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| Jean Rey (politician) | |
|---|---|
| Name | Jean Rey |
| Caption | Jean Rey in 1968 |
| Birth date | 15 July 1902 |
| Birth place | Roanne, Loire, France |
| Death date | 19 May 1983 |
| Death place | Anderlecht, Brussels, Belgium |
| Nationality | Belgian |
| Occupation | Politician, lawyer, magistrate, European statesman |
| Office | President of the European Commission |
| Term start | 2 July 1967 |
| Term end | 30 June 1970 |
| Predecessor | Commission President of the Commission of the European Communities (Hallstein and others merged into Rey) |
| Successor | Franco Maria Malfatti |
| Party | Christian Social Party (Belgium) |
Jean Rey (politician)
Jean Rey (15 July 1902 – 19 May 1983) was a Belgian jurist and Christian Democrat statesman who served as President of the European Commission from 1967 to 1970. A leading advocate for European integration, Rey played central roles in the European Coal and Steel Community, the Treaty of Rome, and early enlargement negotiations with the United Kingdom and Denmark. His career bridged national Belgian politics, transnational federalist movements, and diplomatic efforts within NATO and United Nations forums.
Born in Roanne in the Loire region, Rey moved to Belgium where he pursued legal studies at the Free University of Brussels and later at the Catholic University of Leuven. Influenced by Catholic social teaching and the post‑World War I Christian Democratic revival exemplified by leaders such as Konrad Adenauer and Robert Schuman, Rey trained in civil and commercial law while engaging with youth movements tied to the Belgian Labour Party's opponents and the Christian Social Party. Early exposure to legal debates in the International Labour Organization milieu and discussions linked to the League of Nations informed his juridical outlook.
Rey entered public service as a magistrate and legal adviser in Belgium's judiciary and municipal administration, collaborating with figures from the Union of Christian Democrats and partners active in Antwerp and Brussels. Elected to the Belgian Chamber of Representatives and later appointed to ministerial posts, he served alongside contemporaries such as Paul-Henri Spaak and Gaston Eyskens during coalition governments that navigated postwar reconstruction, the Marshall Plan dialogues with George Marshall, and negotiations involving the Benelux customs union. Rey's parliamentary work intersected with committees dealing with trade and external relations tied to the Organisation for European Economic Co-operation and the Council of Europe.
A prominent figure in the European Movement, Rey collaborated with federalists including Altiero Spinelli, Lionel Robbins, and Jean Monnet to advance supranational integration. He participated in initiatives connected to the Treaty of Paris establishing the European Coal and Steel Community and engaged with institutions such as the High Authority of the ECSC and the Common Assembly of the ECSC. Rey promoted the Treaty of Rome process with interlocutors like Paul Henri Spaak and Robert Schuman, linking Belgian policy to the emerging European Economic Community framework and interacting with delegations from France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, and Luxembourg.
As President of the Commission of the European Communities, Rey succeeded transitional arrangements after the tenure of Walter Hallstein and presided over institutional consolidation following the merger treaty creating a single Commission. His administration navigated the Empty Chair Crisis aftermath, negotiated budgetary and competence disputes with the Council of Ministers and the European Parliament (then Common Assembly), and steered relations with heads of state such as Charles de Gaulle, Ludwig Erhard, and Aldo Moro. Rey advanced common policies on customs and trade in coordination with the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade and pursued enlargement talks with the United Kingdom, Ireland, Denmark, and Norway while managing Cold War strategic alignments involving NATO and transatlantic partners like the United States and Canada.
After leaving the Commission, Rey served in various diplomatic and advisory roles, including missions connected to United Nations development debates, observer roles during negotiations involving Greece's accession aspirations, and participation in conferences addressing European regional cooperation alongside statesmen such as Sandro Pertini and King Baudouin of Belgium. He engaged with academic institutions including the College of Europe and contributed to policy discussions at forums like the Trilateral Commission and the European Movement International, maintaining dialogue with European leaders including Edward Heath, Harold Wilson, and Gustav Heinemann.
Rey married and balanced family life in Brussels with a career that made him a mentor to younger politicians in the Christian Democratic tradition, influencing figures such as Jacques Delors and Francois-Xavier Ortoli. His legacy is preserved in archives housed in Belgian repositories and commemorated by institutions in Brussels and Luxembourg; monuments and lectures in his name recall his contributions to the European Union project and to postwar reconciliation exemplified by interactions with leaders like Konrad Adenauer and Robert Schuman. Jean Rey is remembered among architects of integration alongside Altiero Spinelli, Paul-Henri Spaak, and Jean Monnet, and his tenure is cited in studies of the European Commission's evolution, enlargement policy, and supranational governance.
Category:Presidents of the European Commission Category:Belgian politicians Category:1902 births Category:1983 deaths