Paul Struye

Paul Victor Antoine Struye (1 September 1896 – 16 February 1974) was a Belgian lawyer and politician. During the German occupation of Belgium between 1940 and 1944, Struye joined the Belgian Resistance and played an important role in the underground newspaper La Libre Belgique. He wrote several notable works on life under occupation. After the war, he twice held the presidency of the Senate.

Early life

Struye was born in Ghent, Belgium in 1896, the son of Dr. Eugène Struye and Jenny Linon. He was educated at Sint-Barbaracollege. In 1914, with the outbreak of the First World War.

During World War I, in 1915, Struye was smuggled out of German-occupied Belgium to join the Belgian army in exile, but was declared ineligible for all but ancillary military duties. Eventually he wrote to Queen Elizabeth to request a transfer to the front, where he served as a stretcher bearer. In 1918, while still at the front, he sat a philosophy degree. In November 1918, he was wounded in action.

Between the wars, Struye joined the bar in Brussels. He also joined the newspaper La Libre Belgique where he wrote a weekly column.

World War II

During the Second World War, Struye was a leading member of the clandestine press. He was instrumental to resurrecting the La Libre Belgique. Struye's underground paper La Libre Belgique of Peter Pan achieved the biggest circulation of any underground paper in Belgium.

Political career

In the first post-war elections in February 1946, Struye was elected as senator for the region of Brussels in the Christian Social Party (PSC-CVP). In March 1947, he was made Minister of Justice. Struye took a pro-royalist stance during the Royal Question. Between 1950 and 1954, he served a first term as Presidents of the Senate. During the Second Schools' War, he championed liberal education. He was reelected as President of the Senate between 1958-1973.

He died in Ixelles on 16 February 1974.

Works

• Une page d'histoire: la campagne des 18 jours et la reddition de l'armée belge (1940)
• L'évolution du sentiment public en Belgique sous l'occupation allemande (1945)
• Problèmes internationaux 1927 - 1972 (1972)
• Journal de guerre, 1940-1945 (2004).