Thyl Gheyselinck, the manager who closed the coal mines in Limburg in the late 1980s, passed away on Saturday at the age of 83 in Cascais, Portugal, where he had emigrated.
Gheyselinck was also the founder of football club KRC Genk.
Limburg once had seven coal mines in Beringen, Eisden, Houthalen, Waterschei, Winterslag, Zolder, and Zwartberg, which were crucial for Belgium’s post-Second World War economic recovery.
From the 1960s, oil, gas, and nuclear energy began to replace coal, making the mines unprofitable.
In August 1986, the government brought in Gheyselinck to reorganise and close the six remaining coal mines, employing 18,000 workers.
At the end of 1986, Gheyselinck presented his restructuring plan, receiving 2.5 billion euros from the government.
The accelerated closure of the mines left nearly a billion euros, with 600 million euros earmarked for various conversion projects in Limburg.
One notable project was the ERC (Education, Recreation, and Culture) complex at Waterschei, which aimed to create 3,000 new jobs through shops and holiday homes.
However, political interference caused the project to fail, leading to Gheyselinck’s departure in early 1991.
In connection with the ERC project, Gheyselinck spent €50 million on investments in video chain SuperClub and construction company Pieters-De Gelder, which were lost.
In 2001, he received a fine and a five-month suspended sentence for his involvement in the fraud case.
In the early 1990s, Limburg’s conversion efforts accelerated, aided by cheap industrial land, tax incentives, and plentiful labour.
In 1994, the Limburg investment company LRM was established with remaining KS funds.
Gheyselinck also played a key role in creating Racing Genk, facilitating the 1988 merger between football clubs Thor Waterschei and KFC Winterslag.
He was born in 1941 in New Guinea, where his father worked for Shell, a company he himself served for 19 years in London, Singapore, Kinshasa, and Lisbon.
Gheyselinck fell seriously ill last year. He was married and had three children.
