Baron Étienne Cerexhe (18 April 1931 – 24 June 2020) was a Belgian judge and academic. He was a member of the Belgian Senate from 1985 to 1987, and the Chamber of Representatives from 1988 to 1991. In 2009, Cerexhe was knighted by King Albert II.
Étienne Cerexhe | |
---|---|
Member of the Senate | |
In office 1985–1987 | |
Monarch | Badouin I |
Member of the Chamber of Representatives | |
In office 1988–1991 | |
Monarch | Baudouin I |
Parliamentary group | Christian Social Party |
Personal details | |
Born | Schaerbeek, Belgium | 18 April 1931
Died | 24 June 2020 | (aged 89)
Political party | Christian Social Party |
Children | Benoît Cerexhe |
Alma mater | |
Personal life and death
Cerexhe was born on 18 April 1931 in Schaerbeek, Belgium.[1] He had degrees from the Université catholique de Louvain and the University of Paris.[1] Cerexhe had honorary doctorates from the University of Lisbon, University of Ouagadougou and University of Santiago.[1] He was the father of Belgian politician and mayor of Woluwe-Saint-Pierre Benoît Cerexhe .[1][2]
Cerexhe died on 24 June 2020 at the age of 89. His death was announced the following day,[1] and his funeral was held on 30 June in Woluwe-Saint-Pierre.[3]
Career
Academic career
In 1967, Cerexhe and Pierre Maon founded the Faculty of Law at the Université de Namur.[3] From 1967 to 1988, Cerexhe was dean of the faculty.[1][2] He was also a lecturer at the Université catholique de Louvain.[2] In 1974, he was a co-founder of the Faculty of Law (also known as the École Supérieure de Droit de Ouagadougou)[3] at the University of Ouagadougou in Burkina Faso.[1] In 1984, he helped set up the Centre for European Policy Studies in Brussels.[4]
Political career
From 1985 to 1987, Cerexhe was a senator during the 47th legislature of the House of Representatives .[1] From 1988 to 1991, he sat in the Chamber of Representatives, representing the Christian Social Party (PSC).[2] During his time, Cerexhe proposed a bill on constitutional reform that supported federal loyalty , a concept in use in Germany. This was later a part of Belgium's wider 1993 constitutional reforms.[5] He was supportive of the Lomé Convention, and believed that it did not contribute to African poverty.[6] Cerexhe was involved in providing humanitarian aid.[7] He was a supporter of equality and recognition for all of Belgium's federal communities and regions.[8]
In 1993, Cerexhe became a judge in the Court of Arbitration (now called the Constitutional Court),[1][2][9] as one of their French language judges.[10] He specialised in public, European and civil law.[11] In April 2001, he retired and was given the title of judge emeritus.[12] He was also made an honorary consul of the Wallonia region to Burkina Faso.[12][13] Cerexhe was also president of the Belgian section of the Institut international de Droit d'Expression et d'inspiration Françaises.[7]
Honours
In 2009, Cerexhe was knighted by King Albert II.[1][2] He was given the title of baron.[14]
Works
- Cerexhe, Étienne, Tourisme et intégration européenne (Tourism and European integration), 1985[15]
- Cerexhe, Étienne, Snyers, Anne-Marie, Le droit européen : les objectifs et les institutions (European law: objectives and institutions), 1989 ISBN 2803800160