Jan Penris (born 12 January 1964,

Mortsel Mortsel () is a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality and City status in Belgium, city close to the city of Antwerp located in the Belgium, Belgian province of Antwerp (province), Antwerp. The municipality only comprises the city of Mortsel pr ...

) is a Belgian politician of 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 ...

party who sat as a member of the

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

and then the Chamber of Representatives.

Biography

Penris graduated in law at the

University of Antwerp The University of Antwerp () is a major Belgian university located in the city of Antwerp. The official abbreviation is ''UAntwerp''. The University of Antwerp has about 20,000 students, which makes it the third-largest university in Flanders. ...

in 1987 and later a degree in maritime studies. He became active in the Flemish nationalist

Nationalistische Studentenvereniging The Nationalistische Studentenvereniging (NSV!) (Dutch language, Dutch; "Nationalist Student Association") is a far-right Flemish Movement, Flemish nationalist student political group in Belgium, with chapters in Antwerp, Brussels, Ghent, Leuven, W ...

student group at this time and served as its president. After graduating he worked in a business capacity for the

Port of Antwerp The port of Antwerp is the port of the city of Antwerp, Belgium. It is located in Flanders, mainly in the province of Antwerp, but also partially in East Flanders. It is a seaport in the heart of Europe accessible to capesize ships. It is Eu ...

. He was elected in the first Flemish Parliament election as part of the

1995 Belgian regional elections On May 21, 1995, regional elections were held in Belgium, to choose representatives in the regional councils of Flanders, Wallonia, Brussels and the German-speaking Community of Belgium. It also was the first time elections were held for the Flemis ...

to represent the Antwerp district constituency. He was reelected consecutively until 2014. After the 2014 Belgian federal election, he sat as a member of the Chamber of Representatives to replace Marijke Dillen who had chosen not to take her seat. From 1993 to 2012, Penris was the party secretary of the Vlaams Belang. Penris caused some controversy when he expressed sympathy towards

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who has served as President of Russia since 2012, having previously served from 2000 to 2008. Putin also served as Prime Minister of Ru ...

in 2014 and visited Crimea during the

2014 Crimean status referendum The Crimean status referendum of 2014 was a disputed referendum on March 16, 2014, concerning the status of Crimea that was conducted in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol (both subdivisions of Ukraine) after Russ ...

. In February 2019, Penris issued an apology after being caught on camera swearing and making obscene gestures at

Open VLD 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 ...

politician Carina Van Cauter during a plenary meeting in the Chamber. The following day

Filip Dewinter Philip Michel Frans "Filip" Dewinter (born 11 September 1962) is a Belgian politician, journalist and commentator. He is one of the leading members of Vlaams Belang, a right-wing Flemish nationalist and secessionist political party. Family back ...

stated Penris' behaviour was a result of alcohol-related depression. Penris decided to undergo treatment and temporarily withdrew from federal politics. He also stood down from the Chamber at the

2019 Belgian federal election Federal elections were held in Belgium on 26 May 2019, alongside the country's European and regional elections. All 150 members of the Chamber of Representatives were elected from eleven multi-member constituencies. The far right-wing Vlaams ...

. That same year he was elected as a municipal councilor in Antwerp.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Penris, Jan 1964 births 20th-century Belgian politicians Flemish activists Living people Members of the 54th Chamber of Representatives (Belgium) Members of the Flemish Parliament People's Union (Belgium) politicians Politicians from Antwerp University of Antwerp alumni Vlaams Belang politicians