Geert Bourgeois

Geert Bourgeois's father, Emiel Bourgeois, was born in Hulste on 10 October 1918, towards the end of the First World War.

He went on to work as a primary school teacher.

After the Second World War he was accused of collaboration and spent some time in prison.

He was subsequently rehabilitated and appointed headmaster at the primary school where he had previously been teaching.

Emiel Bourgeois married Izegem-born Gaby Vens (1920–2015), with whom he had two sons and two daughters.

Geert Albert Bourgeois (born 6 July 1951) is a Belgian politician of the New Flemish Alliance (N-VA), which he founded in 2001, who is currently serving as a Member of the European Parliament since 2019.

In 1966, he set up, along with his brother Kris and his classmate Koen Baert, a Blue Banner group of Father Boucquillon.

When the group later merged with the VNJ (Flemish Nationalist Youth League), he left the local chapter.

He later became involved with the Flemish Nationalist Student Union (Vlaams-Nationale Studentenunie) and the Language Action Committee (Taal Aktie Komitee).

At the age of 17, he became the secretary of the local Volksunie branch and the chairman of the Volksunie Youth Wing of Izegem.

Geert Bourgeois attended secondary school at Saint Joseph's College in Izegem before he went on to read law at Ghent University from 1970 to 1975.

That same year, he married Betty Hoste with whom he set up a law firm.

The couple have two sons.

Bourgeois was politically engaged from an early age.

During his time at secondary school, he became a member of the Catholic Student Action (Katholieke Studentenactie – KSA).

He has been involved in local and regional politics in Flanders since 1976.

Bourgeois took part in the municipal council elections for the first time in 1976.

He was elected into office with 997 preferential votes.

As he still had to comply with his national service obligations, he was unable to take up his seat until 1977.

From 1977 onwards, Geert Bourgeois ran in all national elections.

In 1982, he was re-elected, with the Volksunie joining the city council.

Bourgeois served as Alderman for Public Works, Town and Country Planning, Town Centre Regeneration, Trade, Small Business Owners & Industry and Legal Affairs.

He has consistently been re-elected ever since.

After the 1988 elections, he again became Alderman in the municipal council, an office he held until 1994.

He joined the national board of the Volksunie party, and from 1990 until 1993, served as chairman of the Association of Flemish (political) Office Holders.

The 1994 elections put a different majority coalition in power in Izegem.

Prior to this, he was a member of the federal Chamber of Representatives for the People's Union from 1995 to 2001, and then for the N-VA from 2001 to 2004.

In the 1995 elections, he was elected as a member of the federal parliament.

In the federal Chamber of Representatives, he primarily focused on legal affairs and matters concerning Belgium's different Communities.

Even though he served as a member of the opposition, he managed to get several private member's bills of his adopted, such as the Protection of Sources Act, which means that reporters are now only required to reveal the identity of their sources in the event of an emergency.

He gained nationwide acclaim for his activities as a member of the Dutroux Committee and the role he played in the Octopus negotiations.

In 1996, he joined the Volksunie party leadership.

He died in 1998.

In 1999, Bourgeois became leader of the Volksunie political group in the Chamber of Representatives.

The following year he was elected general party chairman by the membership of what was then the Volksunie, which saw sitting party chairman Patrik Vankrunkelsven ousted.

This election sparked a series of conflicts between the party chairman, who had been directly elected by the members, and the VU's party board, appointed by the party leadership.

The differences in opinion came to a head at the time of the Lambermont Agreement.

From 2013 until 2018, he chaired the Izegem municipal council.

He previously served as the Minister-President of Flanders from 2014 to 2019.

He continued to sit as a member of the Izegem municipal council until 2018, and did not stand again in the municipal council elections held that same year.