Roger De Clerck

De Clerck born in Wielsbeke, the second son of a flax farmer who owned a large farm, "Ter Lembeek" there. His two brothers became priests. He was a nephew of minister (father of politician Stefaan De Clerck) and the brother of Thérèse De Clerck, wife of , founder of Roularta. In 1951, De Clerck married Anne-Marie Hanssens from Gullegem. In normal circumstances he would have taken over his father's farm, but the flax market collapsed around this time and he was forced to look for another source of income. De Clerck decided to produce looms and later carpets. In 1959 he founded the carpet company "Beaulieu", which became an international trader in the next few decades. He also became a politically active member of the CVP. In 1991, because of internal struggles between his heirs, De Clerck divided his empire among them. Jan De Clerck received Domo. Luc became head of Berry Group. Mieke of Associated Weavers. Francis Ideal Group. Ann Beaulieu Kruishoutem and Dominiek Ter Lembeek. Five of his six children kept their head department in Belgium, only Mieke moved hers to the USA. In 1992 Jan De Clerck's eleven-year-old son, Anthony De Clerck, was kidnapped by the gang of Danny Vanhamel. A ransom of 250 million Belgian francs was demanded, but after a month Anthony was freed and the kidnappers arrested. During the 1990s and 2000s Beaulieu felt more rivalry from foreign companies. In 2005 four branches of the company were merged into one company Beaulieu International Group, which is still the largest West European carpet group. The only branches that were kept out were Domo (because Jan had fallen into dishonor with his father) and Beaulieu in America (which Mieke preferred to keep independent). At this point, none of the De Clercks was part of the daily management and in October 2005 De Clerck himself also stepped down. ==Scandals==

In 1987, Roger De Clerck had his first run-in with the law. He was suspected of having exported large fortune from his companies to foreign countries under the veil of commission fees. A money export of about 1,5 to 2 billion Belgian francs were traced. He was found guilty, but his punishment was dismissed because his social position and the employment of his personnel could become endangered. In 1989 five business employees, including his sons Jan and Dominiek, spent a week in jail in England, because they had sold their carpets in black market money. Roger De Clerck himself was suspected from forgery of documents, gang organisation and violation of the laws for venture taxes. In April 2014 it was revealed that a new research was started to clear out suspicions of whitewashing in a Luxembourgian venture. Business shares which belonged to a Libanese businessman were carried over to the De Clerck family. ==Reputation==

Despite his massive wealth and large company imperium De Clerck was often nicknamed "Boer Clerck" ("Farmer Clerck") in the media, because of his roots in the farming industry, his local dialect and his simple-minded behavior. He detested this nickname himself. Mikhail Gorbachev was invited too, but had to excuse himself because his wife, Raisa Gorbachev, was seriously ill. She would die that same year. De Clerck's son Jan was not invited because he had fallen into disgrace. ==Death==

De Clerck died in 2015 at the age of 91. ==Sources==