After receiving his early education in Europe, Dehousse travelled to Beverly Hills, United States, where he studied for one year in 1955.
From 1962 to 1965, Dehousse worked with the FNRS, the Belgian National Fund for Scientific Research, becoming an assistant at the Institute for European Legal Studies at the University of Liège in 1966.
He served as a representative of the General Federation of Belgian Labour whilst at the University of Liège.
[1] In 1971, Dehousse was elected as a Member of Parliament representing Liège, becoming Minister for French Culture in 1977, lasting in that position until 1978.
[citation needed] In 1991, he was appointed Minister for Science Policy, leaving government in 1995 to serve as mayor of Liège.