Albert Lilar

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Albert Jean Julien François, Baron Lilar (21 December 1900 – 16 March 1976) was a Belgian politician of the Liberal Party and a Minister of Justice.

Lilar was a renowned lawyer of Admiralty and International Private Law in Antwerp, and Chairman of the International Maritime Committee. He was also a Professor of Law at the Université Libre de Bruxelles and the Vrije Universiteit Brussel. He married in 1929 the writer Suzanne Lilar (née Vebist), and fathered 2 daughters : writer Françoise Mallet-Joris (b. 1930) and the 18th century art historian Marie Fredericq-Lilar (b. 1934).

In his political life, Lilar was a member of Parliaments for the liberal party, Senator of the Arrondissement Antwerp (1946–1971) and four times Minister of Justice (1946–1947, 1949–1950, 1954-1958 en 1960-1961). He became Minister of State in 1969. Under the Gaston Eyskens Government (1958–1960), Lilar was Vice-premier of the Cabinet.

As Vice-Premier, he was elected president of the Round Table in 1960 whose discussions lead to the independence of the Belgian Congo.

A great humanitarian and defender of human rights, no death penalties were carried out under his terms as minister of justice.

The Albert Lilar Prize from the is awarded for a leading work on maritime law published in any language in the world during the previous five years.

References[]

External links[]

• Biography and Inventory of the Liberal Archives Albert Lilar (in Dutch)
• The Round Table - Congo
• More on The Round Table - Congo
• Postwar Western Europe 1955-1956
• Postwar Western Europe 1956-1957
• Independence of the Belgian Congo
• Anti-Nazi activities 1936-1939^{[permanent dead link]}
• Freemasonry during Nazi domination in Belgium
• FAIB website