Philippe Moureaux

Philippe Moureaux (born 12 April 1939 in Etterbeek) is a Belgian politician, senator, mayor of Sint-Jans-Molenbeek, and professor of economic history at the Université Libre de Bruxelles.

His first government post was a Minister of the Interior and Institutional Reform in the government of Wilfried Martens (Martens III) in 1980. Moureaux's name was attached to the loi contre le racisme et la xénophobie (Law against Racism and Xenophobia) of 30 July 1981 as he was then serving as Minister of Justice.

Resigning from the Federal Government in 1993, Moureaux's coalition defeated the incumbent mayor of Molenbeek Léon Spiegels at the 1994 council elections. A key part of Moureaux's campaign, then and since, was the involvement of ethnic minorities in the campaign, Mariem Bouselmati of Ecolo being the first Belgian of Moroccan origin elected in Molenbeek. In 2004, as a senator, Moureaux submitted the law granting the right of foreigners to vote in municipal elections.

However, Moureaux's attempts at revitalizing the municipality have, however, not been successful. The Dutch company BBDO in June, 2011 citing over 150 attacks on their staff by locals, posted an open letter to the mayor, Phillippe Moreaux announcing their withdrawal from the town.^[1] As a result, serious questions have been raised about governance, security, and the administration of Mayor Moreaux.^[2]

He holds the honorary title of Minister of State and is a member of the Order of Leopold II and the Order of Leopold.

References

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Select bibliography

Les comptes d'une société charbonnière à la fin de l'Ancien Régime (La société de Redemont à Haine-St-Pierre - La Hestre). Brussels, Palais des Académies, 1969. 248 p., illustrated, (Commission Royale d'Histoire).