Hendrik Cornelis
Hendrik "Rik" Cornelis (September 18, 1910–1999) was a Belgian colonial civil servant who served as the final Governor-General of the Belgian Congo from 1958 to 1960. His term ended with the independence of the Republic of the Congo.
Hendrik Cornelis | |
|---|---|
Governor-General Cornelis shortly before leaving the Congo | |
| Governor-General of the Belgian Congo | |
| In office 12 July 1958 – 30 June 1960 | |
| Monarch | Baudouin |
| Preceded by | Léo Pétillon |
| Succeeded by | None (post abolished) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Henri Arthur Adolf Marie Christopher Cornelis 18 September 1910 Bevere, East Flanders, Belgium |
| Died | 1999 (aged 88 or 89) Chaumont-Gistoux, Wallonia, Belgium |
| Alma mater | University of Ghent |
Cornelis was born in Bevere, near Oudenaarde, in the Belgian province of East Flanders on 18 September 1910. He gained a doctorate in economic science from the University of Ghent, also spending a year at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva. He joined the Belgian colonial administration in Ruanda-Urundi in 1934 and later served in various roles in the Congo. He was promoted to vice-governor-general of the Belgian Congo in 1953. He became the governor-general on 12 July 1958, being the first Dutch-speaking appointee to the role.[1]
After the independence of the Belgian Congo in 1960, Cornelis served as an advisor to Justin Bomboko during his presidency of the College of Commissioners established by Joseph-Désiré Mobutu.[2]
References edit
- ^ NEVB Online.
- ^ De Witte, Ludo (2001). The assassination of Lumumba. London: Verso. p. 50. ISBN 9781859844106.
- Sources
- Verthé, Arthur. "Cornelis, Rik (eigenlijk Hendrik)". Nieuwe Encyclopedie van de Vlaamse Beweging (NEVB) Online (in Dutch). Lannoo. Retrieved 7 September 2019.
Further reading edit
- Brassinne de La Buissière, Jacques; Dumont, Georges-Henri (2010). "Les autorités belges et la décolonisation du Congo". Courrier hebdomadaire du CRISP. 18 (2063–2064).
External links edit
- Cornelis, Rik in NEVB Online
- Gouverneurs du Congo
- Congo (Kinshasa)
- Archive Henri Cornelis, Royal museum for central Africa