A book dedicated to Count Pierre Clerdent (1909-2006), Belgian politician, Second World War Resistance fighter and Liberation Army leader. After the war, Pierre Clerdent was governor of the provinces of Luxembourg and Liège, then senator, playing a key role in regional development.

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With a doctorate in law (1934) from the University of Liège, Pierre Clerdent was a leading member of the Resistance, leading the Liberation Army he founded in 1940. He chaired the Conseil national de la Résistance and had the Monument national de la Résistance erected in Liège. During the war, he was also the administrator of the National Broadcasting Company for the government in London. After the war, he became Governor of the Province of Luxembourg (1945-1953) and then of the Province of Liège (1953-1971). Deeply involved in economic issues and Wallonia's recovery, he founded the SPI (Société Provinciale d'Industrialisation) and chaired the Walloon Economic Council (1962-1968). He was also behind the popular consultation of Fourons residents in 1963. From 1971, Pierre Clerdent chaired SA Cockerill for 10 years. He also chaired the Union minière et industrielle in 1973. Senator for Liège from 1981 to 1991, he was a staunch defender of the TGV's passage through Wallonia and its stop in Liège. Throughout his career, he was involved in all the major regional economic projects: motorway links, development of the Port of Liège and Bierset airport, concertation of the "forces vives" within the Japan group, then Liège 2000, etc. Appointed Baron in 1971, then Count in 1995, Pierre Clerdent holds numerous distinctions, including the Grand-Croix in the Order of the Legion of Honor.

Count Pierre Clerdent created the Simone and Pierre Clerdent Foundation in his will. On his death, most of his estate was bequeathed to the Foundation. Pierre Clerdent had decided to create the Foundation to honor the memory of his wife, who had died a few years earlier of a neurological disease, and to advance medical research in this field.

Edited by Professor Bruno Demoulin, with contributions from Francis Balace, Julie Bawin, Arthur Bodson, Arnaud Collette, Philippe Dejaive, Benoît Denis, Geoffrey Grandjean, Catherine Lanneau, Émile Mérenne, Bernadette Mérenne-Schoumaker, Philippe Raxhon, Alexandre Smitz, Alexis Wilkin.