Philippe Wilmès (4 March 1938 – 24 May 2010) was a Belgian banker, businessman, and professor.

Early life

Wilmès was orphaned at a young age when his parents were killed in the bombing of Limal during World War II. He was raised by his grandparents in Luxembourg.[1]

Wilmès joined the merchant marine to fund his interest in mountaineering, serving for seven years as a sailor and then as an officer. He also taught climbing at ADEPS, and subsequently studied law at the Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB) and Université catholique de Louvain (UCLouvain).[2]

Career

Wilmès worked at the Compagnie Maritime Belge for a period and then returned to UCLouvain as an assistant lecturer. He later spent a year at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and lectured in Great Britain and Canada. In 1975, he became chief of staff to Jean Gol, a member of the Liberal Reformist Party (PRL).[2] He was a founding member of the Belgian businessclub Cercle de Lorraine.

Wilmès served periods as president of the Société Nationale d’Investissement and Société Fédérale d’Investissement.[1] He became a regent of the National Bank of Belgium in 1992,[3] and was also a director of Tractebel, Petrofina, Compagnie Nationale à Portefeuille, and Fluxys.[1]

Personal life

His daughter Sophie Wilmès became Belgium's first female prime minister.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Décès de Philippe Wilmès". L'Echo (in French). 25 May 2010. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
  2. 1 2 "Les quatre vérités de Philippe Wilmès". Le Soir (in French). 3 August 1991. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
  3. ↑ "Philippe Wilmès: de la SNI à la BNB". Le Soir (in French). 3 August 1991. Retrieved 16 February 2020.


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