Johan Jozef Marie Clara Van Hecke (born 2 December 1954 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 A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

and

Member of the European Parliament A member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been Election, elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the European Coal and S ...

for

Flanders Flanders ( or ; ) is the Dutch language, Dutch-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 culture, la ...

with the Vlaamse Liberalen en Democraten, part of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe and sits on the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...

's Committee on International Trade. He is also a member of the Delegation to the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly and a substitute for the Delegation for relations with

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

. He is married to Els De Temmerman, a journalist and activist who established vzw Childsoldiers, an organization that works for the rehabilitation of child soldiers in Africa. He lives in

Oosterzele Oosterzele () is a municipality located in the Flemish province of East Flanders, in Belgium. The municipality comprises the towns of , , , , Oosterzele proper and . In 2021, Oosterzele had a total population of 13,740. The total area is 43.12&nb ...

Education

* 1978: Degree in

medical Medicine is the science and Praxis (process), practice of caring for patients, managing the Medical diagnosis, diagnosis, prognosis, Preventive medicine, prevention, therapy, treatment, Palliative care, palliation of their injury or disease, ...

sociology

Career

* 1978-1980: Assistant at the faculty of sociology, Catholic University of Louvain * 1980-1983: Head of research department and lecturer at the HIPB (Higher Institute for the Paramedical Professions), Ghent * 1983-1986: National Chairman of the Youth CVP * 1993-1996: General Chairman of the CVP * 1997-1999: Director of EPP training

institute An institute is an organizational body created for a certain purpose. They are often research organisations (research institutes) created to do research on specific topics, or can also be a professional body. In some countries, institutes ca ...

in South Africa * 1983-1988: Member of the Oosterzele

Municipal Council 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, borough cou ...

* 1989-1997:

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

* 2001: Member of Ostend

* 1985-1997: Member of the House of Representatives * 1991-1993: Leader of the parliamentary CVP, House of Representatives * since 1999:

External links

* * 1954 births Living people Open Flemish Liberals and Democrats MEPs Open Flemish Liberals and Democrats politicians MEPs for Belgium 1999–2004 MEPs for Belgium 2004–2009 Mayors of places in Belgium {{Flanders-politician-stub

Education

Career

See also

External links