Jean Rey, Belgium (1902-1983)
Jean Rey was born in Liège, Belgium in 1902. He was elected as a Member of Parliament for Liège in 1939, during the Second World War he was held prisoner in Germany from 1940-1945. On his return to Belgium at the end of the war Rey was re-elected to the Chamber of Deputies and campaigned for social progress and european construction. He was also involved in the development of the European Defence Community.
In July 1967 Rey headed the Commission of the newly named European Communities (EC), formed of the merged executives of the three original communities. Whilst President of the Commission Rey acted as a broker whose primary tasks were to strike a balance and compromise between national viewpoints and to implement policy packages that were acceptable to the six member states.
Rey died in Liège in 1983 and is remembered for his belief that the benefits of Liberalism must act as the cement to the building of society.