Paul Vanden Boeynants
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Paul Vanden Boeynants (May 22, 1919 – January 9, 2001) was a Belgian politician. He served as prime minister of Belgium for two brief periods (1966-68 and 1978-79).
Vanden Boeynants (called "VDB" by journalists) was born in Forest, a municipality in the Brussels-Capital Region. He was active in the meat-industry, and was a Representative for the Parti social chrétien (PSC) between 1949 and 1979. He lead the PSC between 1961 and 1966 (then still a unitary party). Vanden Boeynants became Prime Minister of Belgium in 1966 and served as prime minister until 1968. Later in 1978, he led another Belgian government which lasted until 1979. He left politics in 1995, and died of pneumonia after undergoing cardiovascular surgery in 2001.
[edit] Fraud
In 1986, Vanden Boeynants was convicted for fraud and tax evasion, and sentenced to three years probationary. This prevented him from pursuing mayoral aspirations in Brussels. He was rehabilitated in the early-1990s.
[edit] Kidnapping
Vanden Boeynants was kidnapped on January 14, 1989 by members of the Haemers-criminal gang. Three days later, the criminals published a note in the newspaper Le Soir, demanding 30 million Belgian francs in ransom. Vanden Boeynants was released a month later, on February 23, when an undisclosed ransom was paid to the perpetrators. Patrick Haemers, head of the gang, later committed suicide in prison, although two members of his gang managed to escape the St-Gillis Prison in 1993.
| Political Offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by: Paul Willem Segers |
Belgian Minister of Defense 1972–1979 |
Succeeded by: José Desmarets |
| Preceded by: Pierre Harmel |
Prime Minister of Belgium March 19, 1966–June 17, 1968 |
Succeeded by: Gaston Eyskens |
| Preceded by: Leo Tindemans |
Prime Minister of Belgium October 20, 1978–April 3, 1979 |
Succeeded by: Wilfried Martens |
