Magda Aelvoet

Last updated

Magda Aelvoet
Born
Magdalena Godelieve Hilda Aelvoet

(1944-04-04) 4 April 1944 (age 80)
Steenokkerzeel, Occupied Belgium
NationalityBelgian
Occupationpolitician

Magdalena Godelieve HildaAelvoet (born 4 April 1944) is a Belgian politician in Flanders. She was a provincial senator for Antwerp between 1985 and 1991 and a member of the Belgian Chamber of Representatives for the district of Leuven between 1991 and 1994, when she also served in the Flemish Council. She was a member of the European Parliament from 1994 to 1999, where she was the chair of the Greens. Aelvoet was appointed deputy prime minister and the Minister of Consumer Affairs, Public Health and the Environment in the Verhofstadt I government between 1999 and 2002 and became a Minister of State in 1995.

Contents

Early life

Aelvoet was born on 4 April 1944 in Steenokkerzeel. Her parents were William Aelvoet and Julia Endriatis. She studied German philology, political and social science at KU Leuven. [1] [2] She married Henrard Raymond, a staff member of the VVI, in 1969 and the couple had three children. [1]

Political career

Early Agalev years

Aelvoet was a member of the Anders Gaan Leven, the Dutch-speaking green political party, and founded the party's chapter in Leuven. [1] [2] She was elected as a provincial senator for Antwerp on 28 October 1985, a position that she held until 23 November 1991. [1] [3] She was a member of the Senate committees on aid to developing countries, foreign relations, and institutional reform, and a member without voting rights on the committee on infrastructure. [1]

She was a Member of Parliament in the Belgian Chamber of Representatives for the district of Leuven between 24 November 1991 and 18 July 1994. She was a member of the Flemish Council between 7 January 1992 and 18 July 1994 and a member of the Flemish Parliament between 13 June 1999 and 11 July 1999. [3] [4] Aelvoet was a member of the European Parliament from 19 July 1994 to 19 July 1999. She was a representative to the Joint Assembly of the Agreement between the African, Caribbean and Pacific States and the European Union, a delegate to the EU-Turkey Joint Parliamentary Committee and a member of the committee on foreign affairs, security and defence policy. She was vice chair of the Greens from 19 July 1994 to 28 January 1997 and chair from 29 January 1997 to 19 July 1999. [3] [5]

In 1995 she was made a Minister of State for her part in the negotiations of the Saint Michael's Accords. [2]

The purple-green cabinet

Aelvoet was appointed as deputy prime minister and the Minister of Consumer Affairs, Public Health and the Environment in the Verhofstadt I government, a position that she held beginning on 12 July 1999. [6] [7] She helped to found the Federal Agency for the Safety of the Food Chain in this role. [8] [9] She managed to table legislation on gay marriage, making Belgium the second country in the world to legalise same-sex marriage. [10] She resigned effective 27 August 2002 due to her opposition of a Belgian arms delivery to Nepal. [6] [7] She was succeeded as minister by fellow party member Jef Tavernier. [11] [12]

After 2003

Aelvoet pushed Leuven's Green! list in the 2006 municipal elections, [13] and became a city council member, but quit this post in September 2008 to focus on her family. [14] In the 2012 provincial council elections, she was again on the list. She received eighth place on the Green list for the Leuven provincial district, [7] and was also on the list for the Leuven city council. She was elected for the city, although she and Eva Brems decided not to accept the seats in order to allow younger party members to take the position. [15] [16]

In 2013, Aelvoet was appointed by the Di Rupo government to chair the Federal Council for Sustainable Development, succeeding Philippe Maystadt. [17] In the 2018 municipal elections, Aelvoet was elected again to the Leuven municipal council, taking office in January 2019. [16] She remained a municipal councilor until October 2019, when she resigned, in her own words, to make way for young political talent. [2]

Honours

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Groen (political party)</span> Political party in Belgium

Groen, founded as Agalev, is a green Flemish political party in Belgium. The main pillars of the party are social justice, human rights, and ecologism. Its French-speaking equivalent is Ecolo; the two parties maintain close relations with each other.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boudewijn Bouckaert</span> Belgian politician

Boudewijn Bouckaert is a Belgian law professor, a member of the Flemish Movement, and a libertarian conservative thinker and politician. He was a Member of the Flemish Parliament for the liberal party List Dedecker. He is also a former president of the Belgian classical liberal think tanks Nova Civitas, Cassandra and Libera!.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2007 Belgian federal election</span>

Federal elections were held in Belgium on 10 June 2007. Voters went to the polls in order to elect new members for the Chamber of Representatives and Senate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Freya Van den Bossche</span> Belgian politician

Freya Van den Bossche is a Belgian (Flemish) politician and daughter of prominent former Belgian politician Luc Van den Bossche. She is member of the SP.a political party, and she was Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Budget and Consumer Protection in the Belgian federal government. She was the youngest ever minister appointed in Belgium.

The 2007–2008 Belgian government formation followed the general election of 10 June 2007, and comprised a period of negotiation in which the Flemish parties Flemish Liberal Democratic, Christian Democratic and Flemish (CD&V) and New Flemish Alliance (N-VA), and the French-speaking parties Reformist Movement (MR), Democratic Front of Francophones (FDF) and Humanist Democratic Centre (CdH) negotiated to form a government coalition. The negotiations were characterized by the disagreement between the Dutch- and French-speaking parties about the need for and nature of a constitutional reform. According to some, this political conflict could have led to a partition of Belgium.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rik Torfs</span> Belgian canon law scholar and media personality

Henri Maria Dymphna André Laurent "Rik" Torfs is a Belgian canon law scholar and media personality. He is a former Senator for the Christian Democratic and Flemish party in the Belgian Federal Parliament and a former Rector of the Catholic University of Leuven.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Meyrem Almaci</span> Belgian politician

Meyrem Almaci is a Belgian politician from Flanders and member of the ecological party Groen. On 10 June 2007, she was elected to the Belgian Chamber of Representatives for the first time. She was re-elected in 2010 and in 2014 when she also became the president of Groen. In 2019 she left the Belgian parliament and was elected in the Flemish Parliament.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wouter Van Besien</span> Belgian politician

Wouter Van Besien is a Belgian politician. From 25 October 2009 until 15 November 2014, he was the chairman of the ecologist party Groen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nadia Sminate</span> Belgian politician (born 1981)

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Annemie Turtelboom</span> Belgian politician

Annemie Turtelboom is a former Belgian minister, who served in the Federal Government of Belgium as a member of the Open VLD party, initially as minister for Asylum and Migration, and later Home Affairs and Justice. She has also served as minister of Finance, Budget and Energy in the Flemish Government. After leaving politics, she became the Belgian member of the European Court of Auditors, a position she has held since 2018.

Jef Tavernier is a Belgian politician. He was once member of the party Green! (Groen!).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gwendolyn Rutten</span> Belgian politician (born 1975)

Gwendolyn Angeline Albert Maria Rutten is a Belgian politician. She was the chairwoman of the Flemish liberal party until March 22, 2020. On 11 January 2017 she resigned from the Flemish Parliament in order to prepare her party for the local election of 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tom Van Grieken</span> Belgian politician

Tom Jozef Irène Van Grieken is a Belgian politician and author who has served as leader of Vlaams Belang since October 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">André Antoine (politician)</span> Belgian politician

André Antoine is a Belgian politician, minister and mayor. He has been a member of the francophone cdH since 1980. He was elected to the presidency of the Wallon parliament on 22 July 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joachim Coens</span> Belgian politician

Joachim Coens is a Belgian politician and businessman who has served as the leader of Christen-Democratisch en Vlaams, a Christian democratic political party, since December 2019. Before politics, he had been managing director of the holding company for the Port de Bruges-Zeebruges.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clara Cleymans</span> Belgian actress (born 1989)

Clara Cleymans is a Belgian actress and musical theatre singer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sammy Mahdi</span> Belgian politician

Sammy Mahdi is a Belgian Christian-Democrat politician, a member and the president of CD&V, who in March 2020 became a member of the Belgian Chamber of Representatives.

Hans Beatrijs Herman Verreyt is a Belgian politician and an MP in the Chamber of Representatives for Vlaams Belang.

Leo Delcroix was a Belgian Flemish politician. He was a member of the Christian People's Party (CVP).

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Dolling, Yolanda, ed. (1991). Who's who of women in world politics (1st ed.). London: Bowker-Saur. p. 4. ISBN   0-86291-627-5. OCLC   24380132.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Mertens, Bart (21 October 2019). "Magda Aelvoet (75) verlaat Leuvense gemeenteraad: "Jong talent kansen geven"". Het Laatste Nieuws (in Dutch). Retrieved 21 January 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 "Magda Aelvoet". Vlaams Parlement (in Dutch). 4 April 1944. Retrieved 21 January 2023.
  4. ↑ "Magda Aelvoet". Belgian Chamber of Representatives (in Dutch). Retrieved 21 January 2023.
  5. ↑ "Magda G.H. Aelvoet". European Parliament. 4 April 1944. Retrieved 21 January 2023.
  6. 1 2 "Magda Aelvoet stapt op" [Magda Aelvoet steps down]. De Standaard (in Dutch). 27 August 2002. Retrieved 21 January 2023.
  7. 1 2 3 "Magda Aelvoet opnieuw kandidaat bij verkiezingen" [Magda Aelvoet again candidate in elections]. De Standaard (in Dutch). 16 July 2012. Retrieved 21 January 2023.
  8. ↑ "Magda Aelvoet nieuwe voorzitter Federale Raad voor Duurzame Ontwikkeling". news.belgium.be (in Dutch). Retrieved 21 January 2023.
  9. ↑ Lungescu, Oana (12 July 1999). "Belgium's 'rainbow' coalition sworn in". BBC News . Retrieved 21 January 2023.
  10. ↑ "Belgium celebrates 20 years of same-sex marriage".
  11. ↑ "Jef Tavernier voorgedragen om Magda Aelvoet op te volgen" [Jef Tavernier nominated to succeed Magda Aelvoet]. De Morgen (in Dutch). 28 August 2002. Retrieved 21 January 2023.
  12. ↑ "Belgium arms sale row deepens". BBC News. 27 August 2002. Retrieved 26 October 2011.
  13. ↑ "Magda Aelvoet duwt Groen!-lijst Leuven" [Magda Aelvoet pushes Green! list in Leuven]. De Standaard (in Dutch). 20 April 2006. Retrieved 21 January 2023.
  14. ↑ Telen, Stef (3 July 2008). "Magda Aelvoet kiest voor familie" [Magda Aelvoet chooses family]. De Standaard (in Dutch). Retrieved 21 January 2023.
  15. ↑ De Becker, Annelies (18 October 2012). "Eva Brems en Magda Aelvoet zetelen niet in Leuven". Het Laatste Nieuws (in Dutch). Retrieved 21 January 2023.
  16. 1 2 Smitz, Hannelore (2 January 2019). "Laatste zitting van Louis Tobback is eerste van zoon Bruno: "Ik wil geen wakende schaduw zijn van mijn vader"". Het Nieuwsblad (in Dutch). Retrieved 21 January 2023.
  17. ↑ "Aelvoet volgt Maystadt op als voorzitter Federale Raad Duurzame Ontwikkeling". Het Laatste Nieuws (in Dutch). 4 October 2013. Retrieved 21 January 2023.
  18. ↑ "Royal decree of 11 may 2003".
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.