Professor Emeritus of Political Science, Boston University
Edouard J. Bustin, age 92, passed away peacefully at home on October 11 following a brief hospital stay, attended by his family and dedicated caregivers.
Born in Belgium, Professor Bustin earned both his JD and PhD from the Université de Liège. He began his academic career teaching in the Democratic Republic of Congo, after which he relocated to California in 1961 to join the faculty at UCLA. In 1963, he joined the African Studies Center at Boston University, where he taught until retiring in 2010. Professor Bustin authored numerous books and articles focused on African studies. His academic journey took him to five European and twelve African countries, and he was fluent in French, Spanish, Italian, and German. He served as a visiting professor at institutions in the US, Europe, Africa, and the Caribbean, and consulted on higher education and democratization in Congo for the Rockefeller Foundation and USAID.
Professor Bustin authored or co-authored several books and monographs dealing with Africa, including Lunda Under Belgian Rule; The Politics of Ethnicity. He has also written many book chapters, encyclopedia entries, journal entries and articles (mostly on Africa) which have been published in the United States, Europe and Africa. He has studied and lived in five European and twelve African countries. Professor Bustin was a visiting professor or guest lecturer at universities in the United States, Europe, Africa, and the Caribbean. He also consulted and prepared reports on higher education and on democratization in Zaire for the Rockefeller Foundation and for USAID. Professor Bustin was the founder and director of the Francophone Africa Research Group (GRAF), and served as coordinator for the exchange agreement between Boston University and the Institut d’Etudes Politiques at Bordeaux. He was also affiliated with Boston University’s African Studies Center and headed the Francophone Africa Research Group (GRAF).
Professor Bustin was preceded in death by his first wife, Francine Lekeu Bustin (1933–1984). He is survived by his sons and daughters-in-law, Denis and Ana Bustin, Olivier and Teresa Bustin; grandchildren, Richard, Chloe, Michael, and Tad; great-granddaughters, Lyla and Holly; and his former wife, Marisol Maura.
