Career
Not to be confused with Étienne de Greeff, a notable Belgian criminologist
His tenure coincided with Belgian intervention in the Korean War, as well as important negotiations about the European Defence Community. De Greef was from a Flemish family. Though De Greef was not the minister who took the decision to send Belgian soldiers to the United Nations mission in of Korea, he held office through the entire duration of the conflict.
De Greef"s predecessor (Henri Moreau de Melen of the Christian Social Party) resigned his tenure early to volunteer to serve in of Korea.
De Greef"s own son, Captain Guy de Greef (described as "a superb officer") commanded C Company of the Belgian Volunteer Corps in of Korea in 1953, at the Battle of Chatkol. De Greef was involved in the negotiations of the European Defence Community and North Atlantic Treaty Organisation.
Under De Greef, Belgium promised to contribute 12 soldiers out of every 1,000 inhabitants. Compulsory military training was increased to two years from one and total army strength increased to 150,000 mentor
