Herman Francies Joseph De Croo (born 12 August 1937 in Opbrakel) is a Belgian liberal politician. He is a member of the Open VLD

Flemish Liberals and Democrats

' , commonly known as Open VLD and also simply as the VLD, is a Flemish liberal political party in Belgium, created in 1992 from the former Party for Freedom and Progress and a few other politicians from other parties. The party led the government for three cabinets under Guy Verhofstadt from 1999...

. He is the father of current Open VLD chairman Alexander De Croo

Alexander De Croo

Alexander De Croo is a Flemish liberal politician, economist and businessman. He was elected chairman of his political party on 12 December 2009.- Biography :...

.

He obtained a doctorate in law from the Université Libre de Bruxelles

Université Libre de Bruxelles

The Université libre de Bruxelles is a French-speaking university in Brussels, Belgium. It has 21,000 students, 29% of whom come from abroad, and an equally cosmopolitan staff.-Name:...

 (U.L.B.) in 1961. With a Fulbright scholarship he attended Chicago Law School

University of Chicago

The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...

 (United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

) (1961‑1962).

From 1999 till July 2007 De Croo was the president of the Belgian Chamber of Representatives, the lower house of the Belgian Federal Parliament

Belgian Federal Parliament

The Belgian Federal Parliament is a bicameral parliament. It consists of the Chamber of Representatives and the Senate . It sits in the Palace of the Nation .- Chamber of Representatives :...

. He is the current mayor of Brakel

Brakel

Brakel is a municipality in the Belgian province of East Flanders in the Denderstreek and the Flemish Ardennes. The name is derived from a Carolingian villa Braglo first mentioned in 866 and located in the center of Opbrakel. Since 1970, the municipality has comprised the villages of Nederbrakel,...

.

De Croo was first elected to the Belgian Chamber of Representatives in 1968 for the PVV-PLP

Party for Freedom and Progress

The Party for Freedom and Progress was a liberal party in Belgium which existed from 1961 until 1992 and was the successor of the Liberal Party, which had roots dating back to 1846. It was succeeded in Flanders by the Flemish Liberals and Democrats and in Wallonia by the Parti Réformateur...

. 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

Vrije Universiteit Brussel

The Vrije Universiteit Brussel is a Flemish university located in Brussels, Belgium. It has two campuses referred to as Etterbeek and Jette.The university's name is sometimes abbreviated by "VUB" or translated to "Free University of Brussels"...

.

He holds the honorary title of Minister of State

Minister of State

Minister of State is a title borne by politicians or officials in certain countries governed under a parliamentary system. In some countries a "minister of state" is a junior minister, who is assigned to assist a specific cabinet minister...

 since 3 June 1998.

External links

• Herman De Croo (personal website)