Noël, Baron Devisch (born 6 March 1943, in Bruges) is a Belgian businessman and former President of the Boerenbond (Belgian Catholic Farmers Union) in Leuven.
Education
Devisch obtained a degree in agricultural engineering from the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (KUL), a Master of Science in agricultural management from the University of Reading (United Kingdom), and a PhD in agricultural economics from the University of Missouri (United States).
Career
He began his professional career in 1967 as a researcher at the Institut économique agricole in Brussels, where he worked until 1972 and again from 1976 to 1978. From 1972 to 1975, he served as an Assistant at the University of Missouri. Between 1979 and 1980, he was a member of the Cabinet of Belgian Agriculture Minister Albert Lavens. From 1981 to 1984, he worked as a European Commission official in Brussels. From 1985 to 1988, he was a member of the Cabinet of Frans Andriessen, Vice-President of the European Commission. In 1989, he joined the Cabinet of European Commissioner Ray Mac Sharry.
In 1989, Devisch became a member of the executive committee of the Belgian Boerenbond, and he became its Vice-President on 1 June 1992, serving until 31 October 1995. He became President of the organization on 1 November 1995, a position he held until he was succeeded by Piet Vanthemsche. In addition, he served as Chairman of the Boerenbond, SBB Servicegroup (accountancy), and the Maatschappij voor Roerend Bezit van de Belgische Boerenbond cv (MRBB), the holding company of the Boerenbond. He became a Director of Almanij in 1998 and joined its Management Committee in 2004, serving until 2005 when Almanij merged with KBC to form the KBC Group. Devisch has also served as a Director of KBC Insurance and as a regent of the National Bank of Belgium.
Title
He was granted the noble title of Baron by the Belgian federal government in recognition of his career achievements.
