Recently, a photo spread widely online and became a trending topic. It showed an elderly Belgian senator wearing the red scarf of "Die Roten" Bayern Munich, the German Bundesliga powerhouse, sitting with pride.
The elderly man is Pierre Kompany, the first Belgian of African descent elected mayor in Belgium in 2018. The reason he wore the red Bayern Munich scarf is because he is the father of Vincent Kompany, former captain of the Belgian national team and of Premier League giant Manchester City.
Pierre Kompany was born on 8 September 1947 and is now 78 years old. He was born in what was then called the Belgian Congo. His life took a dramatic turn during the dictatorship of Mobutu Sese Seko. He arrived in Belgium in 1975 without any documents, having fled Congo after over thirteen months of imprisonment for participating in protests against Mobutu’s authoritarian regime, which lasted from 1965 to 1997.
Starting life in Belgium was extremely difficult—not just from zero but below zero. He did not officially receive Belgian citizenship and documents until 1982. He then worked as a nighttime taxi driver while studying engineering at university to support his family.
In 1988, Pierre graduated with a degree in industrial engineering, specializing in aeronautics. Later, he won gold medals for inventions exhibited in Brussels and Geneva in 1997 and 1998.
A major turning point came in 2006 when he entered local politics. In 2014, he was elected to the Brussels regional parliament. The pinnacle of his political career was being elected mayor of Ganshoren in 2018, becoming the first Black person to hold that position in Belgium, winning 28.38% of the vote in a predominantly white district.
His son, Vincent Kompany, now manages Bayern Munich, having already won the Bundesliga title and is leading the team to further success this season. The image of Pierre wearing a Bayern Munich scarf reflects how proud he is of his son, despite Vincent’s team having been relegated from the Premier League in the 2023-24 season. Vincent is now regarded as one of the most promising coaches of the moment.
Pierre Kompany’s life of struggle, endurance, and effort proves that a person can change their destiny and pass on that inspiration to the next generation.