De Donder started in entertainment as an amateur and performed with a puppet called Bibberlip. His breakthrough came in 1989 when he was asked to play the role of De Burgemeester (the mayor) in children's TV show Samson en Gert. Through this role he was able to become a professional actor. In 1997 he took on the role of the title character in the children's series Kabouter Plop, produced by Studio 100. His roles as De Burgemeester and Kabouter Plop made him a celebrity both in Belgium and in the Netherlands.[1]
He was a member of the cast of the satirical programme Brussel Nieuwsstraat[nl] ("Brussels News Street") that ran from 2000 to 2002. This programme also featured Koen Crucke, another veteran of Samson and Gert.
De Donder is active in the Flemish Christian Democrat party CD & V. In 2000 he was elected to Affligem local council in a coalition with N-VA, and he was reelected in the 2006 local elections. During party coalition talks, it was agreed that he would become mayor from 2011 and he took on this role on the first of January of that year.[2] He was re-elected as mayor in 2012 and 2018.[3] In 2019 he was an unsuccessful candidate in his party's leadership contest.[4] In 2024 he became elected as mayor of Affligem with the political party "team burgemeester" (team mayor). [5]
Belgium comprises 581 municipalities, 300 of them grouped into five provinces in Flanders and 262 others in five provinces in Wallonia, while the remaining 19 are in the Brussels Capital Region, which is not divided in provinces. In most cases, the municipalities are the smallest administrative subdivisions of Belgium, but in municipalities with more than 100,000 inhabitants, on the initiative of the local council, sub-municipal administrative entities with elected councils may be created. As such, only Antwerp, having over 500,000 inhabitants, became subdivided into nine districts. The Belgian arrondissements, an administrative level between province and municipality, or the lowest judicial level, are in English sometimes called districts as well.
The Belgian provincial, municipal and district elections of 2006 took place on Sunday 8 October 2006. The electors have elected the municipal councillors of 589 cities and towns as well as the ten provincial councils. The voters in the town of Antwerp have also been able to vote for the city's district councils. In seven Flemish municipalities with a special language statute and in the Walloon municipality of Comines-Warneton the aldermen and the members of the OCMW/CPAS council have also been directly elected.
Plopsaland De Panne is a theme park located in Adinkerke, Belgium, in the municipality of De Panne, and owned and operated by Plopsa. The park was originally known as Meli Park from 1935 to 1999, before reopening as Plopsaland on 20 April 2000.
Studio 100 N.V. is a Belgian production company that operates television channels, animation studios and theme parks worldwide. The headquarters of the company is in Schelle, along with offices in Breda, Munich, Paris, New York, Sydney and Los Angeles.
The Francization of Brussels refers to the evolution, over the past two centuries, of this historically Dutch-speaking city into one where French has become the majority language and lingua franca. The main cause of this transition was the rapid, compulsory assimilation of the Flemish population, amplified by immigration from France and Wallonia.
Walter Baele is a Flemish cabaretier and actor, best known for creating characters.
Samson & Gert is a Flemish children's television series produced by Eline van Noppen, centered on the talking dog Samson and his owner Gert. In its entire run, the show was originally aired on TV1 from Christmas Day 1989 until 1 December 1997, where it moved to Ketnet and continues airing all of its episodes to this day.
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.
Events in the year 2011 in Belgium.
Federal elections were held in Belgium on 25 May 2014. All 150 members of the Chamber of Representatives were elected, whereas the Senate was no longer directly elected following the 2011–2012 state reform. These were the first elections held under King Philippe's reign.
Gert Tony Hubert Verhulst is a Belgian presenter, entrepreneur, singer,director, actor, screenwriter, composer, film producer, and business magnate. As a prominent figure within the children's entertainment industry in the Benelux, he is regarded as a Flemish cultural icon, known for his influence and contributions to children's entertainment in the Benelux and founder of Studio 100.
Chris Cauwenberghs is a Flemish actor presently living in the Netherlands.
The Belgian provincial, municipal and district elections of 2018 took place on Sunday 14 October 2018. They are organised by the respective regions:
F.C. De Kampioenen is a Belgian comic strip created by Hec Leemans since 1997 and published by Standaard Uitgeverij. The comics series is based on the television sitcom comedy series of the same name on Flemish television. The series ran for 94 albums with numerous special versions and editions.
Plopsa is the theme park division of Studio 100, the company operates 8 parks across Belgium, The Netherlands, Germany and Poland.
Vlaams-Brusselse Media, shortened to VBM and operating under the brand Bruzz is a non-profit media company dedicated to serving the Flemish Community in Brussels. A counterpart to BX1, which caters to the French-speaking Community in Brussels, Bruzz has its headquarters located at the Radio House in Ixelles.
Clara Cleymans is a Belgian actress and musical theatre singer.
Jan Béghin was a Belgian politician for the Flemish Socialist Party (SP.A) and the Christian Democratic and Flemish (CD&V) party.
The 2024 Belgian provincial, municipal and district elections took place on Sunday 13 October 2024, four months after the simultaneous European, federal and regional elections.
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