Former Belgian premier Leo Tindemans dies at 92

BRUSSELS (REUTERS) - Former Belgian Prime Minister Leo Tindemans, whose record support in European elections earned him the nickname "Mr Europe", died on Friday at the age of 92.

Tindemans was a Christian Democrat politician who led two Belgian governments in the 1970s.

He resigned in 1978 after political turmoil over the "Egmont pact" covering relations between Belgium's French-speaking and Dutch-speaking communities.

Tindemans then led his party during the first direct elections to the European Parliament in 1979, winning with 983,000 votes, still a record for any election in Belgium.

An announcement of his death on the official website of Tindemans' Christian Democratic and Flemish party said the country had lost "an exceptional statesman who embodied politics for an entire generation".

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