Karel Pinxten

Karel Pinxten

Karel Alfons Hugo Arnold Maria Pinxten (born July 19, 1952 in Overpelt , Flanders ) is a Belgian politician ( CVP , Open VLD ).

Life

Pinxten studied economics at the Catholic University of Leuven , where his uncle of the same name was professor of economics. In 1983 Pinxten was elected mayor of his home municipality Overpelt. At the age of thirty he was the youngest mayor in Flanders when he was elected . In 1989 he was elected to the European Parliament , of which he was a member until 1991. From 1991 to 2006 he was a member of the Belgian Chamber of Deputies with one interruption . In 1994 he was appointed to the Dehaene I government. There he took over the Ministry of Defense, which was made free by the resignation of Leo Delcroix . In 1995, when the Dehaene II government was sworn in , Pinxten took over the Ministry of Agriculture. Shortly before the end of his regular term of office, he resigned from this post as a result of the dioxin scandal . In 2006 Pinxten resigned his mandate in the Chamber of Deputies and resigned from his position as mayor after he moved to the European Court of Auditors . This office will expire in 2012.

Pinxten was a member of the CVP for many years. In February 2002, together with Johan Van Hecke, he founded the new NCD ( Nieuwe Christen-Democrats ) party, which was disbanded in March. Pinxten then joined the VLD. In the local council elections in 2006, the OPEN-lijst he founded in Overpelt ran, which was led by his daughter. She won seven out of 23 seats.

Web links

Commons : Karel Pinxten  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Entry on Karel Pinxten in the Members' database of the European Parliament