Samuel Cogolati | |
|---|---|
 Cogolati in 2024 | |
| Co-President of Ecolo | |
| Assumed office 13 July 2024 ServingwithMarie Lecocq | |
| Preceded by | Jean-Marc Nollet |
| Member of the Chamber of Representatives | |
| In office 20 June 2019 –8 May 2024 | |
| Constituency | Liège |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 12 March 1989 |
| Political party | Ecolo |
Samuel Cogolati (born 12 March 1989) is a Belgian politician serving as co-president of Ecolo since 2024. [1] From 2019 to 2024,he was a member of the Chamber of Representatives. [2]
Cogolati was born on 12 March 1989 in Liège,Belgium. [3] When he was fourteen,Cogolati joined Ecolo. [4] He eventually obtained a master's degree in law from KU Leuven in 2013,and then a Master of Laws from Harvard Law School in 2014. [3] The following year,in 2015,he became a municipal councillor of Huy representing the party. [4] Simultaneously,he worked as a researcher for the Leuven Centre for Global Governance Studies at KU Leuven from 2014 to 2019. [3]
During the 2019 Belgian federal election,he ran to be a member of the Chamber of Representatives for Liège,a seat he won. [5] Since becoming a representative,he has particularly focused on the recognition of the Persecution of Uyghurs in China. Due to his campaigning regarding Uyghurs,particularly for submitting a resolution condemning the persecution of Muslims in Xinjiang,he was put on a Chinese sanctions list. [6] The Chinese government accused him of harming Chinese sovereignty. [6] Following this,the Belgian Minister of Foreign Affairs,Sophie Wilmès,affirmed that she supported Cogolati. [6] He was also the target of a digital attack in 2023,which was linked to the Chinese state hacking group,APT31. [7]
In 2022,he announced he would teach courses at the Catholic University of Graben,which is located in North Kivu in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. [8] Cogolati was not re-elected to parliament in the 2024 Belgian federal election.