Paul Vanden Boeynants, a onetime butcher who rose to become Belgium's prime minister before being disgraced in a tax fraud scandal, died on Jan. 9. He was 81.
A self-made businessman who built a meat-processing empire, Mr. Vanden Boeynants dominated Belgian politics for much of the 1960's and 1970's. He was prime minister from 1966 to 1968 and 1978 to 1979,
The son of a butcher, Mr. Vanden Boeynants followed in his father's footsteps but developed an interest in politics and entered Parliament at age 30. As Brussels alderman for city properties, he oversaw the drastic renewal of the stylish capital. Whole neighborhoods were razed to make way for drab modernist blocks,
Mr. Vanden Boeynants was defense minister for seven years in the 1970's, and after serving as prime minister held his parliamentary seat until 1985.
In 1986 he was convicted of tax fraud in connection with his business activities and given a three-year suspended sentence.
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