Bernard Anselme (; born 3 November 1945) was the 6th

Minister-President of Wallonia The minister-president of Wallonia () is the head of the Government of Wallonia, the executive power of Wallonia, one of the three regions of Belgium. The official residence, known as the Élysette, is in Namur, along the Meuse River. The ministe ...

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

from 11 May 1988 to 7 January 1992.

Biography

Bernard Anselme was born on 3 November 1945 in

Mouscron Mouscron (; Dutch language, Dutch and , ; Picard language, Picard and Walloon language, Walloon: ''Moucron'') is a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality and City status in Belgium, city of Wallonia located in the Belgium, Belgian Hainaut Provinc ...

Wallonia Wallonia ( ; ; or ), officially the Walloon Region ( ; ), is one of the three communities, regions and language areas of Belgium, regions of Belgium—along with Flemish Region, Flanders and Brussels. Covering the southern portion of the c ...

to a postal worker. After his father was transferred to

Libramont-Chevigny Libramont-Chevigny (; ) is a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality of Wallonia located in the Luxembourg (Belgium), province of Luxembourg, Belgium. On 1 February 2015, the municipality, which covers 177.86 km2, had 10,955 inhabitants, g ...

, Anselme studied humanities from 1957 to 1963, ending his education in the humanities at

Namur Namur (; ; ) is a city and municipality in Wallonia, Belgium. It is the capital both of the province of Namur and of Wallonia, hosting the Parliament of Wallonia, the Government of Wallonia and its administration. Namur stands at the confl ...

in 1963. In 1968, Anselme received a degree in political science, diplomacy and administration from the

Université libre de Bruxelles The (French language, French, ; lit. Free University of Brussels; abbreviated ULB) is a French-speaking research university in Brussels, Belgium. It has three campuses: the ''Solbosch'' campus (in the City of Brussels and Ixelles), the ''Plain ...

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 ...

. During his time in Brussels, Anselme became involved in the Young FGTB, becoming its assistant secretary in 1964, its secretary in 1968 and serving as its president from 1968 to 1970. Between 1969 and 1972, Anselme served as the Special Adviser to the Minister for Community Relations, and from 1972 to 1977 served as an adviser to the President of the Walloon Economic Council, . In 1977, Anselme became the Member for Namur, serving in various positions before serving as Wallonia's Secretary of State from 1979 to 1980. In 1985, as a member of Wallonia's regional parliament, Anselme authored a decree establishing Namur as the capital of the Walloon Region. In 1988, Anselme became the

Minister-President of the Walloon Region The minister-president of Wallonia () is the head of the Government of Wallonia, the executive power of Wallonia, one of the three regions of Belgium. The official residence, known as the Élysette, is in Namur, along the Meuse River. The ministe ...

, a position he retained until 7 January 1992. From 1994 to 1999 Anselme served as the Minister for Internal Affairs for the Walloon Region, followed by a few months in the position of Minister for Social Affairs. On 1 January 2001, Anselme became the Mayor of Namur. In October 2006, following the formation of a coalition between the Christian Democrats, Greens and Liberals, Anselme's Socialist Party was ousted from government for the first time in 30 years. Anselme announced his intention to resign from politics following the election defeat, but was convinced to stay in municipal politics. He currently sits as a Namur municipal councillor.

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Anselme, Bernard 1945 births People from Mouscron Living people Minister-presidents of Wallonia Minister-presidents of the French Community of Belgium Mayors of places in Belgium People from Namur (city) Walloon movement activists 21st-century Belgian politicians