
Pierre Lémann (1924-2010)
Pierre Léman was born on July 11th, 1924 in Tunis. As he liked to point out, he was brought up on the wharfs of Tunis, were his father was a cereals importer. He was taught very early by his father the good practices of the trade putting customer satisfaction ahead of other considerations.
Henri Grzeskowiak recalls: “During the 20 trips that I made with Pierre to the USA, he had occasion to tell me episodes of his life in Tunisia; his activity as exclusive importer of the helicopters “Alouettes”, his passion for the horse-races, the easy Tunisian life with his family, his many Tunisian friends, sea bathing in the Mediterranean which he appreciated so much, the origin of his friendship with Harry Bellafonte; which my wife and me had he pleasure of sharing a dinner with Harry, Pierre and Sarah (Pierre’s Grand daughter ) in Central Park, New York in May 2000.
Pierre had also told me his voluntary enrôlement in the French Army and his assignment as artillerist, his participation in several campaigns including the debarkation on the coasts of Provence.”
Turbulence following the independence of Tunisia in 1956 lead Pierre to leave this country and he arrived in France with all its family in 1967. From the very beginning his dynamism lead him to take the management of Ling Dynamic System France, importer of electro-dynamic shakers. Pierre became administrator of the ASTE in the early seventies and remained active for over thirty years. His excelled in his role of head of international relations he played a crucial role in setting up of CEEES, Confederation of European Environmental Engineering Societies. Pierre became the 2nd president of CEEES, from 1986 to 1988.
Pierre Léman was recognized by the US IEST (Institute off Environmental Sciences and Technology) and made a Fellow for nearly 20 years, he was also a Fellow of the UK SEE (Society of Environmental Engineers).
Pierre marked all his national and international contacts by his dynamism. His vision was always very clear and structured. He liked to defend and share, his curiosity, his open-mind, in a word his intelligence. All his colleagues highlight his sense of humour which enabled him to close the discussions in good mood with a broad shared smile. The kind of passion Pierre Lemann continuously demonstrated represents the core strength of CEEES and its values.
Pierre and his wife Monique had 5 children, who gave them 4 grand children and recently a great grand daughter.