In Memoriam
Géry d’Ydewalle
(1946-2025)
The International Union of Psychological Science and the psychological community at large deeply mourn the loss of Géry d’Ydewalle, who passed away on August 19, 2025, aged 78.
Our friend Géry was an exceptionally dedicated servant of psychology, not only through his academic career as professor at the University of Leuven, Belgium, but also as a tireless promoter of the discipline and its international representation, particularly during his service as Secretary-General and as President of the International Union of Psychological Science (IUPsyS).
Géry d’Ydewalle was the son of Baron Pierre van Outryve d’Ydewalle, a prominent figure who played an important role in the governance of West Flanders, serving as Governor for thirty-four years. Géry bore the title of Knight. He was born in Brugge and educated to respect and fluently speak both the French and Flemish/Dutch languages. With his wife Françoise, who was always very present with him in his commitments to the Union, he had three sons, Alexandre, Constantin, and Damien. Géry was intensely engaged in cultural life, in particular music. He played traverso and performed in several chamber orchestras, as well as being a Patron of the Arts.
Géry d’Ydewalle, professor of psychology, was the head of the Center for Experimental Psychology at the Catholic University of Leuven. He was also a guest professor at Rockefeller University (New York), Birkbeck College (University of London), and the London School of Economics.
As a scientist, Géry mainly focused on memory and cognition. He disseminated his work in the form of scientific publications, which documented more focused topics, such as reasoning, conditional reasoning, and semantic memory retrieval. In the field of memory, his most recognized works were those investigating false memory as well as prospective memory, with a special interest in the neuropsychological dimension of memory loss in the Korsakoff syndrome. He also conducted work in the domain of perception, such as eye movement control during reading, and the perception of subtitles of films.
In 1992, Géry d’Ydewalle received the prestigious Francqui Prize, awarded each year in recognition of the achievements of a member of the Belgian scientific community. He also took part in the activities and functioning of the Royal Flemish Academy of Belgium for Science and the Arts, first as a member (1992) and, from 2010 until 2014, as elected Permanent Secretary of the Academy.
Géry d’Ydewalle’s commitment to the promotion of international psychology was evident through his involvement as Secretary-General of the Belgian Committee for Psychological Science, which is the voice of Belgium in IUPsyS. A further significant contribution was his appointment as Editor (1979-1988) of the International Journal of Psychology, published under the auspices of the IUPsyS. During this period, Géry was elected to the Executive Committee of the Union, a function in which he served for two full mandates (1980-1984 and 1984-1988). During the last year of the second mandate, he was appointed Deputy Secretary-General, a function that he continued to hold during the following term (1988-1992), providing support to Secretary-General Kurt Pawlik. When Pawlik was elected President in 1992, during the Brussels Congress (co-chaired by d’Ydewalle and Paul Bertelson), Géry d’Ydewalle assumed the full functions of Secretary-General. At the same time, he became the representative of IUPsyS on the Executive Committee of the International Committee for Social Science Information and Documentation, which would later become the International Social Science Council (ISSC).
In 1996, at the Montreal Congress, the Assembly elected Géry d’Ydewalle as President of the Union. The following four years were characterized by a strong commitment to strengthen the Union’s mandate to represent psychology in the major international science organizations. Géry was reelected as a member, then elected as Vice President of the Executive Committee of ISSC. Géry also led psychology’s representation at the Assembly of the broader and well-established International Council of Scientific Unions (ICSU), adding to the increasing visibility of the Union on the global scientific scene.
Interdisciplinary projects were led by the Union in this context, in partnership with the International Brain Research Organization and the International Geographical Union. Under Géry’s presidency, the Union strongly reinforced its relationships with UNESCO, especially in the context of a program for the management of social transformation. In the same interdisciplinary spirit, Géry participated on the board of an important sister organization, the World Psychiatric Association. It was also during his presidency that the Union initiated a renewal of its relationship with the World Health Organization.
Géry’s term was further marked by the continued development of the Advanced Research Training Seminars—a program first introduced under Pawlik’s leadership. This initiative aimed to provide emerging psychological communities with state-of-the-art methodologies and techniques in psychological science. Géry was also the President of the Union who initiated Regional Congresses sponsored by IUPsyS in conjunction with the International Association of Applied Psychology and the International Association of Cross-Cultural Psychology.
Géry d’Ydewalle was a dedicated president of the Union, who was exceptionally keen on ensuring its smooth functioning and enhancing productive relationships with its national members. This achievement was made possible by his intimate knowledge of the workings of the Union during twenty-five years of service, from 1979 (as Editor of the Journal) to 2004 (end of his mandate as Past President). Across this period, the Union’s circle of influence significantly and durably expanded. A hallmark of Géry’s contributions is the full recognition and visibility of psychology across the world of science.
Michel Denis
President of the IUPsyS (2000-2004)