Louis Marie Joseph Tobback (born 3 May 1938) 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 ...

. Tobback is a Flemish

social democrat Social democracy is a Social philosophy, social, Economic ideology, economic, and political philosophy within socialism that supports Democracy, political and economic democracy and a gradualist, reformist, and democratic approach toward achi ...

and member of the political party SP.A. He was the mayor of

Leuven Leuven (, , ), also called Louvain (, , ), is the capital and largest City status in Belgium, city of the Provinces of Belgium, province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located about east of Brussels. The municipalit ...

(1995–2018) He graduated in Romance philology 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 ...

. He is the father of Bruno Tobback, the former president of the Flemish socialist party Different Socialist Party (SP.A).

Political career

Tobback started his political career in 1965 in the OCMW/CPAS council. In 1971 he was elected a member of the city council of Leuven, and became ''eerste

schepen A schepen (Dutch, ; . ') or échevin (French, , ) or Schöffe (German, ) is a municipal officer in Belgium and formerly the Netherlands, where it has been replaced by the (a municipal executive). In modern Belgium, the ''schepen'' or ''échevin'' ...

'' (first

alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law with similar officials existing in the Netherlands (wethouder) and Belgium (schepen). The term may be titular, denotin ...

). In 1974, he became the leader of the Belgian Socialist Party faction in the

Belgian Chamber of Representatives The Chamber of Representatives (; ; ) is one of the two chambers in the bicameral Federal Parliament of Belgium, the other being the Senate. It is considered to be the "lower house" of the Federal Parliament. Members and elections Article 62 o ...

, and became a controversial but respected politician. Tobback is known for his oneliners in which he clearly states his opinion. From 1988 until 1994, Tobback was Belgium's

Minister of the Interior An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...

in two coalitions formed by Christian Democrats and Socialists, who faced the tough task of bringing Belgium into compliance with the

Maastricht Treaty The Treaty on European Union, commonly known as the Maastricht Treaty, is the foundation treaty of the European Union (EU). Concluded in 1992 between the then-twelve Member state of the European Union, member states of the European Communities, ...

. It was known that he liked cooperating with Jean-Luc Dehaene, who was Prime Minister from 1992 until 1999. In 1994 he became president of the Flemish social-democratic party (SP, since 2001 known as

Socialistische Partij Anders Vooruit (, Dutch language, Dutch for Forward) is a Flanders, Flemish Social democracy, social democratic list of political parties in Belgium, political party in Belgium. It was formerly known as the (Flemish) Socialist Party (1978–2001: ''Soci ...

, SP.A). At that time, the party faced difficulties due to the Agusta scandal in which several Flemish and Francophone Socialists were accused of

corruption Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense that is undertaken by a person or an organization that is entrusted in a position of authority to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's gain. Corruption may involve activities ...

. Despite this, the party did not lose too many votes in the federal and regional elections in 1995. As president of the SP, he also started a campaign of ideological and organisational innovation within the party. In 1995, Tobback also became the mayor of

, and he was granted the title of

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 ...

in recognition of his work in politics. He was re-elected as mayor in 2000, 2006 and 2012 and retired on 31 December 2018. In April 1998, he again became Minister of the Interior, after Johan Vande Lanotte (also SP.A) resigned because of the escape of

Marc Dutroux Marc Paul Alain Dutroux (; born 6 November 1956) is a Belgian convicted serial killer, serial rape, serial rapist, and child sexual abuse, child molester. Initially convicted for the child abduction, abduction and rape of five young girls in 19 ...

during his transport from jail to the court hall. In September 1998, Tobback himself resigned after a

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

n candidate for immigration ( Semira Adamu) died during her forced

repatriation Repatriation is the return of a thing or person to its or their country of origin, respectively. The term may refer to non-human entities, such as converting a foreign currency into the currency of one's own country, as well as the return of mi ...

. Tobback is a self-declared Orangist. He considers the break-up of the Netherlands and Belgium a historic mistake. "If the

United Kingdom of the Netherlands The United Kingdom of the Netherlands is the unofficial name given to the Kingdom of the Netherlands as it existed from 1815 to 1839. The United Netherlands was created in the aftermath of the Napoleonic Wars through the fusion of territories t ...

would have endured, we would have been a member of the G8 today", Tobback said in 2006.

Honours

* 1995: Grand Officer in the Order of Leopold. * 2003: Knight Grand Cross in the Order of Leopold II.

Gallery

File:Villa squattus dei.jpg, The face of the squat '' in

(Belgium). Also depicted:

caricature A caricature is a rendered image showing the features of its subject in a simplified or exaggerated way through sketching, pencil strokes, or other artistic drawings (compare to: cartoon). Caricatures can be either insulting or complimentary, ...

of Louis Tobback.

References

Sources

Louis Tobback

Louis Tobback
(Elections 2006)

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tobback, Louis Vooruit (political party) politicians 1938 births Living people Flemish politicians Politicians from Leuven Belgian socialists Deputy prime ministers of Belgium Members of the Belgian Federal Parliament Mayors of places in Belgium Ministers of state of Belgium Free University of Brussels (1834–1969) alumni Recipients of the Grand Cross of the Order of Leopold II Vrije Universiteit Brussel alumni