Archief Mark Eyskens
Scope and content
The archives of Mark Eyskens consist of cabinet files, mainly from the Finance, Economic Affairs and Foreign Affairs cabinets. Important themes are the national sectors (among others steel, textile and coal), pension savings, energy policy, fiscal reforms, reorganization policy, the privatization of government companies, the General Banking Company, district and community financing, the boosting of business, and so on. Themes which exceed financial-economic policy are also dealt with: the ‘Sterrenkrijg’ program, military purchases, the debt burden of Third World countries, the ‘High Speed Train’ file, the Bijzondere Machten, and so on. The notes of the Inner Cabinet of General Policy of 1981 (Eyskens Prime Minister) are present. In addition to those files, a series of press communiqués, speeches and interviews with Eyskens have been included (1977-1988). The files coming form the Cabinet of Foreign Affairs refers to various aspects of Belgium’s foreign policies between 1989 and 1992. One can find, among others, files concerning the European councils of ministers, the Gulf crisis in 1990, the Belgian hostages in Lebanon, and so on.
The addition of 2010 is mainly documentary in nature. One can find various records related to the different academic, political, economic and cultural organizations where Mark Eyskens was given a mandate. It is remarkable that this supplement contains few files related to international policy. The international political organizations and committees of which he is a member are more extensively documented. However, those do not necessarily relate to activities and initiatives of Mark Eyskens himself, but are – again – a bit more documentary. An extensive part of this addition is the correspondence. We are mainly talking about incoming mail referring to the various activities in which Mark Eyskens was and is involved. Outgoing correspondence has only sporadically been preserved. Other elaborate and possibly interesting files are those related to the many speeches and lectures given by Mark Eyskens and those containing articles, opinion pieces and separate written material. These pieces reflect the observation and interpretation of the various aspects of Belgian (and international) society by a politician during the last decennia of the 20th century.
The addition of 2010 is mainly documentary in nature. One can find various records related to the different academic, political, economic and cultural organizations where Mark Eyskens was given a mandate. It is remarkable that this supplement contains few files related to international policy. The international political organizations and committees of which he is a member are more extensively documented. However, those do not necessarily relate to activities and initiatives of Mark Eyskens himself, but are – again – a bit more documentary. An extensive part of this addition is the correspondence. We are mainly talking about incoming mail referring to the various activities in which Mark Eyskens was and is involved. Outgoing correspondence has only sporadically been preserved. Other elaborate and possibly interesting files are those related to the many speeches and lectures given by Mark Eyskens and those containing articles, opinion pieces and separate written material. These pieces reflect the observation and interpretation of the various aspects of Belgian (and international) society by a politician during the last decennia of the 20th century.
Date(s)
1958-2010
Identifier
292