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{{Short description|Belgian colonial civil servant and lawyer}}
{{Infobox officeholder
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Léon Pétillon
| name = Léo Pétillon
| honorific-suffix =
| honorific-suffix =
| image =
| image = File:King Baudouin visits the school of the Force Publique in Luluabourg 1955.JPG
| imagesize =
| imagesize =
| caption = Léon Pétillon with [[Baudouin of Belgium|King Baudouin]] at a school of the ''[[Force Publique]]'' in [[Luluabourg (city)|Luluabourg]], 1955
| caption = Pétillon during [[Baudouin of Belgium|King Baudouin]]'s official visit to the Congo in 1955
| office = [[List of colonial governors of the Congo Free State and Belgian Congo|Governor-General]] of [[Belgian Congo]]
| office1 = [[Minister of the Colonies (Belgium)|Minister of the Belgian Congo and Ruanda-Urundi]]
| term_start = 1 January 1952
| term_start1 = 5 July 1958
| term_end = 12 July 1958
| term_end1 = 6 November 1958
| monarch = [[Baudouin of Belgium|King Baudouin]]
| monarch1 = [[Baudouin of Belgium|Baudouin]]
| predecessor = [[Eugène Jungers]]
| predecessor1 = [[Auguste Buisseret]]
| successor = [[Henri Cornelis]]
| successor1 = [[Maurice Van Hemelrijck]]
| primeminister1 = [[Gaston Eyskens]]
| office2 = [[List of colonial governors of the Congo Free State and Belgian Congo|Governor-General]] of the [[Belgian Congo]]
| term_start2 = 1 January 1952
| term_end2 = 12 July 1958
| monarch2 = [[Baudouin of Belgium|Baudouin]]
| predecessor2 = [[Eugène Jungers]]
| successor2 = [[Hendrik Cornelis]]
| office3 = [[List of colonial governors of Ruanda-Urundi|Governor]] of [[Ruanda-Urundi]]
| term_start3 = 19 July 1949
| term_end3 = 1 January 1952
| monarch3 = [[Prince Charles, Count of Flanders|Prince Charles]] (to 1950)<br/>[[Leopold III of Belgium|Leopold III]] (1950–51)<br/>[[Baudouin of Belgium|Baudouin]] (from 1951)
| governor_general3 = [[Eugène Jungers]]
| predecessor3 = [[Maurice Simon (official)|Maurice Simon]]
| successor3 = [[Alfred-Marie Claeys-Boùùaert|Alfred Claeys-Boúúaert]]
| birth_name = Léon Antoine Marie Pétillon
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1903|5|22|df=y}}
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1903|5|22|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[Esneux]], [[Belgium]]
| birth_place = [[Esneux]], [[Liège (province)|Province of Liège]], [[Belgium]]
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1996|4|1|1903|5|22|df=y}}
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1996|4|1|1903|5|22|df=y}}
| death_place = [[Ixelles]], [[Belgium]]
| death_place = [[Ixelles]], [[Brussels]], [[Belgium]]
| spouse =
| spouse =
| children =
| children =
}}
}}


'''Léon Antoine Marie Pétillon''' (1903&ndash;1996) was a [[Belgium|Belgian]] colonial [[civil servant]] who served as [[Governor-General of the Belgian Congo]] from 1 January 1952 until 12 July 1958.
'''Léo Pétillon''' (22 May 1903 &ndash; 1 April 1996) was a [[Belgium|Belgian]] colonial [[civil servant]] and [[lawyer]] who served as [[Governor-General of the Belgian Congo]] (1952–58) and, briefly, as [[Minister of the Colonies (Belgium)|Minister of the Belgian Congo and Ruanda-Urundi]] (1958).


Pétillon studied [[Law]] and practiced as a lawyer, before entering the Belgian colonial service in 1929. He worked for several years at the Ministry of the Colonies in [[Brussels]], serving as aide to a series of ministers. In 1939, he secured a posting to the [[Belgian Congo]] as aide to the Governor-General and spent most of [[World War II]] in the colony or with the [[Belgian government in exile]] in [[London]]. In 1946, Pétillon was promoted to Vice Governor-General, given responsibility for the Belgian mandate of [[Ruanda-Urundi]]. In 1952, he was promoted to the position of Governor-General himself, holding the position until 1958. After the end of his tenure, he briefly held a Ministerial position himself as [[technocrat]] in the government of [[Gaston Eyskens]]. He retired in 1959 and published several books. He died in 1996.
==Works==

⚫
*''Témoignage et réflexions'' [''Testimony and Reflections''] (1967)
==Biography==
⚫
*''Courts métrages africains. Pour servir à l'histoire'' [''African Short. For the Historical Record''] (1979)
Léon "Léo" Pétillon was born in [[Esneux]] in [[Belgium]]'s [[Liège (province)|Province of Liège]] on 22 May 1903 and studied [[Law]] at the [[Catholic University of Leuven (1834–1968)|Catholic University of Leuven]], graduating with a [[Juris Doctor|doctorate]].{{sfn|Biographie nationale|2001|p=307}} After practicing as a [[lawyer]], Pétillon entered the colonial civil service in 1929, working at the [[Ministry of the Colonies (Belgium)|Ministry of the Colonies]] in [[Brussels]].{{sfn|Biographie nationale|2001|p=307}} After working on legal questions for the Ministry, Pétillon became ''[[chef de cabinet]]'' (aide) to the minister [[Paul Tschoffen]] and for his successors in the ministry, including [[Albert de Vleeschauwer]]. In this capacity he supervised the creation of the [[Colonial Lottery]] in 1934.{{sfn|Biographie nationale|2001|p=307}}
⚫
*''Récit. Congo 1929-1958'' [''Account. Congo 1929-1958''] (1985)

In February 1939, Pétillon asked to be posted to the [[Belgian Congo]] and received a position as ''chef de cabinet'' for the Governor-General, [[Pierre Ryckmans (governor-general)|Pierre Ryckmans]].{{sfn|Biographie nationale|2001|p=308}} He was still in the Congo in May 1940 when [[Battle of Belgium|Belgium was invaded by Germany]]. Despite being posted as De Vleeschauwer's ''chef de cabinet'' with the [[Belgian government in exile]] in [[London]], Pétillon spent most of [[World War II]] in the Congo. After the [[Liberation of Belgium]] in September 1944, Pétillon played a major role in re-establishing relations between the colonial administration in Africa and the Ministry of the Colonies.{{sfn|Biographie nationale|2001|pp=308-9}}

In October 1946, he was promoted to Vice Governor-General as the deputy for the new Governor-General [[Eugène Jungers]].{{sfn|Biographie nationale|2001|p=309}} Returning to Belgium in 1948, he helped to draw up the [[Ten-Year Plan]] (''Plan décennal''). He was posted to the Belgian [[United Nations Trust Territories|United Nations Trust Territory]] of [[Ruanda-Urundi]] in July 1949 with overall responsibility for its administration.{{sfn|Biographie nationale|2001|p=309}} In January 1953, he replaced Jungers as Governor-General of the Belgian Congo, the senior administrative position in the Belgian colonies.{{sfn|Biographie nationale|2001|p=308}} As Governor-General, he received the visit of [[Baudouin I of Belgium|King Baudouin]] to the Congo in 1955 and worked on plans to create a "Belgian-Congolese Community" which would bring Belgians and Congolese into a more egalitarian relationship. His term also saw the first stirrings of [[African nationalism|anticolonial nationalism]] in the colony.{{sfn|Biographie nationale|2001|p=310}} In 1958, he was replaced by the Congo's final Governor-General, [[Hendrik Cornelis]].{{sfn|Biographie nationale|2001|p=310}}

In 1958, Pétillon himself became [[Minister of the Colonies (Belgium)|Minister of the Belgian Congo and Ruanda-Urundi]] as a [[technocrat]] in the [[Christian Social Party (Belgium, defunct)|Christian Social Party]] minority government of [[Gaston Eyskens]] and started work on a project of colonial reform.{{sfn|Biographie nationale|2001|p=310}} He was the first individual to have personally presided over both colonial administrative and ministerial roles. In November, however, Eyskens brought the [[Liberal Party (Belgium)|Liberals]] into the coalition and [[Maurice Van Hemelrijck]] replaced Pétillon as minister. He was retained in the ministry until the completion the report of the [[working group]] that he had created in December 1958.{{sfn|Biographie nationale|2001|p=310}}

Pétillon retired in 1959, working on a number of memoires in the following years. He was a member of the [[Royal Academy for Overseas Sciences]].{{sfn|Biographie nationale|2001|p=310}}

==Publications==
⚫
*''Témoignage et réflexions'' (Brussels: La Renaissance du Livre, 1967).
⚫
*''Courts métrages africains. Pour servir à l'histoire'' (Brussels: La Renaissance du Livre, 1979).
⚫
*''Récit. Congo 1929-1958'' (Brussels: La Renaissance du Livre, 1985).


==References==
==References==
{{Reflist|2}}
* [http://www.congoposte.be/gouver_con.htm Gouverneurs du Congo]

* [http://www.worldstatesmen.org/Congo-Kinshasa.html Congo (Kinshasa)]
===Bibliography===
{{cite encyclopedia
| ref ={{harvid|Biographie nationale|2001}}
| title =Pétillon, Léo
| encyclopedia = Nouvelle Biographie Nationale
| volume = 6
| year = 2001
| publisher = Royal Academy of Science, Letters and Fine Arts of Belgium
| location = Brussels
| pages = 307–10
| url=http://www.academieroyale.be/academie/documents/FichierPDFNouvelleBiographieNational2108.pdf#page=314
}}

==Further reading==
*{{cite book|last1=Stenmans|first1=Alain|last2=Reyntjen|first2=Filip|title=La pensée politique du gouverneur général Pétillon
|year=1993|publisher=Académie royale des Sciences d'Outre-mer|location=Brussels|oclc=494273131|url=http://www.kaowarsom.be/documents/MEMOIRES_VERHANDELINGEN/Sciences_morales_politique/Hum.Sc.(NS)_T.51,3_STENMANS%20A.%20et%20REYNTJENS%20F._La%20pens%C3%A9e%20politique%20du%20gouverneur%20g%C3%A9n%C3%A9ral%20P%C3%A9tillon_1993.pdf}}
*{{cite journal |last1=Brassinne de La Buissière |first1=Jacques |authorlink1=Jacques Brassinne de La Buissière|last2=Dumont |first2=Georges-Henri |title=Les autorités belges et la décolonisation du Congo |journal=[[Courrier Hebdomadaire du CRISP]] |date=2010 |issue=18–19 |pages=9–117 |doi=10.3917/cris.2063.0009 |url=https://www.cairn.info/revue-courrier-hebdomadaire-du-crisp-2010-18-page-9.htm|doi-access=free }}

==External links==
* [https://archives.africamuseum.be/agents/people/146 Archive Léopold Petillon] {{sic}} at the [[Royal Museum for Central Africa]]


{{Colonial heads of Congo}}
{{Colonial heads of Congo}}
{{Authority control}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Petillon, Leon}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Petillon, Leon}}
[[Category:1903 births]]
[[Category:1903 births]]
[[Category:1996 deaths]]
[[Category:1996 deaths]]
[[Category:Belgian civil servants]]
[[Category:Governors-general of the Belgian Congo]]
⚫
[[Category:Governors-General of the Belgian Congo]]
[[Category:People from Esneux]]
[[Category:People from Esneux]]
[[Category:Catholic University of Leuven (1834–1968) alumni]]

⚫
[[Category:20th-century Belgian lawyers]]
{{Belgium-politician-stub}}
[[Category:Government ministers of Belgium]]
[[Category:Colonial governors of Ruanda-Urundi]]

Latest revision as of 09:05, 25 August 2024

Léo Pétillon
Minister of the Belgian Congo and Ruanda-Urundi
In office
5 July 1958 – 6 November 1958
MonarchBaudouin
Prime MinisterGaston Eyskens
Preceded byAuguste Buisseret
Succeeded byMaurice Van Hemelrijck
Governor-General of the Belgian Congo
In office
1 January 1952 – 12 July 1958
MonarchBaudouin
Preceded byEugène Jungers
Succeeded byHendrik Cornelis
Governor of Ruanda-Urundi
In office
19 July 1949 – 1 January 1952
MonarchsPrince Charles (to 1950)
Leopold III (1950–51)
Baudouin (from 1951)
Governor GeneralEugène Jungers
Preceded byMaurice Simon
Succeeded byAlfred Claeys-Boúúaert
Personal details
Born
Léon Antoine Marie Pétillon

(1903-05-22)22 May 1903
Esneux, Province of Liège, Belgium
Died1 April 1996(1996-04-01) (aged 92)
Ixelles, Brussels, Belgium

Léo Pétillon (22 May 1903 – 1 April 1996) was a Belgian colonial civil servant and lawyer who served as Governor-General of the Belgian Congo (1952–58) and, briefly, as Minister of the Belgian Congo and Ruanda-Urundi (1958).

Pétillon studied Law and practiced as a lawyer, before entering the Belgian colonial service in 1929. He worked for several years at the Ministry of the Colonies in Brussels, serving as aide to a series of ministers. In 1939, he secured a posting to the Belgian Congo as aide to the Governor-General and spent most of World War II in the colony or with the Belgian government in exile in London. In 1946, Pétillon was promoted to Vice Governor-General, given responsibility for the Belgian mandate of Ruanda-Urundi. In 1952, he was promoted to the position of Governor-General himself, holding the position until 1958. After the end of his tenure, he briefly held a Ministerial position himself as technocrat in the government of Gaston Eyskens. He retired in 1959 and published several books. He died in 1996.

Biography

[edit]

Léon "Léo" Pétillon was born in Esneux in Belgium's Province of Liège on 22 May 1903 and studied Law at the Catholic University of Leuven, graduating with a doctorate.[1] After practicing as a lawyer, Pétillon entered the colonial civil service in 1929, working at the Ministry of the Colonies in Brussels.[1] After working on legal questions for the Ministry, Pétillon became chef de cabinet (aide) to the minister Paul Tschoffen and for his successors in the ministry, including Albert de Vleeschauwer. In this capacity he supervised the creation of the Colonial Lottery in 1934.[1]

In February 1939, Pétillon asked to be posted to the Belgian Congo and received a position as chef de cabinet for the Governor-General, Pierre Ryckmans.[2] He was still in the Congo in May 1940 when Belgium was invaded by Germany. Despite being posted as De Vleeschauwer's chef de cabinet with the Belgian government in exile in London, Pétillon spent most of World War II in the Congo. After the Liberation of Belgium in September 1944, Pétillon played a major role in re-establishing relations between the colonial administration in Africa and the Ministry of the Colonies.[3]

In October 1946, he was promoted to Vice Governor-General as the deputy for the new Governor-General Eugène Jungers.[4] Returning to Belgium in 1948, he helped to draw up the Ten-Year Plan (Plan décennal). He was posted to the Belgian United Nations Trust Territory of Ruanda-Urundi in July 1949 with overall responsibility for its administration.[4] In January 1953, he replaced Jungers as Governor-General of the Belgian Congo, the senior administrative position in the Belgian colonies.[2] As Governor-General, he received the visit of King Baudouin to the Congo in 1955 and worked on plans to create a "Belgian-Congolese Community" which would bring Belgians and Congolese into a more egalitarian relationship. His term also saw the first stirrings of anticolonial nationalism in the colony.[5] In 1958, he was replaced by the Congo's final Governor-General, Hendrik Cornelis.[5]

In 1958, Pétillon himself became Minister of the Belgian Congo and Ruanda-Urundi as a technocrat in the Christian Social Party minority government of Gaston Eyskens and started work on a project of colonial reform.[5] He was the first individual to have personally presided over both colonial administrative and ministerial roles. In November, however, Eyskens brought the Liberals into the coalition and Maurice Van Hemelrijck replaced Pétillon as minister. He was retained in the ministry until the completion the report of the working group that he had created in December 1958.[5]

Pétillon retired in 1959, working on a number of memoires in the following years. He was a member of the Royal Academy for Overseas Sciences.[5]

Publications

[edit]
  • Témoignage et réflexions (Brussels: La Renaissance du Livre, 1967).
  • Courts métrages africains. Pour servir à l'histoire (Brussels: La Renaissance du Livre, 1979).
  • Récit. Congo 1929-1958 (Brussels: La Renaissance du Livre, 1985).

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c Biographie nationale 2001, p. 307.
  2. ^ a b Biographie nationale 2001, p. 308.
  3. ^ Biographie nationale 2001, pp. 308–9.
  4. ^ a b Biographie nationale 2001, p. 309.
  5. ^ a b c d e Biographie nationale 2001, p. 310.

Bibliography

[edit]

"Pétillon, Léo" (PDF). Nouvelle Biographie Nationale. Vol. 6. Brussels: Royal Academy of Science, Letters and Fine Arts of Belgium. 2001. pp. 307–10.

Further reading

[edit]
[edit]
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