Herman Francies Joseph De Croo (born 12 August 1937) is a Belgian politician of the

Open Flemish Liberals and Democrats french: Libéraux et démocrates flamands ouverts , abbreviation = Open Vld , logo = , leader1_title = President , leader1_name = Egbert Lachaert , foundation = 1992 (VLD)2007 (Open Vld) , predecessor = P ...

. First elected in March 1968, he is the longest serving Belgian

member of parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

, serving uninterrupted until 2014. He is the father of incumbent

prime minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...

Alexander De Croo Alexander De Croo (born 3 November 1975) is a Belgian politician and businessman who has served as the prime minister of Belgium since October 2020. De Croo was born in Vilvoorde, Flemish Brabant, and studied business engineering at the Vrije ...

. He went to school at Collège Saint-Stanislas in

Mons Mons (; German and nl, Bergen, ; Walloon and pcd, Mont) is a city and municipality of Wallonia, and the capital of the province of Hainaut, Belgium. Mons was made into a fortified city by Count Baldwin IV of Hainaut in the 12th century. T ...

. He obtained a doctorate in law from the Université Libre de Bruxelles in 1961, and later attended the

University of Chicago Law School The University of Chicago Law School is the law school of the University of Chicago, a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. It is consistently ranked among the best and most prestigious law schools in the world, and has many dis ...

on a

Fulbright Scholarship The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States Cultural Exchange Programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people ...

. From 1999 until July 2007, De Croo was the President of the Chamber of Representatives, the

lower house A lower house is one of two Debate chamber, chambers of a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the upper house. Despite its official position "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide, the lower house has co ...

of the country's Federal Parliament. He is the current mayor of

Brakel Brakel () is a municipality in the Belgian province of East Flanders in the Denderstreek and the Flemish Ardennes. The name is derived from a Carolingian villa ''Braglo'' first mentioned in 866 and located in the center of Opbrakel. Since 1970, ...

. De Croo was first elected to the Chamber of Representatives in 1968 for the PVV-PLP. He has since served in various governments as minister of Transport and Foreign Trade; minister of Transport, Postal Services, Telegraphy and Telephony; minister of Education and minister of Postal Services, Telegraphy, Telephony and Pensions. Herman De Croo, who holds a Ph.D. in law, is a former Professor of Common Law at the

Vrije Universiteit Brussel The Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) () is a Dutch and English-speaking research university located in Brussels, Belgium.The Vrije Universiteit Brussel is one of the five universities officially recognised by the Flemish government. listof all ...

. De Cross has been President of the European Transport Safety Council since it was founded in 1993.

Honours

Minister of State Minister of State is a title borne by politicians in certain countries governed under a parliamentary system. In some countries a Minister of State is a Junior Minister of government, who is assigned to assist a specific Cabinet Minister. I ...

since 3 June 1998. * : 1st class - Grand Cross of the

Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland The Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland ( pl, Order Zasługi Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej) is a Polish order of merit created in 1974, awarded to persons who have rendered great service to Poland. It is granted to foreigners or Poles resident a ...

Bibliography

*Parlement et Gouvernement (1965) *Het Parlement aan het werk, de taak van de hedendaagse vertegenwoordiging" (1966) *België/Belgique : Service Nation (1985 and 1988) *De wereld volgens Herman De Croo (1999)

References

External links

* 1937 births Belgian Ministers of State Free University of Brussels (1834–1969) alumni Living people Members of the Chamber of Representatives (Belgium) Open Vlaamse Liberalen en Democraten politicians Presidents of the Chamber of Representatives (Belgium) Grand Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland University of Chicago Law School alumni 21st-century Belgian politicians Fulbright alumni {{Belgium-mayor-stub