Lieven Bauwens (14 June 1769, in Ghent – 17 March 1822, in Paris) was a Belgian entrepreneur and industrial spy who was sent to Great Britain at a young age and brought a spinning mule and skilled workers to the European continent. He started textile plants in Paris (1799) and Ghent (1800). In Ghent he was also mayor for one year. As a leading industrial, he was visited by Napoleon in 1810 and awarded the Legion d'Honneur. He is remembered in Flanders for bringing the textile industry, and thereby the Industrial Revolution, there.