Antoinette Spaak facts for kids

Antoinette Spaak (born June 27, 1928 – died August 28, 2020) was an important Belgian politician. She was a key leader for French-speaking people and their regions in Brussels. She came from a famous political family.

Antoinette Spaak started her political journey in 1972. She joined a group called the Democratic Front of Francophones (FDF). This group worked for the rights of French-speakers. From 1977 to 1982, she was the president of the FDF. Later, she helped bring different French-speaking political parties together. This led to the FDF joining a bigger group called the Reformist Movement (MR) in 2002. Antoinette Spaak held many political jobs in Belgium and Europe. She retired from politics in 2009.

Her Early Life

Antoinette Spaak was born in Etterbeek, a part of Brussels, Belgium. This was on June 27, 1928. She grew up in a family famous for politics. Many of her relatives were involved in government.

Her father was Paul-Henri Spaak. He was a socialist politician and served as prime minister several times. He also helped create important groups like the European Economic Community (EEC) and NATO. The EEC later became the European Union. Her grandmother, Marie Janson, was the first woman to be a member of the Belgian Senate. Her great-uncle, Paul-Émile Janson, was also a prime minister. Her great-grandfather, Paul Janson, was an important liberal politician.

Antoinette Spaak studied at the Free University of Brussels. She earned a special degree in philosophy and letters.

Her Political Journey

Antoinette Spaak started her political career in 1972. This was after her father passed away. She joined the Democratic Front of Francophones (FDF). This party aimed to protect the interests of French-speaking people in Brussels. At that time, there were many political disagreements between different language groups in Belgium.

In 1974, she was elected to the Chamber of Representatives. This is like a parliament. In 1977, she became the president of the FDF. This made her the first woman in Belgium to lead a political party. She led the FDF until 1982. During this time, the FDF had a lot of success in elections.

From 1988 to 1992, she led the Parliament of the French Community. Antoinette Spaak also believed in working closely with other European countries. She was elected to the European Parliament twice. First, from 1979 to 1984, and again from 1994 to 1999. In 1983, she received the special title of Minister of State. This is an honorary title given to important politicians.

As the FDF's popularity went down in the 1980s, Antoinette Spaak worked to bring the FDF closer to another party, the Liberal Reformist Party (PRL). This led to them working together in elections starting in 1995. Later, another party, the Citizens' Movement for Change (MCC), joined them.

These parties ran together in the 1999 election. This cooperation led to the creation of a new, single political party in 2002. It was called the Reformist Movement (MR). Antoinette Spaak ran for the MR in the 2007 elections but was not elected. However, she was elected to the Parliament of the Brussels-Capital Region in 2009. She resigned from this role less than a year later.

In 2011, the different groups within the MR had disagreements. The FDF left the MR and later changed its name to DéFI in 2016.

Her Passing

Antoinette Spaak passed away at her home in Brussels, Belgium. She died on August 28, 2020, when she was 92 years old.

Sophie Wilmès, who was the prime minister at the time, called Spaak a "grande dame" (a great lady). The newspaper L'Echo wrote that Antoinette Spaak was a symbol of women's rights, the fight for French-speaking people, and working for Europe. They also noted that she never held a job as a government minister.

Books

• A book about Antoinette Spaak was written by Francis Van de Woestyne in 2016. It is called Antoinette Spaak: Entretiens avec Francis Van de Woestyne.