Former Belgian prime minister Martens dies

10 Oct 2013 - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Former Belgian prime minister Wilfried Martens, one of the architects of Belgium's federal division and a long-time leading figure in the European Parliament, has died at the age of 77.

Martens was prime minister from April 1979 to April 1981 and from December 1981 to March 1992, leading a total of nine governments during a turbulent period when Belgian politicians argued about the make-up of the country.

His centre-right Christian People's Party, now the Flemish Christian Democrats, led governing coalitions confronted by economic crisis in the early 1980s and that legalized abortion in 1990.

Martens co-founded the European People's Party (EPP), the main centre-right body in the European Parliament, in 1976 and has been its president since 1990.

A spokesman for the EPP confirmed that Martens had died during the night from Wednesday to Thursday.

Martens, who was a political ally and friend of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, had handed over temporary charge of the EPP presidency earlier this week.

(Reporting By Philip Blenkinsop; editing by Stephen Nisbet)

(Source : Reuters)

International

Former Belgian prime minister Martens dies

Most Popular Articles

Canadian boy dies of rabies after waking to bat on his face

Germany bans workers from calling in sick

Woman suspected of Monaco bombing found shot dead near Kyiv

Chinese tycoon sentenced to 30 years in US jail

Boy driving pickup truck crashes into group of Thai monks, killing 8

Couple transforms AC train coach into ‘honeymoon coupe’, Indian Railways takes action

Latest News

Navy seizes over 60,000 illegal sea cucumbers, arrests 26 in Mannar

Conjoined twins successfully separated at Peradeniya

CAA raids Colombo–Jaffna train restaurant over overpriced bottled water

GMOA warns of misleading social media post

2,498 qualify for South Korean jobs