Paul Byttebier

Paul Byttebier
schepen Youth and Culture Kontich
In office
1952–1963
Personal details
Born (1923-04-04)4 April 1923
Roeselare, Belgium
Died 5 August 2016(2016-08-05) (aged 93)
Antwerp, Belgium
Political party CVP
Alma mater Université catholique de Louvain

Paul Byttebier (4 April 1923 – 5 August 2016) was a Belgian physician and civil servant.

Life

Son of a contractor / industrialist, Valère Byttebier and Maria Deckmyn, from Roeselare (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈrusəlaːrə], French: Roulers), a Belgian city and municipality in the Flemish province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Roeselare proper and the towns of Beveren, Oekene and Rumbeke. When Paul was 13, he lost his father, who died in an accident as a road construction contractor at Hoeke, 1936. Member of the Byttebier family.

He went through the Greek and Latin humanities at Seminary Roeselare and for his PhD in medicine (1948) he went to the Université catholique de Louvain.[1] He established himself as a general practitioner in Kontich.

In 1941, upon his arrival in Leuven, Byttebier attended the University Universitas movement of canon Albert Dondeyne and was an active member. From 1945, the board of the Catholic Flemish Student Alliance (KVHU) Prof. Dondeyne Byttebier learned to combine faith with culture and science. He met, among others Pieter De Somer and Josué Vandenbroucke. In the postwar decades, Universitasgroep exerted an influence on religious practice, politics and even in medical practice.

Universitas exercised more influence on Byttebier. He was also inspired by progressive Christian thinkers such as Schillebeeckx, Küng, Wieringa Kuitert and Peter Schmidt.

In 1949 he moved to Kontich, married Josette De Boodt[2] (Ghent, March 17, 1926), daughter of agricultural engineer and later Belgian Minister of Reconstruction August De Boodt. Paul Bijttebier died at the age of 93 in Antwerp. He and Josette De Boodt have five children, including the later councilor of Antwerp, Johan Byttebier.,[3] 9 grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.

Kontich schepen

Paul Byttebier was CVP – schepen of Youth and Culture in Kontich (1964–1969).

In 1967 he invited Staf Van Elzen to create a municipal school of painting. A small school with two teachers (Staf Van Elzen and Hugo Leyers) and 30 students. It is now an institution with ten teachers and over 350 students.[4]

Byttebier founded the municipal consultative body for cultural life together with Gust Reins . In 1971, the Municipal Cultural Council Kontich was founded.[5]

General Practitioner

Paul Bijttebier had a long and active career as a General practitioner (from 1948 until 2004). From 1956 to 1994, his medical practice was located in the family villa - Peter Benoitlaan Kontich, designed by modernist architect Eduard Van Steenbergen.

As a passionate medical practitioner Paul Bijttebier stood at the cradle of the first aid in Canton Kontich. He was active in the General Syndicate of Physicians of Belgium (doctors syndicate De Brabanter), and he was also co-founder of the Pension Fund for doctors.

Trivia

Byttebier and Dondeyne are amongst the names of two characters (friends 'apostles' classmates protagonist Louis) in the epic novel The Sorrow of Belgium of the Flemish writer Hugo Claus.[6] However, it is not certain whether Paul Bijttebier served as an inspiration for the character, considering Hugo Claus was 6 years younger than Paul.

References

  1. ↑ Katholieke Universiteit Leuven Alumni 1948
  2. ↑ Geneanet Jozefien De Boodt (Progeny)
  3. ↑ Geneanet Paul Byttebier
  4. ↑ of-alder / Altena District Staf Van Elzen (Paul Byttebier)
  5. ↑ Kontich Open VLD Dr. Paul Bijttebier (councillor of youth and culture)
  6. ↑ The Sorrow of Belgium - Hugo Claus - Byttebier ( "Apostle Barnabas"), a classmate
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