Étienne Cerexhe | |
|---|---|
| Member of theSenate | |
| In office 1985–1987 | |
| Monarch | Badouin I |
| Member of theChamber of Representatives | |
| In office 1988–1991 | |
| Monarch | Baudouin I |
| Parliamentary group | Christian Social Party |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1931-04-18)18 April 1931 Schaerbeek, Belgium |
| Died | 24 June 2020(2020-06-24) (aged 89) |
| Political party | Christian Social Party |
| Children | Benoît Cerexhe [fr] |
| Alma mater | |
BaronÉtienne Cerexhe (18 April 1931 – 24 June 2020) was a Belgian judge and academic. He was a member of the BelgianSenate from 1985 to 1987, and theChamber of Representatives from 1988 to 1991. In 2009, Cerexhe was knighted byKing Albert II.
Cerexhe was born on 18 April 1931 inSchaerbeek, Belgium.[1] He had degrees from theUniversité catholique de Louvain and theUniversity of Paris.[1] Cerexhe hadhonorary doctorates from theUniversity of Lisbon,University of Ouagadougou andUniversity of Santiago.[1] He was the father of Belgian politician and mayor ofWoluwe-Saint-PierreBenoît Cerexhe [fr].[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]
In 1967, Cerexhe andPierre Maon founded the Faculty of Law at theUniversité de Namur.[3] From 1967 to 1988, Cerexhe wasdean 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 theÉcole Supérieure de Droit de Ouagadougou)[3] at the University of Ouagadougou inBurkina Faso.[1] In 1984, he helped set up theCentre for European Policy Studies in Brussels.[4]
From 1985 to 1987, Cerexhe was asenator during the47th legislature of the House of Representatives [fr].[1] From 1988 to 1991, he sat in theChamber of Representatives, representing theChristian Social Party (PSC).[2] During his time, Cerexhe proposed a bill on constitutional reform that supportedfederal loyalty [de], a concept in use in Germany. This was later a part of Belgium's wider 1993 constitutional reforms.[5] He was supportive of theLomé Convention, and believed that it did not contribute to African poverty.[6] Cerexhe was involved in providinghumanitarian aid.[7] He was a supporter of equality and recognition for all of Belgium'sfederal communities and regions.[8]
In 1993, Cerexhe became a judge in the Court of Arbitration (now called theConstitutional Court),[1][2][9] as one of their French language judges.[10] He specialised inpublic,European andcivil law.[11] In April 2001, he retired and was given the title of judgeemeritus.[12] He was also made an honorary consul of theWallonia region to Burkina Faso.[12][13] Cerexhe was also president of the Belgian section of theInstitut international de Droit d'Expression et d'inspiration Françaises.[7]
In 2009, Cerexhe was knighted byKing Albert II.[1][2] He was given the title ofbaron.[14]
