Jacques Simonet
Encyclopedia
Jacques Simonet was a Belgian
politician
and a former Minister-President of the Brussels-Capital Region
.
He is the son of Henri Simonet
, former Socialist Party
minister and for many years mayor of Anderlecht
. His mother Marie-Louise Angenet taught at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel
.
He was born in Watermael-Boitsfort
, Belgium. He studied law at the Université Libre de Bruxelles
. He married Véronica Labe, a notary
, in 1988; they had two children. He entered politics as a student activist in the Fédération des étudiants libéraux, a right-wing party and later became a member of the Reformist Movement
(MR).
Simonet served as mayor of Anderlecht
from 2000 until his death and as Minister-President of the Brussels-Capital Region from 15 July 1999 to 18 October 2000. He served as state secretary for European Affairs of Belgium from 12 July 2003 until 12 February 2004 when he became Minister-President of Brussels for the second time on the resignation of Daniel Ducarme
following revelations of Ducarme's unpaid taxes in the newspaper Vers L'Avenir. He led the MR list in the elections of June 2004, losing to the Socialists led by former Minister-President Charles Picqué
and gave up the minister-presidency a month later.
Simonet was hospitalised on 9 September 2006 as the result of a pulmonary embolism
. In the elections which followed on 8 October 2006 he was re-elected as mayor of Anderlecht with 8500 preference votes. On 14 June 2007 he suddenly died of a heart attack aged only 43.
|-
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
and a former Minister-President of the Brussels-Capital Region
Minister-President of the Brussels-Capital Region
The Minister-President of the Brussels Capital-Region is the person leading the Government of the Brussels-Capital Region. The post is appointed for 5 years along with 4 ministers and 3 "state" secretaries...
.
He is the son of Henri Simonet
Henri Simonet
Henri François Simonet was a Belgian politician.Born in Brussels, Henri Simonet studied law and economics at the ULB and then went to Columbia University as CRB Graduate Fellow. Simonet began his political life as a member of the Socialist Party . He served as mayor of Anderlecht between 1966 and...
, former Socialist Party
Socialist Party (francophone Belgium)
The Socialist Party is a Francophone social-democratic political party in Belgium. As of the 2010 elections, it is the second largest party in the Belgian Chamber of Representatives and the largest Francophone party...
minister and for many years mayor of Anderlecht
Anderlecht
Anderlecht is one of the nineteen municipalities located in the Brussels-Capital Region.There are several historically and architecturally distinct districts within the Anderlecht municipality.-Pronunciation:* Dutch: * French:...
. His mother Marie-Louise Angenet taught 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 was born in Watermael-Boitsfort
Watermael-Boitsfort
Watermael-Boitsfort or Watermaal-Bosvoorde is one of the nineteen municipalities located in the Brussels-Capital Region in Belgium....
, Belgium. He studied law at 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:...
. He married Véronica Labe, a notary
Civil law notary
Civil-law notaries, or Latin notaries, are lawyers of noncontentious private civil law who draft, take, and record legal instruments for private parties, provide legal advice and give attendance in person, and are vested as public officers with the authentication power of the State...
, in 1988; they had two children. He entered politics as a student activist in the Fédération des étudiants libéraux, a right-wing party and later became a member of the Reformist Movement
Reformist Movement
The Reformist Movement is a French-speaking liberal political party in Belgium. The party was in coalition as part of the Leterme II Government, and was also part of the governing coalition in the Walloon Region and Brussels-Capital Region until the 2004 regional elections...
(MR).
Simonet served as mayor of Anderlecht
Anderlecht
Anderlecht is one of the nineteen municipalities located in the Brussels-Capital Region.There are several historically and architecturally distinct districts within the Anderlecht municipality.-Pronunciation:* Dutch: * French:...
from 2000 until his death and as Minister-President of the Brussels-Capital Region from 15 July 1999 to 18 October 2000. He served as state secretary for European Affairs of Belgium from 12 July 2003 until 12 February 2004 when he became Minister-President of Brussels for the second time on the resignation of Daniel Ducarme
Daniel Ducarme
Daniel Ducarme was a Belgian politician and former Minister-President of the Brussels-Capital Region.-Background and political affiliation:...
following revelations of Ducarme's unpaid taxes in the newspaper Vers L'Avenir. He led the MR list in the elections of June 2004, losing to the Socialists led by former Minister-President Charles Picqué
Charles Picqué
Charles Picqué is a Belgian, French-speaking politician. He is currently serving his second term as Minister-President of the Brussels Capital-Region....
and gave up the minister-presidency a month later.
Simonet was hospitalised on 9 September 2006 as the result of a pulmonary embolism
Pulmonary embolism
Pulmonary embolism is a blockage of the main artery of the lung or one of its branches by a substance that has travelled from elsewhere in the body through the bloodstream . Usually this is due to embolism of a thrombus from the deep veins in the legs, a process termed venous thromboembolism...
. In the elections which followed on 8 October 2006 he was re-elected as mayor of Anderlecht with 8500 preference votes. On 14 June 2007 he suddenly died of a heart attack aged only 43.
Sources
|-