Caroline Gennez (; 21 August 1975) is a Belgian

socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the ...

politician who has been serving as the Minister of Development Cooperation and Urban Policy in the

De Croo Government The De Croo Government is the incumbent Federal Government of Belgium, led by Prime Minister Alexander De Croo since 1 October 2020. History The creation of the De Croo Government occurred on 1 October 2020, 494 days after the 2019 Belgian f ...

since December 2022. She is a former chairwoman of the Socialist Party – Different (SP.A) in

Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to cultu ...

Early life and education

Gennez was born in

Sint-Truiden Sint-Truiden (; french: link=no, Saint-Trond ; li, Sintruin ) is a city and municipality located in the province of Limburg, Flemish Region, Belgium, and has over 41,500 inhabitants, which makes it one of the largest cities in Limburg. The mu ...

. From the age of 5 until she was 14, she was a talented tennis player. A

hernia A hernia is the abnormal exit of tissue or an organ, such as the bowel, through the wall of the cavity in which it normally resides. Various types of hernias can occur, most commonly involving the abdomen, and specifically the groin. Groin hern ...

ended this career. She got a Master in

Political Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studi ...

and

Sociological Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of empirical investigation and ...

Sciences at the Catholic University of Leuven.

Political career

After her studies, Gennez joined the Young Socialists, and became their chairperson in 1998. While working as an advisor to

Johan Vande Lanotte Johan Cyrille Corneel Vande Lanotte (born 6 July 1955) is a Belgian politician. He is a member of the SP.A, and became its party president on 15 October 2005. He handed down his leadership positions after the SP.A lost in the 2007 general elec ...

, Gennez became a

city councillor A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...

(2001–2003) and an

alderman An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members them ...

(2003) in Sint-Truiden. In 2003, her party appointed her to the

Belgian Senate The Senate ( nl, Senaat, ; french: Sénat, ; german: Senat) is one of the two chambers of the bicameral Federal Parliament of Belgium, the other being the Chamber of Representatives. It is considered to be the "upper house" of the Federal Parli ...

and made her move to

Mechelen Mechelen (; french: Malines ; traditional English name: MechlinMechelen has been known in English as ''Mechlin'', from where the adjective ''Mechlinian'' is derived. This name may still be used, especially in a traditional or historical contex ...

. In 2004 she became fraction leader in the

Flemish Parliament The Flemish Parliament ( Dutch: , formerly called Flemish Council or ''Vlaamse Raad'') constitutes the legislative power in Flanders for matters which fall within the competence of Flanders, both as a geographic region and as a cultural commun ...

(2004–2007). Since October 2006, she has been first alderman in Mechelen, responsible for education, youth, employment and social economy. After the electoral defeat in June 2007 at the federal elections, Gennez was elected the successor of

as chairperson of the SP.A, the party of which she has been vice-president since 2003. Between May and October 2005, she was already chairperson ''ad interim'' of the SP.A. After her announcement in June 2011 to not run for a second term as chairwoman, she was succeeded by

Bruno Tobback Bruno Tobback (born 22 August 1969) was the president of the Flemish socialist party Different Socialist Party (SP.A) from 2011 to 2015. He was Minister of Environment and Pensions in the Belgian federal government from 2004 until 2007. He i ...

on 18 September 2011. In the 2014 regional elections, Gennez returned to the Flemish Parliament once again. She was elected as a list leader in the province of Antwerp. From September 2014 to May 2019, she served on the Bureau (executive committee) of the Flemish Parliament as the fourth vice president, under the leadership of Jan Peumans. In the

2019 elections The following elections were scheduled to occur in 2019. The International Foundation for Electoral Systems has a calendar of upcoming elections around the world, and the National Democratic Institute also maintains a calendar of elections in coun ...

, she was re-elected. From June 2019, she was again part of the Bureau of the Flemish Parliament, this time as secretary. Since October 2022, Gennez has been the treasurer of the

Party of European Socialists The Party of European Socialists (PES) is a Social democracy, social democratic and Progressivism, progressive European political party. The PES comprises national-level political parties from all member states of the European Union (EU) plus ...

(PES) under its chair

Stefan Löfven Kjell Stefan Löfven (; officially ''Löfvén''; born 21 July 1957) is a Swedish politician who serves as the President of European Socialists since October 2022. He previously served as Prime Minister of Sweden from October 2014 to November 20 ...

Other activities

International organizations

African Development Bank The African Development Bank Group (AfDB) or (BAD) is a development finance institution, multilateral development finance institution headquartered in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, since September 2014. The AfDB is a financial provider to African gove ...

(AfDB), Ex-Officio Member of the Board of Governors (since 2022) *

Asian Development Bank The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is a regional development bank established on 19 December 1966, which is headquartered in the Ortigas Center located in the city of Mandaluyong, Metro Manila, Philippines. The bank also maintains 31 field offi ...

(ADB), Ex-Officio Alternate Member of the Board of Governors (since 2022) *

Inter-American Development Bank The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB or IADB) is an international financial institution headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States of America, and serving as the largest source of development financing for Latin America and the Cari ...

(IDB), Ex-Officio Alternate Member of the Board of Governors (since 2022) *

European Bank for Reconstruction and Development The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is an international financial institution founded in 1991. As a multilateral developmental investment bank, the EBRD uses investment as a tool to build market economies. Initially fo ...

(EBRD), Ex-Officio Alternate Member of the Board of Governors (since 2022) *

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Inte ...

, Ex-Officio Alternate Member of the Board of Governors (since 2022)

Non-profit organizations

* Universiteit Associatie Brussel (UAB), Chair (since 2013)Rik Arnoudt (12 December 2013)
Caroline Gennez voorzitster Universitaire Associatie Brussel
'' VRT''.

References

External links

*
Biography
at the Belgian Senate {{DEFAULTSORT:Gennez, Caroline Living people 1975 births Flemish politicians Socialistische Partij Anders politicians KU Leuven alumni 21st-century Belgian politicians 21st-century Belgian women politicians Women government ministers of Belgium