Maggie De Block

Maggie De Block


Minister of Social Affairs and Health
Incumbent
Assumed office 11 October 2014
Prime Minister	Charles Michel
Preceded by	Laurette Onkelinx
Minister of Justice
In office 25 July 2014 – 11 October 2014
Prime Minister	Elio Di Rupo
Preceded by	Annemie Turtelboom
Succeeded by	Koen Geens
State Secretary of Asylum, Migration, Social Integration and Poverty Reduction
In office 6 December 2011 – 11 October 2014
Prime Minister	Elio Di Rupo
Preceded by	Melchior Wathelet (Asylum and Migration) Philippe Courard (Social Integration and Poverty Reduction)
Succeeded by	Theo Francken (Asylum, Migration and Reduction of Administrative Burden) Elke Sleurs (Poverty Reduction, Fraud Combat and Science Policy)
Personal details
Born	(1962-04-28) 28 April 1962 Merchtem, Belgium
Political party	Open Flemish Liberals and Democrats

Maggie Celine Louise De Block, (born 28 April 1962) is a Belgian politician and member of the Flemish liberal party Open Vld.^[1] In 2013 and 2014, she was voted the most popular politician in Flanders. In February 2015, she was voted the most popular politician in Belgium, being the most popular in all three regions. She holds the portfolio of Minister of Social Affairs and Health in the Michel Government. She has received a lot of negative publicity regarding her obesity.

Background

De Block was born in Merchtem. She studied medicine at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) after which she became a general practitioner for 25 years. Her brother, Eddie De Block, is the mayor of Merchtem.

Political career

From 1999 to 2011 Maggie De Block was a Member of the Belgian Chamber of Representatives for the electoral district Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde.

She became the Secretary of State for Asylum, Immigration and Social Integration in the Di Rupo Government in December 2011.^[2] In December 2012, she became the vice-chair of the Open Vld party. She later became Minister of Justice charged with Asylum, Immigration, Social Integration and Poverty Reduction in the Di Rupo Government in July 2014.^[3]

In March 2013, she was voted woman of the year by readers of the francophone newspaper La Libre Belgique.^[4] In 2013 and 2014 polls, she became the most popular Flemish politician, ahead of the Minister-President of Flanders Kris Peeters.^[5]

In the Michel Government formed in October 2014, she became Minister of Social Affairs and Health. When taking the oath, she described the portfolio as "her dream".^[6] Critics have said that she does not set the right example as Health Minister due to her obesity, and she has answered that "I know I'm not a model but you have to see what's inside, not the packaging".^[7] In the position, she was involved in coordinating the Belgian response to the Ebola virus epidemic in West Africa.

In 2015, she became the most popular politician in Flanders, Wallonia and Brussels - making her the most popular politician in Belgium.^[8]

Honours

Belgium: Commander in the Order of Leopold II, ^[9]

References

↑ "Madame Maggie De Block". Belgium.be. Retrieved 15 April 2013.
↑ "Maggie De Block populairste Vlaamse politica". Knack. 24 Mar 2013. Retrieved 15 April 2013.
↑ Maggie De Block CV. Retrieved on 2014-09-15.
↑ "Maggie De Block, Femme de l'année de LaLibre.be". La Libre. 8 Mar 2013. Retrieved 15 April 2013.
↑ "Maggie De Block is populairste politicus". deredactie.be. 12 November 2013.
↑ "Maggie De Block: "Dit is een droom die uitkomt"". Het Laatste Nieuws. 11 October 2014.
↑ "Is she too fat to be a Health Minister?". Mirror.
↑ lbo. "Maggie De Block nu ook populairste in Wallonië en Brussel". De Standaard (in Dutch).
↑ arrêtés royaux du 21 mai 2014

External links

Media related to Maggie De Block at Wikimedia Commons

Official website

Political offices
Preceded by Annemie Turtelboom	Minister of Justice 2014	Succeeded by Koen Geens
Preceded by Laurette Onkelinx	Minister of Social Affairs and Health 2014–present	Incumbent

Justice ministers of Belgium

1831–1899	Gendebien (1831) Barthélémy (1831) Raikem (1831–32) Lebeau (1832–34) Ernst (1834–39) J-B. Nothomb (1839) Raikem (1839–40) Leclerq (1840–41) Van Volxem (1841–42) J-B. Nothomb (1842–43) d'Anethan (1843–47) de Haussy (1847–50) Tesch (1850–52) Faider (1852–55) A. Nothomb (1855–57) Tesch (1857–65) Bara (1865–70) Cornesse (1870–71) T. de Lantsheere (1871–78) Bara (1878–84) Woeste (1884) Devolder (1884–87) Le Jeune (1887–94) Begerem (1894–99)

1900–1999	Van den Heuvel (1899–1907) Renkin (1907–08) L. de Lantsheere (1908–11) Carton de Wiart (1911–18) Vandervelde (1918–21) Van de Vyere (1921) Masson (1921–25) Théodor (1925) Tschoffen (1925) Poullet (1925–26) Hymans (1926–27) Janson (1927–31) Cocq (1931–32) Janson (1932–34) Bovesse (1934–35) Soudan (1935–36) Bovesse (1936–37) Pierlot (1937) de Laveleye (1937) Maistriau (1937) du Bus de Warnaffe (1937–38) Pholien (1938–39) Van Dievoet (1939) de Schryver (1939) Soudan (1939) Janson (1939) Soudan (1939–40) Janson (1940) de Vleeschauwer (1940–42) Delfosse (1942–44) Verbaet (1944–45) du Bus de Warnaffe (1945) Grégoire (1945–46) Rolin (1946) Van Glabbeke (1946) Lilar (1946–47) Struye (1947–48) Moreau de Melen (1948–49) Lilar (1949–50) Carton de Wiart (1950) Moyersoen (1950–52) Pholien (1952) Lagae (1952) du Bus de Warnaffe (1952–54) Lilar (1954–58) Harmel (1958) Merchiers (1958–60) Lilar (1960–61) Vermeylen (1961–65) Wigny (1965–68) Vranckx (1968–73) Vanderpoorten (1973–77) Van Elslande (1977–80) Vanderpoorten (1980) Moureaux (1980–81) Gol (1981–88) Wathelet (1988–95) De Clerck (1995–98) Van Parys (1998–99)

2000–present	Verwilghen (1999–2003) Onkelinx (2003–07) Vandeurzen (2007–08) De Clerck (2008–11) Turtelboom (2011–14) De Block (2014) Geens (2014–)

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