Pascal Smet
Encyclopedia
Pascal Smet a member of the Socialist Party - Different
Socialist Party - Different
' is a Flemish social-democratic party in Belgium. It was formerly known as the Socialistische Partij , which in turn had branched off from the Belgian Socialist Party, itself formed by former members of the Belgian Labour Party.-1978-now:The party was the big winner in the 2003 election, running...

 (sp.a), is a regional minister in Belgium
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...

.

Personal life

He was born in 1967 in Beveren-Waas
Beveren
Beveren is a municipality located in the Belgian province of East Flanders. The municipality comprises the towns of Beveren proper, Doel, Haasdonk, Kallo, Kieldrecht, Melsele, Verrebroek and Vrasene....

. He was a member of the town council of Beveren-Waas from 1989 to 1997 and a member of the province council of East-Flanders (1991–1994). He earned a degree in Law at the University of Antwerp
University of Antwerp
The University of Antwerp is one of the major Belgian universities located in the city of Antwerp. The name is sometimes abbreviated as UA.-History:...

. He is openly gay.

Career

He served as Belgium's Commissioner General for refugee
Refugee
A refugee is a person who outside her country of origin or habitual residence because she has suffered persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or because she is a member of a persecuted 'social group'. Such a person may be referred to as an 'asylum seeker' until...

s and stateless people (2001–2003). In 2003 he became state secretary in the government of the Brussels-Capital Region with the competences of Mobility, the Civil Service, Fire Department, Urgent Medical Assistance and chairman of the Flemish community commission with the competences of Culture, Sport, the Civil Service and Media.

After the regional elections of 2004
Belgian regional elections, 2004
On June 13, 2004, regional elections were held in Belgium, to choose representatives in the regional councils of the Flemish Parliament, the Walloon Parliament, the Brussels Parliament and the German-speaking Community of Belgium...

 Pascal Smet became a minister. From 2004 to 2009 he was minister in the government of the Brussels-Capital Region. He dealt with mobility and public works in the Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...

 capital region. He was also competent for culture, sport and youth for the Flemish community in Brussels. After the 2009 regional elections
Belgian regional elections, 2009
Regional elections were held in Belgium on 7 June 2009 to choose representatives in the regional councils of Flanders, Wallonia, Brussels and the German-speaking Community of Belgium...

, the SP.a was ousted from the Brussels government and on 13 July 2009 Smet became then a member of the Flemish Government
Flemish government
The Flemish Government is the executive branch of the Flemish Community and the Flemish Region. It consists of up to a maximum of eleven ministers, chosen by the Flemish Parliament...

as Flemish Minister for Education, Youth, Equal Opportunities and Brussels Affairs.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK