Sander Loones

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Sander Loones (born January 26, 1979 in Veurne ) is a Belgian politician of the Nieuw-Vlaamse Alliantie (N-VA). He was a member of the European Parliament from 2014 to 2018 and was sworn in as Minister of Defense in the Michel federal government on November 12, 2018 . After almost four weeks in office, he resigned because his party had left the governing coalition.

Life

Sander Loones comes from a politically active family. His father Jan Loones was a long-time member of parliament for the Volksunie and the N-VA. His grandfather was Honoré Loones , a member of the Vlaamsch Nationaal Verbond (VNV) and, during the German occupation in World War II, mayor of Oostduinkerke (now part of the Koksijde municipality ) and later of Ostend . His grandmother Rosette Dewitte was also Mayor of Oostduinkerke from 1953 to 1964.

Loones studied law at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven in Leuven . Initially, he worked in the study service of the Department for Foreigners Affairs of the Federal Public Service of the Interior until the end of 2010 .

In 2011, Loones got into politics when he was hired by N-VA chairman Bart De Wever to expand the party's own study service. When the government was formed in 2014, he was part of the N-VA negotiators. Sander Loones found his way into the European Parliament when he replaced Johan Van Overtveldt (N-VA), who in turn became finance minister in the Michel government .

When the incumbent Defense Minister Steven Vandeput (N-VA) decided to accept the office of mayor in Hasselt following the local elections on October 14, 2018 , Sander Loones was designated as his successor in the federal government. He took his oath on November 12th. As a member of the 8th European Parliament, Ralph Packet succeeded him .

After his party's resignation from the Michel I government on December 9, 2019, Foreign Minister Didier Reynders also took over the post of Defense Minister.

Overview of political offices

  • 2014 - 2018: Member of the European Parliament
  • 2018 - present : Federal Minister of Defense in charge of the civil service in the Michel government
  • from 2019: City council member in Koksijde

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ DeMorgen.be: Sander Loones (N-VA) eed af as minister van Defensie (November 12, 2018) (Dutch).
  2. ^ Belgian government breaks up on UN pact , bote.ch, December 9, 2018
personal data
SURNAME Loones, Sander
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Belgian politician of the Nieuw-Vlaamse Alliantie (N-VA)
DATE OF BIRTH January 26, 1979
PLACE OF BIRTH Veurne