Paul-Henry Gendebien, founder of the rattachist party Rassemblement Wallonie-France (RWF), has passed away aged 84.
Born in Hastière in July 1939, Gendebien began his career at the CRISP research institute before becoming a teaching assistant at the University of Lovanium in Kinshasa.
He later joined the Rassemblement Wallon, a small party which seeks the secession of Wallonia, Brussels and the six Flemish municipalities with language facilities for French-speakers around Brussels to unite them with France.
He started his political journey in the city of Thuin, serving as a council advisor before being appointed alderman in the late 70s.
In 1974, Gendebien assumed leadership of the Rassemblement Wallon party when his predecessor, Robert Moreau, was designated as minister. The party had by then shifted from opposition to supporting the Tindemans government.
Gendebien led the party till 1979 when he was elected as a Member of the European Parliament. He eventually left the party in 1981, opposing its decision to repartner with the FDF (now Défi).
Throughout the 1980s, he joined the PWE (Présence wallonne en Europe) and ADW (Alliance démocratique wallonne) parties, also serving as the chair of the PSC group (now Les Engagés) at the Walloon Regional Council.
He relinquished all parliamentary roles in 1988 to serve as general delegate of the French Community to the Francophonie in Paris. With the transition into civil service, he ceased participating publicly in political discourse.
Nonetheless, upon returning to his homeland in 1996, he reignited his fight for Walloon independence, creating the Rassemblement Wallonie France in 1999 which he presided over until 2012.
Aside from his political endeavours, Gendebien also authored several books about his career and political views, as well as his love for the Ardennes region. He passed away in this cherished region from a short illness, according to his family’s statement to the Belga news agency.
