Jean-Paul Harroy

Jean-Paul Harroy'
Governor-general of Ruanda-Urundi
Preceded by Alfred Boùùaert
Succeeded by None
Personal details
Born (1909-05-04)4 May 1909
Schaerbeek, Belgium
Died 8 July 1995(1995-07-08)
Ixelles, Belgium

Jean-Paul Harroy (4 May 1909 - 8 July 1995) was a Belgian colonial service officer who served as the last Governor-General of Ruanda-Urundi. His role in the assassination of Burundi's first Prime Minister, Prince Louis Rwagasore has been the subject of debate for decades.

Controversy and the assassination of Prince Louis Rwagasore

Harroy arrived in Ruanda-Urundi in 1955 and served as the colony's Vice-Governor-General. Following Burundi's formal request for independence on 20 January 1959 and Burundi's first elections took place on 8 September 1961 with UPRONA, a multi-ethnic unity party led by Prince Louis Rwagasore winning just over 80% of the electorate's votes. In the wake of the elections, on 13 October, the 29-year-old prince was assassinated, robbing Burundi of its most popular and well-known nationalist.[1][2] The assassination was planned by members of the pro-Belgian Christian Democratic Party (PDC) whose European secretary, Ms. Belva was allegedly were told by the Belgian Regent, Roberto Régnier, that "Rwagasore must be killed" (although Harroy never mentioned this in his account of events).[3] In addition, several days before his assassination Prince Rwagasore filled a complaint against Harroy and Régnier.[4]

Prior to his execution for murdering Prince Rwagasore, Jean (Ioannis) Kageorgis explicitly accused Harroy and Régnier of responsibility in the murder stating, “Ce crime fut perpétré par la tutelle, M. Harroy et M. Regnier.”[5]

René Lemarchand has written that "Harroy is seen by many Barundi as the incarnation of the devil. A more measured assessment suggests that he will probably go down in history as one of the most irresponsible and inept colonial civil servants to preside over the dissolution of colonial rule in Africa."[6]

Later life

Following his rule as Governor-General of Ruanda-Urundi Harroy went on to work as a professor at Free University of Brussels. He died in 1995 at Ixelles, a wealthy area in Brussels.

References

  1. ↑ Background Note: Burundi. United States Department of State. February 2008. Retrieved on 28 June 2008.
  2. ↑ "Ethnicity and Burundi’s Refugees", African Studies Quarterly: The online journal for African Studies. Retrieved 12 July 2008.
  3. ↑ Burundi: Ethnic Conflict and Genocide (Woodrow Wilson Center Press/Cambridge University Press, 1996), ISBN 9780521566230, pg. 55-56)
  4. ↑ afrika focus — Volume 28, Nr. 2, 2015 — pp. 156 -164, The murder of Burundi’s prime minister, Louis Rwagasore, Guy Poppe, http://www.afrikafocus.eu/file/96
  5. ↑ afrika focus — Volume 28, Nr. 2, 2015 — pp. 156 -164, The murder of Burundi’s prime minister, Louis Rwagasore, Guy Poppe, http://www.afrikafocus.eu/file/96
  6. ↑ Burundi: Ethnic Conflict and Genocide (Woodrow Wilson Center Press/Cambridge University Press, 1996), ISBN 9780521566230, pg. 55-56)
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