Herman Francies Joseph De Croo (born 12 August 1937) is a Belgian politician of the

Open 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 ...

. First elected in March 1968, he is the longest serving Belgian member of parliament, serving uninterrupted until 2014. He is the father of former

prime minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Alexander De Croo Alexander De Croo (; born 3 November 1975) is a Belgian politician and businessman who served as Prime Minister of Belgium from 2020 to 2025. Previously from 2012 to 2020, De Croo served as deputy prime minister in the governments of Elio Di Rup ...

. He went to school at

Collège Saint-Stanislas Collège Saint-Stanislas is a mixed Catholic secondary school in Mons, Belgium. It was founded in 1851 by the Jesuits. It is located on Rue des Dominicains in the centre of Mons. Despite some disruption during the two world wars, the college has ...

Mons Mons commonly refers to: * Mons, Belgium, a city in Belgium * Mons pubis (mons Venus or mons veneris), in mammalian anatomy, the adipose tissue lying above the pubic bone * Mons (planetary nomenclature), a sizable extraterrestrial mountain * Batt ...

. He obtained a doctorate in law 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 ...

in 1961, and later attended the

University of Chicago Law School The University of Chicago Law School is the Law school in the United States, law school of the University of Chicago, a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. It employs more than 180 full-time and part-time facul ...

on a

Fulbright Scholarship The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States cultural exchange programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people ...

. From 1999 until July 2007, De Croo was the President of the Chamber of Representatives, the

lower house A lower house is the lower chamber of a bicameral legislature, where the other chamber is the upper house. Although styled as "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide, the lower house has come to wield more power or otherwise e ...

of the country's

Federal Parliament The Parliament of Australia (officially the Parliament of the Commonwealth and also known as the Federal Parliament) is the federal legislature of Australia. It consists of three elements: the monarch of Australia (represented by the governor ...

. He is the current mayor of

Brakel Brakel may refer to: ;Places * Brakel, Belgium, East Flanders, Belgium * Brakel, Germany, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany * Brakel (Gelderland), Gelderland, Netherlands * Brakel (North Brabant), North Brabant, Netherlands ;Other uses * Wilhelmus � ...

. De Croo was first elected to the Chamber of Representatives in 1968 for the PVV-PLP. He has since served in various governments as minister of Transport and Foreign Trade; minister of Transport, Postal Services, Telegraphy and Telephony; minister of Education and minister of Postal Services, Telegraphy, Telephony and Pensions. Herman De Croo, who holds a Ph.D. in law, is a former Professor of Common Law at the

Vrije Universiteit Brussel The Vrije Universiteit Brussel (Dutch language, Dutch, ; lit. Free University of Brussels; abbreviated VUB) is a Dutch- and English-speaking research university in Brussels, Belgium. It has four campuses: Brussels Humanities, Science and Engine ...

. De Croo has been President of the

European Transport Safety Council The European Transport Safety Council (ETSC) is a non-profit organisation that works to reduce the number of deaths and injuries in traffic collisions that occur in Europe. It publishes an annual ''Road Safety Performance Index Report'', measuring ...

since it was founded in 1993.

Honours

Minister of State Minister of state is a designation for a government minister, with varying meanings in different jurisdictions. In a number of European countries, the title is given as an honorific conferring a higher rank, often bestowed upon senior minister ...

since 3 June 1998. * : 1st class - Grand Cross of the

Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland The Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland () is a Polish order of merit created in 1974, awarded to persons who have rendered great service to Poland. It is granted to foreigners or Poles resident abroad. As such, it is sometimes referred to as ...

Bibliography

*Parlement et Gouvernement (1965) *Het Parlement aan het werk, de taak van de hedendaagse vertegenwoordiging" (1966) *België/Belgique : Service Nation (1985 and 1988) *De wereld volgens Herman De Croo (1999)

References

External links

* 1937 births Free University of Brussels (1834–1969) alumni Grand Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland Living people Members of the 47th Chamber of Representatives (Belgium) Members of the 49th Chamber of Representatives (Belgium) Members of the 50th Chamber of Representatives (Belgium) Members of the 51st Chamber of Representatives (Belgium) Members of the 52nd Chamber of Representatives (Belgium) Members of the 53rd Chamber of Representatives (Belgium) Ministers of state of Belgium Open Flemish Liberals and Democrats politicians Presidents of the Chamber of Representatives (Belgium) University of Chicago Law School alumni {{Belgium-mayor-stub