Léo Pétillon, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death

Léo Pétillon

Belgian politician

Date of Birth: 22-May-1903

Place of Birth: Esneux, Wallonia, Belgium

Date of Death: 01-Apr-1996

Profession: lawyer, politician

Nationality: Belgium

Zodiac Sign: Gemini

Léo Pétillon (22 May 1903 – 1 April 1996) was a Belgian colonial civil servant and lawyer who served as Governor-General of the Belgian Congo (1952–58) and, briefly, as Minister of the Belgian Congo and Ruanda-Urundi (1958). Pétillon studied Law and practiced as a lawyer, before entering the Belgian colonial service in 1929.
He worked for several years at the Ministry of the Colonies in Brussels, serving as aide to a series of ministers.
In 1939, he secured a posting to the Belgian Congo as aide to the Governor-General and spent most of World War II in the colony or with the Belgian government in exile in London.
In 1946, Pétillon was promoted to Vice Governor-General, given responsibility for the Belgian mandate of Ruanda-Urundi.
In 1952, he was promoted to the position of Governor-General himself, holding the position until 1958.
After the end of his tenure, he briefly held a Ministerial position himself as technocrat in the government of Gaston Eyskens.
He retired in 1959 and published several books.
He died in 1996.