Tom Vandendriessche | |
---|---|
Member of the European Parliament for Belgium | |
Assumed office 2 July 2019 | |
Constituency | Dutch-speaking electoral college |
Personal details | |
Born | Leuven,Belgium | 27 October 1978
Political party | Vlaams Belang |
Alma mater | Ghent University |
Occupation | Politician,business analyst |
Tom Vandendriessche (born 27 October 1978) is a Belgian politician and businessman currently serving as a Member of the European Parliament for the Vlaams Belang. [1]
Vandendriessche holds a master's degree in political sciences and a master's degree in business economics from Ghent University and worked in business before becoming a press attachéfor the Europe of Nations and Freedom group in the European Parliament. In 2019,Patsy Vatlet was elected as an MEP for Belgium but the chair of his party (Tom Van Grieken) chose to replace her with Tom Vandendriessche. [2]
In 2000,Vandendriessche was involved in an incident between Vlaams Blok supporters and left-wing militants in the Ghent student district,in which Vandendriessche kicked a left-wing militant several times. In the first instance he was sentenced to one month in prison and a fine for assault and battery. [3] This ruling was overturned by the Court of appeal,he was given suspension of sentence. This means that the judge considers the facts proven,but suspends the conviction. However,he had to compensate for a tear in a jacket. [4]
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