Élisabeth Degryse (born 22 September 1980) is a Belgian politician. A member of

Les Engagés (LE, , ) is a centrist French-speaking political party in Belgium. The party originated in the split in 1972 of the unitary Christian Social Party (PSC-CVP), which had been the country's governing party for much of the post-war period. It con ...

, she has been Minister-President of the French Community of Belgium since 16 July 2024, also responsible for the Budget, Higher Education, Culture and International and Intra-Francophone Relations. She was also a federal deputy in July 2024.

Early life and education

Degryse is the eldest of five children in a

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

family. Her father was first a teacher then a politician and her mother, a social nurse and nursery director. She studied humanities at the Institut Saint-André, in

Ixelles (French language, French, ) or (Dutch language, Dutch, ) is one of the List of municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located to the south-east of Pentagon (Brussels), Brusse ...

, then she studied history and began a degree in political science at the

Catholic University of Louvain The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

. After her studies, she became involved in a non-governmental organization in India.

Career

Back in Belgium, Degryse worked in the department of the alderman for cleanliness for the

city of Brussels The City of Brussels is the largest List of municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, municipality and historical City centre, centre of the Brussels, Brussels-Capital Region, as well as the capital of the French Community of Belgium, the ...

. She then followed the PSC MP Denis Grimberghs. She participated in the organization of the 2009 elections and then became deputy chief of staff to the Deputy Prime Minister

Joëlle Milquet Joëlle F.G.M. Milquet ( ; born 17 February 1961) is a Belgian politician from the Humanist Democratic Centre (CDH). Education She studied classics at the in Charleroi, before going on to graduate in law from the Université Catholique de Louv ...

. Degryse joined the Mutualité Chrétienne in 20113 and became deputy director of the structures managing supplementary and optional insurance. In 2013, she became director of the Saint-Michel mutuality (in Brussels). At the beginning of 2015, she became national secretary of the Alliance of Christian Mutualities. In July 2020, she became the first woman to take on the role of vice-president of this organization.

Political career

Degryse ran in the federal elections of June 2024 representing the party

as head of the list with

Pierre Kompany Pierre Kompany (born 8 September 1947) is a Belgian politician of Les Engagés and formerly the Humanist Democratic Centre. He was elected mayor of Ganshoren in 2018 and is the father of the footballers Vincent Kompany and François Kompany. He ...

in second position in the constituency of Brussels. She was elected on 9 June 2024 with 11,483 preferential votes. She took the oath on 10 July before the House of Representatives but she was appointed Minister-President of the French Community a few days later and took the oath before the King on 16 July. She was replaced in the House by her substitute, Ismaël Nuino.

Personal life

Degryse is married and has four children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Degryse, Elisabeth 1980 births Living people People from Uccle Members of the 56th Chamber of Representatives (Belgium) Minister-presidents of the French Community of Belgium Les Engagés politicians 21st-century Belgian women politicians Université catholique de Louvain alumni