Jaak Gabriëls
Petrus Josephus Jacobus "Jaak" Gabriëls (born September 22, 1943 in Bree , Limburg province , Belgium ) is a Belgian politician of the Volksunie and the Open Vlaamse Liberalen en Democrats (VLD), who is both a minister in the federal government and in the government Flanders was.
biography
After visiting the Sint-Martinusscholen in 1965, he began to study philosophy and literature at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven , where he was also a member of the Catholic Flemish University Students Association (KVHV).
He began his political career as a member of the Limburg Province Council, of which he was a member between 1974 and 1977. In 1977 he was elected to represent the VLD as a member of the Chamber of Deputies and later a member of the Flemish Parliament . From 1977 to 2012 he was also mayor of his native Bree.
Between 1986 and 1992 he was chairman of the Volksunie and one of the most important advocates for program and personnel renewal. After the defeat in the parliamentary elections in 1991, he was one of the strongest supporters of cooperation between the Volksunie and the traditional liberal Partij voor Vrijheid en Vooruitgang (PVV). However, when some of the members of the Volksunie did not follow him with this intention, he resigned in 1992, left the Volksunie together with numerous of his supporters such as André Geens , Hugo Coveliers , Bart Somers and Jef Valkeniers and shortly afterwards founded the VLD.
On July 12, 1999, Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt appointed him Minister for Agriculture and Small Business in his first government .
On July 10, 2001 he resigned from the federal government and was instead appointed to the regional government of Flanders by the Flemish Prime Minister Patrick Dawael . There he was Minister for Economy, Foreign Trade and Housing until 2003. He was also the Flemish Foreign Minister between 2002 and June 2003.
For his political merits, Jaak Gabriëls was awarded the honorary title of Minister of State on January 26, 2004, along with a number of other former ministers .
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| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Gabriëls, Jaak |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Gabriëls, Petrus Josephus Jacobus (full name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Belgian politician (Volksunie and VLD) |
| DATE OF BIRTH | September 22, 1943 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Bree , Limburg Province, Belgium |