Henri Moreau de Melen

Eugène Ernest Marie Henri Moreau de Melen (20 August 1902 – 31 May 1992) was a Belgian soldier and politician, most notable for holding the position of Minister of Justice and Minister of Defence. He resigned his office and served with the Belgian battalion during the Korean War (1950–1953).

Background and personal life Henri Moreau de Melen was born in Liège, Belgium on 20 August 1902. His father, Eugène Moreau, was a professor at the University of Liège. His mother was Marie Malherbe. Henri studied for a law degree and later practiced as a lawyer in Liège. He served as a lieutenant in the Belgian Army during the German invasion of Belgium in World War II in May 1940. He was taken prisoner of war and held at Oflag X-D until 1945.

Career and Resignation After the end of the war, Moreau began a political career with the newly founded centre-right Christian Social Party (Parti social chrétien, PSC). He was elected as a senator in 1946 for the arrondissement of Liège.

Moreau served as Minister of Justice in the coalition government of Paul-Henri Spaak between 1948 and 1949. He subsequently served in Korea and was second-in-command of the force commanded by Albert Crahay. He finished the war with the rank of lieutenant-colonel. He had a Brevet état-major.

After his return from Korea, he returned to politics and resumed his position as senator for Liège which he held until 1968. In 1968, in recognition of his service to Belgium, he was ennobled and given the title "Baron".

Personal life He married Marie-Louise Ancion (1904–63) in 1931. After her death, he re-married in 1970 to Countess Jacqueline de Lalaing (1910–2006). He had no children.

Reading Henri Moreau de Melen, Mémoires. Au terme de la route, 1988. Thierry Grosbois, Moreau de Melen. Mémoires: de Léopold III à la Corée, Racine, Brussels 2009.