was invited and accepted the invitation. He either cancelled in the last minute or was omitted from the official list of participants. Later career In 1976, during the founding Congress of the European People's Party in Brussels, he was elected first President of the new party, a role which gave him the important tasks of harmonising and finding consensus between the different leaders and member parties of the EPP and of leading the party during the first direct elections to the European Parliament in 1979. Tindemans received an Honorary Doctorate from Heriot-Watt University in 1978. Tindemans was elected to the European Parliament with a record number of votes (983.000 votes, which is still a record for any election in Belgium) and was a member of that parliament from 1979 to 1981 (during which time he also was chairman of the CVP). With the general elections of 1981 Tindemans returned to the Belgian politics and became minister of foreign affairs (1981–1989). With the European elections in 1989 Tindemans went back to the European Parliament where he served two terms until he retired in 1999. During 1994–1995 he was chairman of the Tindemans group. Death Tindemans died on 26 December 2014 in Edegem, Antwerp, Belgium, aged 92. Honours : Minister of State by Royal Decree. : Grand Cordon in the Order of Leopold. : Knight Grand Cross in the Order of the Crown. Grand Cross in the Order of Merit of the Austrian Republic. References Further reading Wilsford, David, ed. Political leaders of contemporary Western Europe: a biographical dictionary (Greenwood, 1995) pp. 449–56. External links Leo Tindemans at the Dutch-language version of the site of the Belgium government Leo Tindemans at the French-language version of the site of the Belgium government News about Tindeman's death Leo Tindemans in ODIS - Online Database for Intermediary Structures Archives of Leo Tindemans in ODIS - Online Database for Intermediary Structures 1922 births 2014 deaths Belgian Ministers of State Belgian Roman Catholics Christian Democratic and Flemish MEPs Christian Democratic and Flemish politicians Foreign ministers of Belgium MEPs for Belgium 1994–1999 People from Zwijndrecht (Belgium) Presidents of the European People's Party Prime Ministers of Belgium Mayors of places in Belgium