugin
Aleksandr Gelyevich Dugin is a politologist and one of the most popular ideologists of Russian expansionism, nationalism, and fascism, with close ties to the Kremlin and Russian military. He was the leading organizer of National Bolshevik Party, National Bolshevik Front, and Eurasia Party...
. As well as being a member of the small pan-European European Liberation Front
European Liberation Front
The European Liberation Front was a small neo-fascist group that split from Oswald Mosley's British Union Movement in 1948. Its founder and ideological inspiration was Francis Parker Yockey. In 1949 they issued a manifesto titled The Proclamation of London, written by Yockey...
, Thiriart came to spend a lot of time in Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
where he saw the potential for an explosion in European Nationalism. He is the author of several books.
According to US academic George Michael
George Michael (professor)
George J. Michael is an associate professor of political science and administration of justice at The University of Virginia's College at Wise...
, Thiriart served as an adviser to Fatah
Fatah
Fataḥ is a major Palestinian political party and the largest faction of the Palestine Liberation Organization , a multi-party confederation. In Palestinian politics it is on the left-wing of the spectrum; it is mainly nationalist, although not predominantly socialist. Its official goals are found...
of the Palestine Liberation Organization
Palestine Liberation Organization
The Palestine Liberation Organization is a political and paramilitary organization which was created in 1964. It is recognized as the "sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people" by the United Nations and over 100 states with which it holds diplomatic relations, and has enjoyed...
in the 1970s.
Thiriart died of a heart attack
Myocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
.
See also
- National BolshevismNational BolshevismNational Bolshevism is a political movement that claims to combine elements of nationalism and Bolshevism. It is often anti-capitalist in tone, and sympathetic towards certain nationalist forms of communism and socialism...
- Operation GladioOperation GladioOperation Gladio is the codename for a clandestine NATO "stay-behind" operation in Italy after World War II. Its purpose was to continue anti-communist actions in the event of a shift to a Communist party led government...
- European Liberation FrontEuropean Liberation FrontThe European Liberation Front was a small neo-fascist group that split from Oswald Mosley's British Union Movement in 1948. Its founder and ideological inspiration was Francis Parker Yockey. In 1949 they issued a manifesto titled The Proclamation of London, written by Yockey...
- Francis Parker YockeyFrancis Parker YockeyFrancis Parker Yockey was an American political thinker and polemicist best known for his neo-Spenglerian book Imperium: The Philosophy of History and Politics, published under the pen name Ulick Varange in 1948. This 600-page book argues for a culture-based, totalitarian path for the...