Vanden Boeynants, Paul

Belgian politician (b. May 22, 1919, Brussels, Belg.—d. Jan. 9, 2001, Aalst, Belg.), was a longtime member of Parliament (1952–85), the French-speaking leader of the centrist Social Christian Party (from 1961), defense minister (1972–79), and twice prime minister of Belgium (1966–68 and 1978–79). Although he was criticized for his handling of Belgium's 1968 language crisis and for his drastic policy of urban renewal in Brussels, it was a conviction