Frank Ignace Georgette Vandenbroucke(Dutch:[ˈfrɑŋkfɑndə(m)ˈbrukə];[a]born 21 October 1955) is a Belgian-Flemishacademic and politician ofVooruitwho has been serving as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Health and Social Affairs in thegovernmentofPrime MinisterAlexander De Croosince 2020.[2]
Frank Vandenbroucke | |
|---|---|
 Vandenbroucke in 2017 | |
| Minister of Health and Social Affairs | |
| Assumed office 1 October 2020 | |
| Prime Minister | Alexander De Croo |
| Preceded by | Maggie De Block |
| Minister of Foreign Affairs | |
| In office 10 October 1994 – 22 March 1995 | |
| Prime Minister | Jean-Luc Dehaene |
| Preceded by | Willy Claes |
| Succeeded by | Erik Derycke |
| Minister of Social Affairs | |
| In office 12 July 1999 – 12 July 2003 | |
| Prime Minister | Guy Verhofstadt |
| Preceded by | Magda De Galan |
| Succeeded by | Rudy Demotte |
| Minister of Pensions | |
| In office 12 July 1999 – 20 July 2004 | |
| Prime Minister | Guy Verhofstadt |
| Preceded by | Jan Peeters |
| Succeeded by | Bruno Tobback |
| Minister of Employment | |
| In office 12 July 2003 – 20 July 2004 | |
| Prime Minister | Guy Verhofstadt |
| Preceded by | Laurette Onkelinx |
| Succeeded by | Freya Van den Bossche |
| Flemish Ministerof Education | |
| In office 20 July 2004 – 13 July 2009 | |
| Preceded by | Marleen Vanderpoorten |
| Succeeded by | Pascal Smet |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Frank Ignace Georgette Vandenbroucke 21 October 1955 Leuven,Belgium |
| Political party | Vooruit |
| Other political affiliations | Radical Workers' League(RAL)(1970s)[1] |
| Alma mater | Katholieke Universiteit Leuven University of Cambridge University of Oxford |
| Occupation |
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| Website | www |
Early life and education
editVandenbroucke was born inLeuven.His father, Jozue Vandenbroucke (1914–1987), was vice-rector of the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (medicine).
Vandenbroucke attended Sint-Pieterscollege in Leuven for his secondary education. He started his academic studies at theKatholieke Universiteit Leuven.Starting with an undergraduate degree in Economics, he continued and got a master's degree in economics from the same alma mater in 1978. After this he got a MPhil in Economics fromCambridge University(1981–82).
Career in academia
editAfter graduating from the KUL, Vandenbroucke became a research assistant at the "Centrum voor Economische Studiën" at the KUL (1978–80). In 1982 he became a staff member of SEVI, the research department of the SP (1982–85).
In 1999 Vandenbroucke received a D.Phil. from the Faculty of Social Studies,Oxford University.His thesis "Social Justice and Individual Ethics in an Open Society: Equality, Responsibility, and Incentives" (Ethical Economy) was published in March 2001 by Springer publications.
Since 2009 Vandenbroucke took on academic positions at theUniversity of Antwerp(professor of Social Economic Analysis, Herman Deleeck Centre for Social Policy), theKatholieke Universiteit Leuven(KUL), and theUniversity of Amsterdam(professor at the Den Uyl Chair at the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences). He is guest professor at theCollege of EuropeinBruges.
Vandenbroucke's academic interests focus on social systems and welfare policies. At EU level, he was active in outlining theOpen Method of Coordinationamong Member States to support the enactment of the 2000Lisbon Strategy.He later worked for the introduction of a 'horizontalsocial clause' in theLisbon Treaty(today's art. 9 TFEU) to provide a stronger legal basis for welfare policies in the EU.
Political career
editIn 1985 Vandenbroucke was elected to theBelgian Chamber of People's Representativesand was re-elected in 1987, 1991 and1995.In 1989 the 34-year-old Vandenbroucke became chairman of the SP, a post he held until 1994, when he became Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs (1994–95). From 1995 to 1996 Vandenbroucke was the leader of the Parliamentary Group of the SP.
In 1995 Vandenbroucke had to resign as foreign minister[3]and in 1996 he also resigned from parliament due to his involvement in theAgusta scandal.He acknowledged that he was confronted with two million francs which came as bribery money from the Italian helicopter builderAgusta.[4]Refusing to have anything to do with the money, he advised to "have the money burned".[3]Vandenbroucke was never prosecuted but took a voluntary sabbatical at Oxford (1996–99).
After the1999 Belgian general electionVandenbroucke returned to politics to become Minister of Social Affairs and Pensions[5](1999–2003). After the2003 electionshe became Minister for Employment and Pensions (2003–04).
After the2004 regional elections,Vandenbroucke left thefederal governmentfor theFlemish Governmentto become Vice-Minister-President of the Flemish Government and Flemish Minister for Work, Education and Training (2004–09). The2009 regional electionswas a sudden and unexpected turning point in his career. Although Vandenbroucke gained a large number ofpreference votesin his home province ofFlemish Brabant,the president of his party,Caroline Gennez,chose not to give him the opportunity to continue his work as Minister, mentioning political as well as characterial dissimilarities.[6]Instead, he was succeeded byPascal Smetfor Education and byPhilippe Muytersfor Work. At that time, Vandenbroucke remained member of theFlemish Parliamentand accepted a teaching position at theUniversity of Antwerp.
In 2010, Vandenbroucke participated in thegeneral elections,running for the Belgian Senate. During the campaign, Vandenbroucke outed his concerns about the social-institutional reforms that the pre-electorally dominating Flemish nationalist partyNew Flemish Alliancewanted to achieve. Although his party maintained its position with the outcome of the elections, Vandenbroucke gained a relatively large number of preference votes.
He has been member of theFlemish Parliament(2009) and of theBelgian Senate(2010), and was awarded by KingAlbert II of Belgiumof the title ofMinister of State(2009). In October 2011 he left all political posts to focus onacademic research.
In April 2013 he became a member and president of Belgium's "Commission de réforme des pensions 2020–40" at the request of the federal ministers responsible for pensions,Alexander De CrooandSabine Laruelle.Composed of twelve experts, this commission was tasked to prepare, independently and in a closed circle, future pension reforms, in order to further improve the social and financial sustainability of the Belgian pension system.
After being ten years out of politics on 1 October 2020 on behalf ofConner Rousseau,Vandenbroucke joined theDe Croo Governmentas Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Health and Social Affairs. He was unelected, as he did not appear on any voting lists.
Notes
edit- ^Surname in isolation:[vɑndə(m)ˈbrukə].
References
edit- ^"Leven en werken van Frank Vandenbroucke".Knack.24 September 2011.
- ^Barbara Moens (1 October 2020),New Belgian health minister is socialist veteran Frank VandenbrouckePolitico Europe.
- ^ab"NATO Chief Under Fire Over Role in Belgian Scandal".The Washington Post.24 March 1995. Archived fromthe originalon 5 November 2012.Retrieved21 November2010.
- ^"Scandal claims scalp of Belgian Foreign Minister".The Independent.23 March 1995. Archived fromthe originalon 5 November 2012.Retrieved21 November2010.
- ^"New Belgian government formed".European Report. 14 July 1999. Archived fromthe originalon 5 November 2012.Retrieved21 November2010.
- ^Barbara Moens (1 October 2020),New Belgian health minister is socialist veteran Frank VandenbrouckePolitico Europe.
External links
edit
Media related toFrank Vandenbroucke (politician)at Wikimedia Commons
