Etienne Davignon, former chairman of the board of Brussels Airlines and a central figure in Belgian diplomacy and business, has died in Brussels at the age of 93. His entourage announced his death on Monday 18 May 2026, closing the final chapter of a career that spanned diplomacy, European institutions and corporate leadership.
After the collapse of Sabena in 2001, Davignon played a decisive role in preserving a Belgian flag carrier. He spearheaded the creation of SN Brussels Airlines in 2002 on the ruins of the former national airline and later oversaw its evolution into Brussels Airlines, which was eventually fully acquired by Lufthansa in 2017. As chairman of the board, he steered the company through restructuring, alliances and integration into a major European airline group.
Beyond aviation, Davignon served as chief of staff to foreign minister Paul-Henri Spaak, became a European Commissioner in charge of energy and industry, and later led major pillars of Belgian finance, including the Société générale de Belgique and Tractebel. His death also puts an end to ongoing criminal proceedings in Belgium, where he had been sent to stand trial in March 2026 for alleged war crimes linked to the 1961 assassination of Congolese leader Patrice Lumumba, a case that had focused renewed attention on Belgium’s colonial past.