Boudewijn Bouckaert (born 21 July 1947) is a Belgian law professor, a member of the

Flemish Movement The Flemish Movement (, ) is an umbrella term which encompasses various political groups in the Belgium, Belgian region of Flanders and, less commonly, in French Flanders. Ideologically, it encompasses groups which have sought to promote Flemis ...

, and a

libertarian Libertarianism (from ; or from ) is a political philosophy that holds freedom, personal sovereignty, and liberty as primary values. Many libertarians believe that the concept of freedom is in accord with the Non-Aggression Principle, according ...

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

thinker and

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

. He was a Member of the Flemish Parliament for the liberal party

List Dedecker Libertarian, Direct, Democratic (, ; LDD) is a conservative-liberal, libertarian, right-wing populist Flemish political party in Belgium. The party surprised commentators by winning five seats in the Chamber and one seat in the Senate in 2007, ...

. He is also a former president of the Belgian

classical liberal Classical liberalism is a political tradition and a branch of liberalism that advocates free market and laissez-faire economics and civil liberties under the rule of law, with special emphasis on individual autonomy, limited government, eco ...

think tanks Nova Civitas,

Cassandra Cassandra or Kassandra (; , , sometimes referred to as Alexandra; ) in Greek mythology was a Trojan priestess dedicated to the god Apollo and fated by him to utter true prophecy, prophecies but never to be believed. In modern usage her name is e ...

and Libera!. Boudewijn Bouckaert holds a

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

and teaches at the

Law School A law school (also known as a law centre/center, college of law, or faculty of law) is an institution, professional school, or department of a college or university specializing in legal education, usually involved as part of a process for b ...

of the

University of Ghent Ghent University (, abbreviated as UGent) is a Public university, public research university located in Ghent, in the East Flanders province of Belgium. Located in Flanders, Ghent University is the second largest Belgian university, consisting o ...

, the

University of Paris The University of Paris (), known Metonymy, metonymically as the Sorbonne (), was the leading university in Paris, France, from 1150 to 1970, except for 1793–1806 during the French Revolution. Emerging around 1150 as a corporation associated wit ...

and the University of Aix-Marseille. He is

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

of the ''Department of Legal Theory and History'' at Ghent University and was chairperson of the ''European Master in Law and Economics'' program. He has been lecturer at the

Institute for Humane Studies The Institute for Humane Studies (IHS) is a non-profit organization that promotes the teaching and research of classical liberalism in higher education in the United States. IHS offers funding opportunities, programs, and events for faculty and g ...

Fairfax, Virginia Fairfax ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city in Virginia and the county seat of Fairfax County, Virginia, in the United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 24,146. Fairfax is pa ...

, at the Institute for Economic Studies in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, France, and also a visitor at

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

. He used to sit on the Belgian ''High Council for Judicial Matters'' and was chairman of the ''Land Management Committee''. He is also a member of the international free-market group

Mont Pelerin Society The Mont Pelerin Society (MPS), founded in 1947, is an international academic society of Economist, economists, Political philosophy, political philosophers, and other Intelligentsia, intellectuals who share a classical liberal outlook. It is hea ...

. In 2006, Boudewijn Bouckaert succeeded professor Matthias Storme as chairman of the Overlegcentrum van Vlaamse Verenigingen (OVV, or ''Meeting Association of Flemish Organizations''), a flamingant organisation in

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 ...

. On 7 June 2007, his pregnant wife Katrien Van den Berghe died in Ghent University Hospital due to a

cerebral hemorrhage Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), also known as hemorrhagic stroke, is a sudden bleeding into the tissues of the brain (i.e. the parenchyma), into its ventricles, or into both. An ICH is a type of bleeding within the skull and one kind of stro ...

. Their unborn son Elias could also not be saved.

VLD

Bouckaert was a member of the board of the

Flemish Liberals and Democrats The Open Flemish Liberals and Democrats (, , Open Vld) is a Flemish liberal political party in Belgium. The party has been described as centre-right and has smaller factions within the party that have conservative liberal and social liberal v ...

(VLD) party. In 2005 he created a stir when he publicly called for an "evolution to the formation of a two-party system after the Anglo-Saxon model." With "two homogenous groups," Bouckaert concluded, "a left-wing bloc around the sp.a, ACV and Groen!, and a right wing bloc with the VLD, the right wing of the

CD&V Christian Democratic and Flemish (, ; CD&V) is a Flemish Christian-democratic political party in Belgium. The party has historical ties to both trade unionism ( ACV) and trade associations ( UNIZO) and the Farmer's League. Until 2001, the party w ...

, the

N-VA The New Flemish Alliance ( ; N-VA) is a Flemish nationalist, conservative political party in Belgium. The party was established in 2001 by the right-leaning faction of the centrist-nationalist People's Union (VU). The N-VA is a regionalist an ...

and the

Vlaams Belang Vlaams Belang (; ; VB) is a Flemish nationalist, Eurosceptic and right-wing populist political party in the Flemish Region and Brussels Capital Region of Belgium. It is widely considered by the media and political analysts to be on the polit ...

." His opinions were against the party line, and an agreement within the VLD to not criticize the party line. A conflict ensued between Bouckaert and party chairman

Bart Somers Bartolomeus Jozef Lodewijk Rosalia "Bart" Somers (born 12 May 1964 in Mechelen) is a Belgian, Flemish politician. He is currently the mayor of Mechelen. In 2017, Bart Somers was awarded 2016 World Mayor Prize as recognition for his outstandin ...

, which ended on 8 July 2005, when Bouckaert stepped down from the party board. After the dismissal of

Jean-Marie Dedecker Jean-Marie Louis Dedecker (born 13 June 1952) is a Belgian politician. In 1999 and 2003, Dedecker was directly elected to the Belgian Senate for the Flemish Liberals and Democrats (VLD). In 2004, he ran for a seat in the Flemish Parliament, a ...

from the VLD, Hugo Coveliers, Dedecker and Boudewijn Bouckaert (and other Nova Civitas members) started negotiations to form a new right wing liberal party. Bouckaert handed in his party resignation on 27 October 2006, stating that the VLD "has become a left-liberal party that leans towards the SP.A." The

social democratic Social democracy is a Social philosophy, social, Economic ideology, economic, and political philosophy within socialism that supports Democracy, political and economic democracy and a gradualist, reformist, and democratic approach toward achi ...

Different Socialist Party (SP.A) was a partner of the VLD from 1999 to 2007 in the Verhofstadt I and Verhofstadt II governments. Bouckaert briefly joined the N-VA political party, together with

, but sided with Dedecker after his

New Flemish Alliance The New Flemish Alliance ( ; N-VA) is a Flemish Movement, Flemish nationalist, Conservatism, conservative Political parties in Belgium, political party in Belgium. The party was established in 2001 by the right-leaning faction of the centrist-na ...

(N-VA) dismissal and

foundation.

Trivia

* He delivered the ''Wieser Memorial Lecture'' at the 2007

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

''Conference on Political Economy'', in April 2007, at the Liberální institut, a

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus *Czech (surnam ...

free market In economics, a free market is an economic market (economics), system in which the prices of goods and services are determined by supply and demand expressed by sellers and buyers. Such markets, as modeled, operate without the intervention of ...

think tank A think tank, or public policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governme ...

. * He was a lecturer at the first and second Liberty Seminar held in

Leuven Leuven (, , ), also called Louvain (, , ), is the capital and largest City status in Belgium, city of the Provinces of Belgium, province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located about east of Brussels. The municipalit ...

(Belgium) in July 2007 and August 2008. * Raised

Catholic 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 ...

, he considered organized secularism ("vrijzinnigheid") in his student days, but is now a member of Belgium's small

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

community. * In 2022 he was awarded the Prize for Liberty by the Flemish classical-liberal think tank Libera!.

References

External links

*
Lijst Dedecker Webpage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bouckaert, Boudewijn Jurists from Ghent Members of the Flemish Parliament Academic staff of Ghent University Law and economics scholars Belgian Protestants Academic staff of the University of Paris Harvard University staff Libertair, Direct, Democratisch politicians Belgian libertarians Politicians from Ghent 1947 births Living people New Flemish Alliance politicians Open Flemish Liberals and Democrats politicians