Cathy Hilde Raymond Berx (born 8 January 1969 in

Berchem Berchem () is a southern district of the municipality and city of Antwerp in the Flemish Region of Belgium. Berchem is located along the old ''Grote Steenweg'' (Dutch for 'Big Paved Road') that has connected Brussels to Antwerp for several centur ...

) is a Belgian

Christian Democrat Christian democracy (sometimes named Centrist democracy) is a political ideology that emerged in 19th-century Europe under the influence of Catholic social teaching and neo-Calvinism. It was conceived as a combination of modern democratic ...

politician, jurist and governor of the province of Antwerp. Cathy Berx is married to Johan Meeusen, vice-rector and professor of

European Law European Union law is a system of rules operating within the member states of the European Union (EU). Since the founding of the European Coal and Steel Community following World War II, the EU has developed the aim to "promote peace, its valu ...

at the

University of Antwerp The University of Antwerp ( nl, Universiteit Antwerpen) is a major Belgian university located in the city of Antwerp. The official abbreviation is ''UA'', but ''UAntwerpen'' is more recently used. The University of Antwerp has about 20,000 stu ...

, and has 2 children.

Career

Berx obtained her Master of Laws in 1993 and worked from then on as an assistant at the University of Antwerp. From 1997 until 2004 she was a researcher for CEDER (Study Service of

Christian Democratic Party __NOTOC__ Christian democratic parties are political parties that seek to apply Christian principles to public policy. The underlying Christian democracy movement emerged in 19th-century Europe, largely under the influence of Catholic social te ...

). In 1998 she became Doctor of Laws and in 2000 she started teaching at the U.A. From 2001 until 2007 she was vice-chairman of the Social Service Department in Antwerp. And from 2003 until 2008 she was vice-chairman of the Christian Democratic Party. She joined 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 ...

in 2004 until April 2008. And from 2007 until 2008 she was a member of the Antwerp City Council. During the difficult discussions in order to get a new government at the end of 2007, Cathy Berx was a top staff member of Yves Leterme, who later became

Prime Minister of Belgium german: Premierminister von Belgien , insignia = State Coat of Arms of Belgium.svg , insigniasize = 100px , insigniacaption = Coat of arms , insigniaalt = , flag = Government ...

. Since May 2008 she is the governor of the province of Antwerp and chairman of the Institute of Tropical Medicine Antwerp (ITG).

Private life

Her son Joachim Meeusen was a member of the Student Club

Reuzegom Reuzegom (established 1946) was a Flemish fraternity at KU Leuven, part of the Antwerp Guild of student societies (). It is known for a 2013 case of animal abuse and a 2018 case of psychological and physical abuse of three recruits that resul ...

which was responsible for the murder of Sanda Dia. Joachim was interrogated by the police and the case is still pending further investigation by the authorities. It seems, however, that he wasn't present at that moment.

Sources

Cathy Berx
(Dutch)
Cathy Berx
(Dutch)

References

{{s-end 1969 births Living people Belgian jurists Christian Democratic and Flemish politicians Governors of Antwerp Province Members of the Flemish Parliament People from Berchem University of Antwerp alumni University of Antwerp faculty Women governors of provinces of Belgium