predecessor successor death_date birth_place death_place party office birth_date term_start article_title term_end name alma_mater
position established luc van den brande 5 june 2002 kersbeek-miskom , belgium winksele , belgium christian democratic and flemish minister-president of flanders 10 june 1931 22 december 1981 gaston geens
 21 january 1992 gaston geens catholic university of leuven
gaston geens

gaston c. s. a. geens -lrb- 10 june 1931 -- 5 june 2002 -rrb- was a belgian politician and minister-president of flanders .
geens received a master in law from the katholieke universiteit leuven as well as a licentiate of economy .
in 1961 geens , together with frank swaelen and leo tindemans , was part of a think tank of the cvp .
in 1972 he became a member of the party leadership .
geens was elected a member of the city council of winksele in 1970 .
after winksele 's fusion with herent in 1976 he became a member of that city council .
in 1974 in a government led by tindemans , geens became secretary of state for the budget and science .
in 1976 he was promoted to minister but with the same competences .
he became minister of finance in the second tindemans cabinet , but this coalition fell over the egmont pact .
he remained minister of finance under paul vanden boeynants and in the first two coalitions led by wilfried martens .
during the third government led by martens he again became minister of the budget .
during martens iv , geens became minister-president of the flemish executive which he led until 1992 .
geens gave flanders a new economical identity , by taking the initiative for the `` derde industriële revolutie in vlaanderen '' -lrb- third industrial revolution in flanders -rrb- , flanders technology and the flemish aerospace group -lrb- flag -rrb- .
gaston geens was seventy when he died at home due to cardiac arrest .
on 30 may 2009 , a statue of geens was unveiled in aarschot by herman van rompuy .
