Gaston Eyskens
Gaston François Marie, Viscount Eyskens (1 April 1905 – 3 January 1988) was a Christian democratic politician and prime minister of Belgium. He was also an economist and member of the Belgian Christian Social Party (CVP-PSC). He served three terms as the prime minister of Belgium, holding the position from 1949 to 1950, 1958 to 1961 and 1968 to 1973.
Gaston Eyskens

Bert Verhoeff for Anefo · Nationaal Archief · CC BY-SA 3.0
- Name
- Gaston Eyskens
- Born
- 1 April 1905
- Birthplace
- Lier, Belgium
- Died
- 3 January 1988
- Place of death
- Leuven, Belgium
- Spouse
- Gilberte De Petter
- Education
- Catholic University of Leuven Columbia University
- Nationality
- Belgium.
- Occupation
- economist, university teacher, politician, painter, political scientist and head of government.
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Documentary summary
Gaston François Marie, Viscount Eyskens (1 April 1905 – 3 January 1988) was a Christian democratic politician and prime minister of Belgium. He was also an economist and member of the Belgian Christian Social Party (CVP-PSC). He served three terms as the prime minister of Belgium, holding the position from 1949 to 1950, 1958 to 1961 and 1968 to 1973.
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Gaston Eyskens worked as economist, head of government and painter and was Belgium. Born in 1905. Gaston Eyskens died in 1988.
Composed from admitted, traceable facts · 27 September 2026
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bnf · gnd · loc · wikidata · Q14999 · wikipedia · Gaston Eyskens
In this article
Biography
Biography
During his periods in office, Eyskens was confronted with major ideological and linguistic conflicts within Belgium including the Royal Question in 1950, the School War in 1958, the independence of the Belgian Congo in 1960 and the split of the University of Leuven in 1970. He oversaw the first steps towards the federalization of Belgium (constitutional reform of 1970). Eyskens led a centre cabinet in 1958, followed by two centre-right cabinets from 1958 to 1961, another centre cabinet from 1968 to 1972, and another centre-left cabinet from 1972 to 1973.
![Collectie / Archief: Fotocollectie Anefo Reportage / Serie: [onbekend] Beschrijving: Benelux Regeringsconferentie in Congresgebouw, Den Haag links minister Luns en rechts de Jong in gesprek achter conferentietafel Datum: 28 april 1969 Locatie: Den Haag, Zuid-Holland Trefwoorden: conferenties, gesprekken, ministers Persoonsnaam: Luns, J.A.M.H., Luns, Joseph Instellingsnaam: Congresgebouw](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Benelux_Regeringsconferentie_in_Congresgebouw%2C_Den_Haag_links_minister_Luns_en_r%2C_Bestanddeelnr_922-3494.jpg/800px-Benelux_Regeringsconferentie_in_Congresgebouw%2C_Den_Haag_links_minister_Luns_en_r%2C_Bestanddeelnr_922-3494.jpg)
Collectie / Archief: Fotocollectie Anefo Reportage / Serie: [onbekend] Beschrijving: Benelux Regeringsconferentie in Congresgebouw, Den Haag links minister Luns en rechts de Jong in gesprek achter conferentietafel Datum: 28 april 1969 Locatie: Den Haag, Zuid-Holland Trefwoorden: conferenties, gesprekken, ministers Persoonsnaam: Luns, J.A.M.H., Luns, Joseph Instellingsnaam: Congresgebouw
Bert Verhoeff / Anefo
Key facts
Key facts
• Honorific Prefix — The High-born • Name — Gaston Eyskens • Office — Prime Minister of Belgium • Monarch — Baudouin • Term Start — 17 June 1968 • Term End — 26 January 1973 • Predecessor — Paul Vanden Boeynants • Successor — Edmond Leburton • Monarch2 — Baudouin • Term Start2 — 26 June 1958 • Term End2 — 25 April 1961 • Predecessor2 — Achille Van Acker • Successor2 — Théo Lefèvre • Monarch3 — Leopold III • 1blankname3 — Regent • 1namedata3 — Prince Charles • Term Start3 — 11 August 1949 • Term End3 — 8 June 1950 • Predecessor3 — Paul-Henri Spaak • Successor3 — Jean Duvieusart • Born — 1 April 1905 • Birthplace — Lier, Belgium • Died — 3 January 1988 • Place of death — Leuven, Belgium • Party — Christian Social Party • Spouse — Gilberte De Petter • Education — Catholic University of Leuven Columbia University
Family
Family
Eyskens was born in Lier, the son of Antonius Franciscus Eyskens (1875–1948) and Maria Voeten (1872–1960). On 10 August 1931 he married Gilberte De Petter (1902–1981), daughter of the Leuvener politician Emile De Petter, with whom he had two sons: Erik Eyskens (Leuven, 20 July 1935 – Antwerp, 31 August 2008) and Mark Eyskens. His son Mark also became Prime Minister, serving from 6 April 1981 to 17 December 1981.
Academic career
Academic career
Eyskens studied at the Catholic University of Leuven where he gained a master and doctorate degree. In 1927 he became Master of Science at Columbia University. In 1931 Eyskens became a professor at the University of Leuven. He later became dean of the economics faculty. He also served on the board of Lovanium University in the Congo. Eyskens was made doctor honoris causa by Columbia University, the University of Cologne and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Political career
Political career
• Illustration — Gaston Eyskens During the early 1930s Eyskens was chief of staff of CVP ministers Edmond Rubbens and Philip Van Isacker. In 1939 Eyskens was elected to the Belgian Chamber of Representatives. He was steadily re-elected (in 1946, 1949, 1950, 1954, 1958 and 1961) and served until 1965. In 1945 and between 1947 and 1949 he was Minister of Finance. On 11 August 1949 he became Prime Minister of Belgium in a coalition (Eyskens I) between Christian-democrats and liberals. His cabinet fell in June 1950 over the constitutional crisis caused by King Leopold III's actions during the Second World War. In the short lived government of Jean Duvieusart (June–August 1950) Eyskens was Minister of Economic Affairs. Between 26 June 1958 and 6 November 1958, Eyskens led a minority government which was the most recent government of Belgium (Eyskens II) not to be a coalition government. On 6 November, Eyskens formed a coalition government with the liberals (Eyskens III) which remained in power until 3 September 1960. On 3 September 1960 he formed his third government (Eyskens IV), again a coalition with the liberal party. This government fell on 25 April 1961 over the Unitary Law (which raised the fiscal pressure by 7 billion Belgian francs, cut spending in education and the military, and reformed unemployment benefits and government pensions) and had caused large-scale strikes. During these years he also had to deal with the School War and the independence of the Belgian Congo. • Illustration — l.t.r. Joseph Luns, Piet de Jong, Gaston Eyskens and Pierre Harmel in 1969 In the general election of 1965 Eyskens was elected to the Belgian Senate (re-elected in 1968 and 1971). In the government led by Pierre Harmel (1965–1966) he again served as Minister of Finance. Student unrest and questions of discrimination against the ethnic Flemish population brought down the Belgian government in February 1968. On 17 June 1968, Gaston Eyskens formed his fifth government (Eyskens V); this time a centre-left coalition between the Christian Democrats and the Socialists. On 20 January 1973, he formed his sixth and last government (Eyskens VI), again a coalition with the Socialists. His last two governments were plagued by linguistic troubles regarding the split of the old bilingual Catholic University of Leuven into a Dutch-language university (the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven), which stayed in Leuven and a French-language university which moved to Louvain-la-Neuve and became the Université catholique de Louvain and the start of the process of changing Belgium from a unitary state into a federation with the creation of the Communities. Upon the fall of his last government Gaston Eyskens retired from politics. He died in Leuven.
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 2 entries
1905
Gaston Eyskens was born on 1 April 1905.
1988
Gaston Eyskens died on 3 January 1988.
Recognition and collections
Where the work is held
Recognition and collections
Gaston Eyskens received Grand Cross of the Order of the Oak Crown, Grand Cross of Honor for Services to the Republic of Austria, Knight Commander of the Order of St. Gregory the Great, Great Cross with Star and Sash of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany, Grand Cross 1st class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany and honorary doctorate from Columbia University.
Documents and archives
Primary material
Documents and archives
institutional register
- Bibliothèque nationale de France authority file 12651860t
Unverified · Bibliothèque nationale de France
- Discogs authority file 6101220
Unverified · Discogs
- FAST authority file 32707
Unverified · FAST
- GND (German National Library) authority file 1029770514
Unverified · GND (German National Library)
- IdRef (French universities) authority file 09536143X
Unverified · IdRef (French universities)
- ISNI authority file 0000000110311935
Unverified · ISNI
scholarly publication
- Eyskens, Gaston (Belgium), The Statesman’s Yearbook Companion, 2019
Scholarly · Crossref registry · 2019
reference work
- “Gaston Eyskens”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
Honours
• Belgium: Minister of State by RD of 5 April 1963. • Belgium: Created Viscount Eyskens by RD in September 1973. • Belgium: Member of the Royal Academy. • Belgium: Commander in the Order of Leopold II, by RD of 15 February 1946. • Belgium: Knight Grand Cross in the Order of the Crown, by RD of 8 April 1954. • Knight Commander in the Order of Saint Gregory the Great.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Gaston Eyskens Belgian politician, economist, statesman Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica.
- 2.Gaston Eyskens Dies at Age 82; Led Six Governments in Belgium. The New York Times. 1988-01-05. 0362-4331.
- 3.eumonitor page on Belgium (in dutch)
- 4.Family tree of Gilberte De Petter. Geneanet.
- 5.Gaston Eyskens (Prime Minister of Belgium). OnThisDay.com.
- 6.Gaston Eyskens Belgian politician, economist, statesman Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica.
- 7.EYSKENS. ars-moriendi.be.
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
scholarly publication
Eyskens, Gaston (Belgium), The Statesman’s Yearbook Companion, 2019Crossref registry
Verifiedinstitutional register
Bibliothèque nationale de France authority file 12651860tBibliothèque nationale de France
Partially resolvedinstitutional register
Partially resolvedinstitutional register
Partially resolvedinstitutional register
GND (German National Library) authority file 1029770514GND (German National Library)
Partially resolvedinstitutional register
IdRef (French universities) authority file 09536143XIdRef (French universities)
Partially resolvedinstitutional register
Partially resolvedinstitutional register
Library of Congress authority file n79029864Library of Congress
Partially resolved
Every cited source · 13
- 01
Eyskens, Gaston (Belgium), The Statesman’s Yearbook Companion, 2019
scholarly publication · Scholarly
Consult the source - 02
Bibliothèque nationale de France authority file 12651860t
institutional register · Unverified · Bibliothèque nationale de France
Consult the source - 03
- 04
- 05
GND (German National Library) authority file 1029770514
institutional register · Unverified · GND (German National Library)
Consult the source - 06
IdRef (French universities) authority file 09536143X
institutional register · Unverified · IdRef (French universities)
Consult the source - 07
- 08
Library of Congress authority file n79029864
institutional register · Unverified · Library of Congress
Consult the source - 09
- 10
National Library of Australia authority file 35689798
institutional register · Unverified · National Library of Australia
Consult the source - 11
- 12
“Gaston Eyskens”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
reference work · Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
Consult the source - 13
Wikidata, structured authority record Q14999: Gaston Eyskens
authority record · Unverified · Wikidata
Consult the source
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