Annemie Turtelboom

Annemie Turtelboom (2013)

Annemie Turtelboom (born November 22, 1967 in Ninove ) is a Belgian politician of the Open Vlaamse Liberalen en Democrats (Open VLD). At the federal level, she was initially Minister for Migration and Asylum Policy , Minister of the Interior and then Minister of Justice from 2011 to 2014 . From 2014 until her resignation on April 29, 2016, she was Vice Prime Minister of the Flemish Government and Minister for Finance, Budget and Energy. At the local level, she is a member of the Antwerp municipal council .

Life

Turtelboom grew up in Zandberdgen near Geraardsbergen . She studied economics first in Brussels , then at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (KULeuven) in Leuven . Until 2003 she was responsible for training in marketing at the Katholieke Hogeschool Leuven .

From 2003 to 2007 she represented the Open VLD party in the federal parliament , where she was interested in social issues, work and pensions. With the formation of the Leterme I government and then Van Rompuy , she was appointed Minister for Migration and Asylum Policy. There she had to struggle hard with the problem of the " sans papiers " and was sharply criticized by her cabinet colleague and Minister for Social Integration Marie Arena ( PS ) for her rigid stance .

When the Van Rompuy government was reshuffled on July 17, 2009, Turtelboom took over the office of Minister of the Interior from her party colleague Guido De Padt . She was the first woman to hold this post in Belgium. In the following government under Prime Minister Elio Di Rupo (PS), Annemie Turtelboom was appointed Federal Minister of Justice.

After the federal and regional elections on May 25, 2014, Turtelboom moved to the Flemish government under Prime Minister Geert Bourgeois ( N-VA ) and took over the finance, budget and energy departments as Vice-Prime Minister. As energy minister, she introduced an additional tax on the price of electricity, which in Flanders was commonly known as “ turteltaks ” (in German: turtel (boom) tax ). According to Turtelboom, the levy was necessary due to an over-subsidy for photovoltaic systems by the previous governments. In response to ongoing criticism of this measure, Annemie Turtelboom finally resigned on April 29, 2016. Her successor in the Flemish government was Bart Tommelein (Open VLD).

Annemie Turtelboom initially lived in Puurs , where she was also a member of the local council from 1994 to 2012. On the occasion of the local elections in 2012, she stood for election in Antwerp , where she was also a member of the local council.

Turtelboom is married and has two children.

Overview of political offices

• 1994 - 2012: Member of the Puurs Municipal Council
• 2003 - today : Member of the federal Chamber of Deputies (partially prevented)
• 2008 - 2009: Federal Minister for Migration and Asylum in the Leterme I and Van Rompuy governments
• 2009 - 2011: Federal Minister for Internal Affairs in the Van Rompuy (after restructuring) and Leterme II governments
• 2011-2014: Federal Minister of Justice in the Di Rupo government
• 2012 - today : Member of the Antwerp municipal council
• 2014 - 2016: Vice-Prime Minister of the Flemish Government, Minister for Finance, Budget and Energy

Web links

• Official website of Annemie Turtelboom

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Het Nieuwsblad.be: Duel tussen Arena en Turtelboom naar climax (July 16, 2009) (Dutch).
2. ↑ Lalibre.be: Turtelboom, de l'Asile à l'Intérieur (July 17, 2009) (French).
3. ↑ De Standaard.be: Gatz en Turtelboom in Vlaamse regering voor Open VLD (July 25, 2014) (Dutch).
4. ↑ De Standaard.be: Quotes: Annemie Turtelboom bleef de Turteltaks altijd verdedigen (April 29, 2016) (Dutch).
5. ↑ Knack.be: Turteltaks wordt Turtelboom fataal, 'Tommelein naar Vlaamse regering' (April 29, 2016) (Dutch).