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Annex 1: Presentation of the Belgian Institute of Public Finance
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Annex 1 297 Annex 1 Presentation oF the belgian institute oF Public Finance Aloïs Van de Voorde 1 The Belgian Institute of Public Finance, commonly referred to in Dutch as BIOF, i.e. “Belgisch Instituut voor Openbare Financïen” and in French as IBFP for “Institut belge de finances publiques”, was founded in January 1939 by Max-Léo Gérard (1879-1950) (1). During the first Van Zeeland government (March 1935-May 1936) he played an important part in the implementation of Prime Minister Van Zeeland’s recovery plan. He was appointed Minister of Finance for a second but short term in the first Paul-Henri Spaak government in May 1938. It was at his instigation that the department of Inspection of Finance was set up in order to strengthen the internal supervision of budgetary transactions. Between 1939 and 1951, M.-L. Gérard was the authoritative Chairman of the “Bank van Brussel/Banque de Bruxelles”. In 1946 he was also the creator of the International Institute of Finance, which he chaired until 1955. The aim of the BIOF/IBFP was to stimulate research performed by civil servants, personalities from the academic world and representatives from the private sector in the domain of public finance. They were to make the results of their research available in the form of solidly documented and argued evidence given to the decision makers. 1. AloïsVan deVoorde is Honorary General Secretary of the Belgian Ministry of Finance. 298 The Return of the Deficit The BIOF/IBFP is an independent scientific institution with the juridical status of a (Belgian) VZW/ASBL ( non-profit organisation). According to its statutes the mission of the BIOF/IBFP is “the study and research of Belgian and foreign public finance in all its dimensions, and particularly in its interaction with other scientific disciplines”. The Institute is permitted to undertake any activity which could promote this aim, such as the organisation of workshops, conferences and lectures, the awarding of prizes and the publication of books and periodicals. Since its foundation the BIOF/IBFP has always had the privilege of enjoying the moral and logistic support of the Ministry of Finance. In this context, it should be pointed out that a number of higher civil servants have regularly been members of the Institute’s board of directors. Until 1980 the BIOF/IBFP was traditionally presided over by a former Minister of Finance. So the chairmanship was held by the following former ministers: Max-Léo Gérard (1939-1946), Georges Theunis (19461954 ), Jean Van Houtte (1954-1971), Robert Henrion (1972-1974) and André Vlerick (1974-1980). They were followed by university professors, notably: Max Frank (ULB) (1980-1986), Vic Van Rompuy (KUL) (19861995 ), Henri Tulkens (UCL) (1995-1998), Paul Van Rompuy (KUL) (1999-2006), and Françoise Thys-Clément (ULB) (2006-2012). Last February (2012) Thys-Clément was succeeded by Christian Valenduc, general adviser at the Study and Documentation Centre of the Federal Department of Public Finance. In 1991 the BIOF/IBFP Board decided to award an annual prize with a view to the encouragement of research in the area of public finance and economy. This prize is meant to reward a valuable dissertation written by students of the 2nd (master’s) or 3rd grade (doctorate) – however not including doctoral dissertations proper – or a report on a period of practical training of level one of the administration, which deals with a subject relating to the public economy. Any student of a Belgian university or a college of higher education (polytechnic) can qualify for it. Hitherto some ten laureates have already have been awarded this prestigious prize. They can briefly present their study at a workshop or a lunch talk. [54.225.1.66] Project MUSE (2024-03-19 10:38 GMT) Annex 1 299 The BIOF/IBFP also makes itself useful by editing the “Geschiedenis van de openbare financïen van Belgïe / Histoire des finances publiques en Belgique”, started just before the second World War, again at the initiative of M.-L. Gérard. Up till now six volumes have appeared, respectively relating to the periods 1830 – 1950 (vol. I, II. and III), 1950 – 1980 (vol. IV, 1 & and 2), 1980 – 1990 (vol. V), and 1990 – 2000 (vol.VI). This book is volume VII, dealing with the history of some major aspects of Belgian public finance and covers the 2000-2010 period. It should also be mentioned that in 2011 BIOF/IBFP published a didactic work on the Belgian...