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With the unexpected death of Karel Van Miert (17 January 1942 - 22 June 2009) the Party of European Socialists has lost one of its most prominent European politicians.

From 1978 until 1988, Karel Van Miert was the first Chairman of the SP.A in Belgium. Van Miert had a great passion for European politics, becoming a member of the European Parliament in 1979 before going on to become European Commissioner in 1989. In 1993 Van Miert became European Commissioner for Competition Policy, in which he worked for a level playing field based on fairness. His tireless work would result in him being labelled by the media as “the most powerful man in Europe”. Van Miert remained in this position until 1999.

Commenting on his sad departure, PES President Poul Nyrup Rasmussen said: “Karel Van Miert will be remembered as a great socialist politician who campaigned relentlessly to promote social democratic values in Belgium and in Europe. He will be sadly missed by the PES.”