Piet Vermeylen
Encyclopedia
Piet Vermeylen was a Belgian
lawyer, and Belgian Socialist
politician and minister. He was the son of the Flemish
politician August Vermeylen
.
. In 1933, Vermeylen was one of the judges at the London Counter-trial of the Reichstag fire
. In 1938, together with Henri Storck
and André Thirifays, he founded the Cinematheque
Royale de Belgique.
. Notwithstanding what German occupiers had done to his father, he vehemently protested the execution of Flemish collaborationist August Borms. From 1947 to 1949, he was Minister for Internal Affairs. He again became a minister for Internal affairs in 1954 and for four years had to defend the secularist school policies of the Liberal-Socialist coalition under Prime Minister Achille Van Acker
in the face of Roman Catholic opposition, at one time controversially forbidding Belgian Radio to report on a large-scale demonstration against the new school laws proposed by Education minister Leo Collard
.
From 1961 to 1965 he was Belgian Justice minister under Théo Lefèvre
. In 1961 he proposed the first law on amnesty
for those who had collaborated with Nazi Germany
during the second world war
. In April 1964, after unsuccessfully trying to soften the wrath of many Belgian doctors over a speech by the Prime Minister and so preventing the ensuing notorious "doctors' strike", he lent his support to the civil mobilization
of all hospital doctors and of doctors who were members of the Belgian reserve army.
When in 1968, French-speaking socialist politicians in Brussels (led by Henri Simonet
) arranged the Brussels party list to ensure Piet Vermeylen, Hendrik Fayat and other Flemish socialist politicians from Brussels, Halle
and Vilvoorde
were virtually unelectable
, Vermeylen took the unprecedented step of splitting the party and forming a rival Brussels Flemish Socialist Party, called "Red Lions". After his surprise re-election, he became the first Belgian Minister of Dutch Language Education in the new government, led by Christian Social Prime Minister Gaston Eyskens
. When armies of the Warsaw pact
invaded
Czechoslovakia
in August 1968, Vermeylen, who was secretly visiting Brno
as a simple tourist, barely managed to escape to Austria
. He stayed on as a minister until 1972, and soon after quit active politics. In 1984, he wrote an autobiography.
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...
lawyer, and Belgian Socialist
Belgian Socialist Party
The Belgian Socialist Party was a democratic socialist party which existed in Belgium from 1945 to 1978.The BSP was founded by activists from the Belgian Labour Party , which was the first Belgian socialist party. It ceased to function during the Second World War, while Belgium was under Nazi...
politician and minister. He was the son of the Flemish
Flanders
Flanders is the community of the Flemings but also one of the institutions in Belgium, and a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France and the Netherlands. "Flanders" can also refer to the northern part of Belgium that contains Brussels, Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp...
politician August Vermeylen
August Vermeylen
August Vermeylen was a Belgian writer and literature critic. In 1893 he founded the journal Van Nu en Straks . He studied history at the Université Libre de Bruxelles , and became a professor of literature and of art history at the ULB...
.
Early life
In 1924, Piet was one of the founders of a Flemish study group at the Université libre de BruxellesUniversité 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:...
. In 1933, Vermeylen was one of the judges at the London Counter-trial of the Reichstag fire
Reichstag fire
The Reichstag fire was an arson attack on the Reichstag building in Berlin on 27 February 1933. The event is seen as pivotal in the establishment of Nazi Germany....
. In 1938, together with Henri Storck
Henri Storck
Henri Storck was a Belgian author, film-maker and documentarist.In 1933, he directed, with Joris Ivens, Misère au Borinage, a film about the miners in the Borinage area. In 1938, with Andre Thirifays and Pierre Vermeylen, he founded the Cinémathèque Royale de Belgique...
and André Thirifays, he founded the Cinematheque
Cinematheque
A cinémathèque is a French word used to refer to a film archive with small cinemas that screens particularly classic and art-house films.- History :...
Royale de Belgique.
Political career
After his father's death, Piet succeeded him in the Flemish socialist politics of BrusselsBrussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
. Notwithstanding what German occupiers had done to his father, he vehemently protested the execution of Flemish collaborationist August Borms. From 1947 to 1949, he was Minister for Internal Affairs. He again became a minister for Internal affairs in 1954 and for four years had to defend the secularist school policies of the Liberal-Socialist coalition under Prime Minister Achille Van Acker
Achille Van Acker
Achille Honoré Van Acker was the 33rd Prime Minister of Belgium in four different cabinets from 1945 to 1958, for a total period of seven years. He was a member of the BSP-PSB - the then still national Belgian Socialist Party. He was nicknamed Achille Charbon.-Life:Van Acker was born in Bruges on...
in the face of Roman Catholic opposition, at one time controversially forbidding Belgian Radio to report on a large-scale demonstration against the new school laws proposed by Education minister Leo Collard
Leo Collard
Leo Collard was a Belgian politician, the BSP minister of public education and Mayor of Mons ....
.
From 1961 to 1965 he was Belgian Justice minister under Théo Lefèvre
Théo Lefèvre
Théodore Joseph Albéric Marie "Théo" Lefèvre was a lawyer at the Ghent court of justice. In 1946 he became deputy of the Belgian parliament for the PSC-CVP. Between 25 April 1961 and 28 July 1965 he was the 39th Prime Minister of Belgium.-External links:*...
. In 1961 he proposed the first law on amnesty
Amnesty
Amnesty is a legislative or executive act by which a state restores those who may have been guilty of an offense against it to the positions of innocent people, without changing the laws defining the offense. It includes more than pardon, in as much as it obliterates all legal remembrance of the...
for those who had collaborated with Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
during the second world war
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. In April 1964, after unsuccessfully trying to soften the wrath of many Belgian doctors over a speech by the Prime Minister and so preventing the ensuing notorious "doctors' strike", he lent his support to the civil mobilization
Mobilization
Mobilization is the act of assembling and making both troops and supplies ready for war. The word mobilization was first used, in a military context, in order to describe the preparation of the Prussian army during the 1850s and 1860s. Mobilization theories and techniques have continuously changed...
of all hospital doctors and of doctors who were members of the Belgian reserve army.
When in 1968, French-speaking socialist politicians in Brussels (led by Henri Simonet
Henri Simonet
Henri François Simonet was a Belgian politician.Born in Brussels, Henri Simonet studied law and economics at the ULB and then went to Columbia University as CRB Graduate Fellow. Simonet began his political life as a member of the Socialist Party . He served as mayor of Anderlecht between 1966 and...
) arranged the Brussels party list to ensure Piet Vermeylen, Hendrik Fayat and other Flemish socialist politicians from Brussels, Halle
Halle, Belgium
Halle , is a Belgian city and municipality in the district Halle-Vilvoorde of the province Flemish Brabant. The city is located on the Brussels-Charleroi Canal and on the Flemish side of the language border that separates Flanders and Wallonia...
and Vilvoorde
Vilvoorde
Vilvoorde is a Belgian municipality in the Flemish province of Flemish Brabant. The municipality comprises the city of Vilvoorde proper with its two outlying quarters of Koningslo and Houtem and the small town of Peutie...
were virtually unelectable
Gerrymandering
In the process of setting electoral districts, gerrymandering is a practice that attempts to establish a political advantage for a particular party or group by manipulating geographic boundaries to create partisan, incumbent-protected districts...
, Vermeylen took the unprecedented step of splitting the party and forming a rival Brussels Flemish Socialist Party, called "Red Lions". After his surprise re-election, he became the first Belgian Minister of Dutch Language Education in the new government, led by Christian Social Prime Minister 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...
. When armies of the Warsaw pact
Warsaw Pact
The Warsaw Treaty Organization of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance , or more commonly referred to as the Warsaw Pact, was a mutual defense treaty subscribed to by eight communist states in Eastern Europe...
invaded
Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia
On the night of 20–21 August 1968, the Soviet Union and her main satellite states in the Warsaw Pact – Bulgaria, the German Democratic Republic , Hungary and Poland – invaded the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic in order to halt Alexander Dubček's Prague Spring political liberalization...
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
in August 1968, Vermeylen, who was secretly visiting Brno
Brno
Brno by population and area is the second largest city in the Czech Republic, the largest Moravian city, and the historical capital city of the Margraviate of Moravia. Brno is the administrative centre of the South Moravian Region where it forms a separate district Brno-City District...
as a simple tourist, barely managed to escape to Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
. He stayed on as a minister until 1972, and soon after quit active politics. In 1984, he wrote an autobiography.