Jacques Grippa

Jacques Grippa
Born	March 30, 1913
Died	August 30, 1990(1990-08-30) (aged 77)
Citizenship	Belgian
Education	University of Liège
Occupation(s)	Politician, member of the resistance during World War II and communist
Parents	Jean Grippa (father) Stéphanie Becco (mother)

Jacques Grippa (Grivegnée, March 30, 1913– Forest, August 30, 1990) was a Belgian politician, member of the resistance during World War II and communist.

Biography

Grippa was the son of the Italian immigrant Jean Grippa (1886-1945) and the Belgian woman Stéphanie Becco (1888-1935). In 1930, he studied engineering at the University of Liège and became a member of the Belgian Communist Party.

During World War II, Grippa was a member of the resistance. In 1943, he was imprisoned as a political prisoner at Fort Breendonk. He was tortured, but refused to betray anybody and was therefore sent to Buchenwald.

After the war, he became head of cabinet at the ministry of War Victims, where he oversaw the treatment of political prisoners. He was als chief of cabinet for Jean Borremans, who worked for the Communist Minister of Civil Works.

In 1962, he was removed from the Belgian Communist Party because he was more endeared to Maoism. Together with fellow former members, he founded a new Marxist–Leninist party, but which quickly faded out after only a few years.

In 1964, as Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Belgium, he visited China, delivering a speech at the Central Party School of the Chinese Communist Party.