Jan Spooren (born 12 January 1969) is a Belgian politician active for the New Flemish Alliance (N-VA) and the current governor of Flemish Brabant.
Spooren obtained a law degree from KU Leuven and became active in the former Volksunie party for which he was elected as a municipal councilor in 1995. He became chairman of the local N-VA branch in Tervuren and after the municipal elections of October 2018, became mayor of Tervuren. He has served as an MP in the Chamber of Representatives since the 2014 Belgian federal elections and was re-elected in 2019. [1] [2] [3] [4]
Flemish Brabant is a province of Flanders, one of the three regions of Belgium. It borders on the Belgian provinces of Antwerp, Limburg, Liège, Walloon Brabant, Hainaut and East Flanders. Flemish Brabant also surrounds the Brussels-Capital Region. Its capital is Leuven. It has an area of 2,118 km2 (818 sq mi) which is divided into two administrative districts containing 65 municipalities. As of January 2024, Flemish Brabant had a population of over 1.19 million.
The Kingdom of Belgium is divided into three regions. Two of these regions, Flanders and Wallonia, are each subdivided into five provinces. The third region, Brussels, does not belong to any province and nor is it subdivided into provinces. Instead, it has amalgamated both regional and provincial functions into a single "Capital Region" administration.
East Flanders is a province of Belgium. It borders the Dutch province of Zeeland and the Flemish province of Antwerp, Flemish Brabant, Hainaut and West Flanders. It has an area of 3,007 km2 (1,161 sq mi), divided into six administrative districts containing 60 municipalities, and a population of over 1.57 million as of January 2024. The capital is Ghent, home to the Ghent University and the Port of Ghent.
The Flemish Movement is an umbrella term which encompasses various political groups in the Belgian region of Flanders and, less commonly, in French Flanders. Ideologically, it encompasses groups which have sought to promote Flemish culture and the Dutch language as well as those seeking greater political autonomy for Flanders within Belgium. It also encompasses nationalists who seek the secession of Flanders from Belgium, either through outright independence or unification with the Netherlands.
Flemish political parties operate in the whole Flemish Community, which covers the unilingual Flemish Region and the bilingual Brussels-Capital Region. In the latter, they compete with French-speaking parties that all also operate in Wallonia. There are very few parties that operate on a national level in Belgium. Flanders generally tends to vote for right-wing, conservative parties, whereas in French-speaking Belgium the socialist party is usually the most successful one.
Geert Albert Bourgeois is a Belgian politician of the New Flemish Alliance (N-VA), which he founded in 2001, who is currently serving as a Member of the European Parliament since 2019. He previously served as the Minister-President of Flanders from 2014 to 2019. Prior to this, he was a member of the federal Chamber of Representatives for the People's Union from 1995 to 2001, and then for the N-VA from 2001 to 2004. He has been involved in local and regional politics in Flanders since 1976.
Lodewijk "Lode" De Witte is the former governor of the Belgian province of Flemish Brabant.
Matthias Diependaele is a Belgian politician affiliated to the New Flemish Alliance (N-VA) who is the current Minister-President of Flanders, having taken office in 2024. He additionally serves as the Flemish Minister for Economy, Innovation en Industry, External Affairs, Digitalisation, and Facility Management.
Jan Jambon is a Belgian businessman and politician of the New Flemish Alliance (N-VA) who served as Minister-President of Flanders from 2019 to 2024. He replaced Kris Peeters as a member of the Belgian Chamber of Representatives in 2007. The N-VA was, at that time, partnered with the Christian-Democratic and Flemish party. In June 2010 and May 2014 he was re-elected on an N-VA list.
Nadia Sminate is a Belgian politician and is affiliated to the N-VA. She was elected as a member of the Belgian Chamber of Representatives in 2010.
Theo Francken is a Belgian politician who has been a member of the Chamber of Representatives since 2010. He is a member of the New Flemish Alliance (N-VA), a conservative Flemish nationalist party.
The Belgian provincial, municipal and district elections of 2012 took place on 14 October. As with the previous 2006 elections, these are no longer organised by the Belgian federal state but instead by the respective regions:
Katleen Bury is a Belgian-Flemish politician and lawyer who has been a member of the Chamber of Representatives for the Vlaams Belang party since 2019.
Peter De Roover is a Belgian politician, economist, journalist and former broadcaster and a member of the Flemish nationalist New Flemish Alliance party.
Valerie-Anne "Valerie" Van Peel is a Belgian politician, journalist and television presenter who is a member of the Member of the Chamber of Representatives for the New Flemish Alliance party.
Allessia Claes is a Belgian politician and a member of the New Flemish Alliance.
Inez De Coninck is a Belgian politician from Flemish Brabant region and a member of the New Flemish Alliance (N-VA).
Sigrid Goethals is a Belgian politician affiliated to the N-VA party.
Els van Doesburg is a Dutch-Belgian politician of the New Flemish Alliance (N-VA) party who has served as a member of the Flemish Parliament since 2024 for the Antwerp constituency.
Joris Vandenbroucke is a Belgian politician and member of the Chamber of Representatives. A member of Vooruit, he has represented East Flanders since June 2019. He was a member of the Flemish Parliament from June 2005 to June 2009 and from June 2014 to May 2019.