Bart Van Opstal

Last updated
Bart Van Opstal
Member of the Flemish Parliament
Assumed office
2024
Personal details
Born
Bart Van Opstal

(1974-11-23) 23 November 1974 (age 50)
Herentals, Belgium
Political party Vlaams Belang

Bart Van Opstal (born 23 November, 1974 in Herentals) is a Belgian politician of the Flemish nationalist Vlaams Belang party and former police officer and businessman. He has been a member of the Flemish Parliament since 2024 representing the Antwerp constituency.

Contents

Biography

Early life and career

Van Opstal was born in Herentals in 1974. From 1992 to 2000 he served as a police officer in Antwerp for the Belgian Gendarmerie. [1] In 2000, he participated in the first series of the Belgian edition of the reality show Big Brother in which he finished in second place but resigned from his police job as a result of his participation in the program. [2] In 2004, he co-founded the Red Lierse campaign to help raise funds for the football club Lierse SK and afterwards worked in the club's catering and events department. He also owned a Lierse themed cafe until 2013 before working in the real estate sector. [3]

Politics

Van Opstal first worked as a volunteer for the former Vlaams Blok party in 1992 but did not seriously get involved in politics until joining Vlaams Belang in 2020 where he founded a local branch of the party in Olen. During the 2024 Belgian regional elections, he was elected to the Flemish Parliament for the Antwerp constituency. [4]

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References

  1. "Bart Van Opstal". Archived from the original on 2024-08-21. Retrieved 2024-08-20.
  2. "Bart uit Big Brother 20 jaar na de realityshow: "Ik zou opnieuw in het huis stappen"". Archived from the original on 2024-06-13. Retrieved 2024-08-20.
  3. "Van immokantoor naar halfrond: deze jobs laten nieuw verkozen parlementsleden (niet) achter". Archived from the original on 2024-07-15. Retrieved 2024-08-20.
  4. "Bart Van Opstal". Archived from the original on 2024-08-21. Retrieved 2024-08-20.