Joris Vandenbroucke (born 7 December 1976) is a Belgian politician and member of the Chamber of Representatives. A member of

Vooruit Vooruit ( , ) is a historic complex in Ghent, Belgium. Vooruit was originally the festival and art centre of the Ghent-based labour movement, with a ballroom, cinema, theatre, etc. It is now mainly used for concerts and other cultural events ...

, he has represented

East Flanders East Flanders ( ; ; ; ) is a Provinces of Belgium, province of Belgium. It borders (clockwise from the North) the Netherlands, Dutch province of Zeeland and the Belgian provinces of Antwerp (province), Antwerp, Flemish Brabant, Hainaut (provinc ...

since June 2019. He was 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 ...

from June 2005 to June 2009 and from June 2014 to May 2019.

Early life

Vandenbroucke was born on 7 December 1976 in

Borgloon Borgloon (; , ; ) is a former Municipalities of Belgium, municipality and City status in Belgium, city located in the Belgium, Belgian province of Limburg (Belgium), Limburg. On January 1, 2006, Borgloon had a total population of 10,697. The tota ...

. He attended Montfortcollege Rotselaar

boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. They have existed for many centuries, and now extend acr ...

where he was friend of Theo Francken. They were both members of the Katholieke Studentenactie (KSA). Vandenbroucke studied history and business economics at

KU Leuven KU Leuven (Katholieke Universiteit Leuven) is a Catholic research university in the city of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium. Founded in 1425, it is the oldest university in Belgium and the oldest university in the Low Countries. In addition to its mai ...

People's Union

Vandenbroucke joined the People's Union (VU) whilst a student and was chairman of the Volksuniejongeren (VUJO), VU's

youth wing A youth wing is a subsidiary, autonomous, or independently allied front of a larger organization (usually a political party but occasionally another type of organization) that is formed in order to rally support for that organization from members ...

, at KU Leuven. He was deputy spokesperson Flemish minister Johan Sauwens (VU) from 1999 to 2001. He was elected to the

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 ...

in Leuven at the 2000 local election.

Spirit/Flemish Progressives

The VU split along ideological lines in 2001 and Vandenbroucke joined the

centrist Centrism is the range of political ideologies that exist between left-wing politics and right-wing politics on the left–right political spectrum. It is associated with moderate politics, including people who strongly support moderate policie ...

(Future Group), which would later become Spirit. He was spokesperson for Flemish minister of Gilbert Bossuyt (SP.A) from 2003 to 2004. Vandenbroucke contested the 2004 regional election as the Socialist Party Different-Spirit

electoral alliance An electoral alliance (also known as a bipartisan electoral agreement, electoral pact, electoral agreement, electoral coalition or electoral bloc) is an association of political parties or individuals that exists solely to stand in elections. E ...

's second placed substitute candidate in Limburg and received 4,967 preference votes. He was appointed to the

in June 2005 following the resignation of

Steve Stevaert Steve Stevaert (; born Robert Stevaert ; 12 April 1954 – 2 April 2015) was a Belgian politician of the Flemish Socialist Party: the Socialistische Partij - Anders, SP.A. Biography Stevaert was born on 12 April 1954, in Rijkhoven. After his st ...

. Vandenbroucke moved from

to Beringen in 2005 in order to pursue politics there. He contested the 2006 local election as the SP.A-Spirit electoral alliance's 25th placed candidate in Beringen but was not elected. He contested the 2006 provincial election as the SP.A-Spirit electoral alliance's 10th placed candidate in Beringen but was not elected. He was appointed to the Public Centre for Social Welfare (OCMW) in Beringen in 2007 and the municipal council in Beringen in 2008. Vandenbroucke left the Flemish Progressives (Vl.Pro) in December 2008 over its decision to end the electoral alliance with SP.A.

Socialist Party Different/Vooruit

Vandenbroucke joined the SP.A in January 2009. He contested the 2009 regional election as the SP.A's fourth placed substitute candidate in Limburg and received 4,187 preference votes. He was

chief of staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supportin ...

for Flemish minister

Freya Van den Bossche Freya Van den Bossche (born 26 March 1975) is a Belgian ( Flemish) politician and daughter of prominent former Belgian politician Luc Van den Bossche. She is member of the SP.a political party, and she was Deputy Prime Minister and Minister o ...

(SP.A) from 2010 to 2014. In 2010 he moved to

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 ...

where his wife worked. Vandenbroucke was elected to the provincial council in

at the 2012 provincial elections. He contested the 2014 regional election as the SP.A's first placed substitute candidate in

and received 4,125 preference votes. He was appointed to the Flemish Parliament in June 2014 following the resignation of Daniël Termont. He became leader of the SP.A

group A group is a number of persons or things that are located, gathered, or classed together. Groups of people * Cultural group, a group whose members share the same cultural identity * Ethnic group, a group whose members share the same ethnic iden ...

in Parliament in June 2015 after John Crombez became leader of SP.A. Vandenbroucke contested the 2018 local election as the SP.A-

Groen Groen or de Groen is a surname of Dutch people, Dutch origin, meaning ''green''. He contested the 2018 provincial election as SP.A's 10th placed candidate in Aalst-Oudenaarde but was not elected. He was appointed to the municipal council in Ghent in January 2019 after incumbent mayor Daniël Termont declined to take up his seat. Vandenbroucke was elected to the Chamber of Representatives at the 2019 federal election. He became leader of the

group in the Chamber in November 2023 after Melissa Depraetere became interim chair of the party. He was re-elected at the 2024 federal election.

Personal life

Vandenbroucke has two children and lives in Dampoort.

Electoral history

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vandenbroucke, Joris 1976 births Belgian city councillors KU Leuven alumni Living people Members of the 55th Chamber of Representatives (Belgium) Members of the 56th Chamber of Representatives (Belgium) Members of the Flemish Parliament People's Union (Belgium) politicians Politicians from Ghent Sociaal-Liberale Partij politicians Vooruit (political party) politicians