Elke Sleurs (born 6 February 1968, in

Ghent Ghent ( ; ; historically known as ''Gaunt'' in English) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the Provinces of Belgium, province ...

) is a Belgian politician and is affiliated with 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 ...

. Sleurs is a

gynaecologist Gynaecology or gynecology (see American and British English spelling differences) is the area of medicine concerned with conditions affecting the female reproductive system. It is often paired with the field of obstetrics, which focuses on pre ...

. She was elected as a member of the

Belgian Senate The Senate ( ; ; ) is one of the two chambers of the Bicameralism, bicameral Belgian Federal Parliament, Federal Parliament of Belgium, the other being the Chamber of Representatives (Belgium), Chamber of Representatives. It is considered to be ...

in 2010. After the 2014 elections Sleurs was elected as a member of the Flemish Parliament and a regional senator. However, in October 2014, she became Secretary of State for Poverty Reduction, Equal Opportunities, People With Disabilities, Combating Fraud and Scientific Policy in the

Michel Government The Michel Governments were various Belgian federal governments led by Prime Minister Charles Michel: * Michel I Government (2014–2018) * Michel II Government The Michel II Government was the Federal Government of Belgium, led by Prime Mini ...

. On 21 May 2015, she became secretary of state for Urban Policy, but handed over the Combating Fraud portfolio to colleague Johan Van Overtveldt. On 20 February 2017 Sleurs announced she would leave her position as Secretary of State for Equal Rights, Disabled Persons, Scientific Policy, Urban Policy and fighting Poverty to become

lijsttrekker In politics, a lead candidate (; , ) is the candidate placed first on a party list. In parliamentary systems, it is often the party's nominee for the position of head of government, and the party chair or party leader. Usage by country Net ...

for the upcoming 2018 municipal elections. Three days later, the N-VA decided to replace Sleurs with

Zuhal Demir Zuhal Demir (born 2 March 1980) is a Belgian lawyer and politician affiliated with the N-VA. Demir was elected as a member of the Belgian Chamber of Representatives in 2010 and served there until 2017. She served as Secretary of State for Pover ...

. Demir was sworn in by the King on 24 February 2017.Zuhal Demir: "Ik ben een madame van de aanpak"
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Notes

Living people Members of the Senate (Belgium) New Flemish Alliance politicians 1968 births Politicians from Ghent Belgian women physicians Women gynaecologists 21st-century Belgian women politicians Belgian obstetricians and gynaecologists {{Flanders-politician-stub