Léon Pétillon
| Léo Pétillon | |
|---|---|
Pétillon during King Baudouin's official visit to the Congo in 1955
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| Minister of the Belgian Congo and Ruanda-Urundi | |
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In office 5 July 1958 – 6 November 1958 |
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| Monarch | Baudouin |
| Prime Minister | Gaston Eyskens |
| Preceded by | Auguste Buisseret |
| Succeeded by | Maurice Van Hemelrijck |
| Governor-General of the Belgian Congo | |
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In office 1 January 1952 – 12 July 1958 |
|
| Monarch | Baudouin |
| Preceded by | Eugène Jungers |
| Succeeded by | Hendrik Cornelis |
| Vice Governor-General Governor of Ruanda-Urundi |
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In office 8 October 1946 – 1 January 1952 |
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| Monarch |
Prince Charles (to 1950) Leopold III (1950-51) Baudouin (1951 onwards) |
| Governor General | Eugène Jungers |
| Preceded by | Maurice Simon |
| Succeeded by | Alfred Claeys-Boúúaert |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Léon Antoine Marie Pétillon 22 May 1903 Esneux, Belgium |
| Died | 1 April 1996 (aged 92) Ixelles, Belgium |
Léo Pétillon (1903–1996) was a Belgian colonial civil servant and lawyer who served as Governor-General of the Belgian Congo (1952–58) and, briefly, as Minister of the Belgian Congo and Ruanda-Urundi (1958).
Pétillon studied Law and practiced as a lawyer, before entering the Belgian colonial service in 1929. He worked for several years at the Ministry of the Colonies in Brussels, serving as aide to a series of ministers. In 1939, he secured a posting to the Belgian Congo as aide to the Governor-General and spent most of World War II in the colony or with the Belgian government in exile in London. In 1946, Pétillon was promoted to Vice Governor-General, given responsibility for the Belgian mandate of Ruanda-Urundi. In 1952, he was promoted to the position of Governor-General himself, holding the position until 1958. After the end of his tenure, he briefly held a Ministerial position himself as technocrat in the government of Gaston Eyskens. He retired in 1959 and published several books. He died in 1996.
Pétillon was born in Esneux, Belgium on 22 May 1903 and studied Law at the Catholic University of Leuven, graduating with a doctorate. After practicing as a lawyer, Pétillon entered the colonial civil service in 1929, working at the Ministry of the Colonies in Brussels. After working on legal questions for the Ministry, Pétillon became chef de cabinet (aide) to the minister Paul Tschoffen and for his successors in the ministry, including Albert de Vleeschauwer. In this capacity he supervised the creation of the Colonial Lottery in 1934.
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