predecessor successor death_date birth_place president party office birth_date term_start article_title term_end name
position -rrb- established wilhelm haferkamp -lrb- internal market and energy richard -rrb- guido brunner -lrb- energy , the science and research burke -rrb- -lrb- taxation , consumer affairs and transport 15 february 1996 brussels , belgium françois-xavier ortoli socialist party european commissioner for taxation and energy 10 may 1931 6 january 1973 henri simonet
 6 january 1977 henri simonet
henri simonet

henri françois simonet -lrb- 10 may 1931 -- 15 february 1996 -rrb- was a belgian politician .
born in brussels , henri simonet studied law and economics at the ulb and then went to columbia university as crb graduate fellow .
simonet began his political life as a member of the socialist party -lrb- ps -rrb- .
he served as mayor of anderlecht between 1966 and 1984 , succeeding the long-serving joseph bracops .
like bracops , simonet dominated the local political scene to such an extent that the ambitious philippe moureaux moved to neighbouring molenbeek-saint-jean to pursue a career there .
in 1985 simonet left the socialists to join the liberal reformist party -lrb- prl -rrb- where he espoused increasingly atlanticist positions .
as mayor of anderlecht , simonet presided over considerable changes to what had been a largely industrial and working class community , attracting new development in the form of the erasmus hospital , a teaching hospital tied to the ulb on whose administrative council simonet served .
christian d'hoogh succeeded simonet as mayor of anderlecht .
simonet served as vice-chairman of the european commission from 1973 to 1977 and as minister for regional economic development in 1978 and 1979 .
on the national plan , simonet served as minister of foreign affairs and before as minister of economics affairs .
his son jacques simonet , who made his political career in the liberal liberal reformist party , served twice as minister-president of the brussels-capital region -lrb- 1999-2000 ; 2004 -rrb- and as mayor of anderlecht from 2000 until his death in 2007 .
they are buried together in the cemetery of anderlecht
