Kris Peeters

Kris Peeters
Member of the European Parliament
Incumbent
Assumed office 2 July 2019
Deputy Prime Minister
In office 11 October 2014 – 1 July 2019
Prime Minister	Charles Michel
Preceded by	Pieter De Crem
Succeeded by	Koen Geens
Minister of Employment, Economy, Consumer Affairs
In office 11 October 2014 – 1 July 2019
Prime Minister	Charles Michel
Preceded by	Johan Vande Lanotte (Economy and Consumer Affairs) Monica De Coninck (Employment)
Succeeded by	Wouter Beke
Minister-President of Flanders
In office 28 June 2007 – 25 July 2014
Preceded by	Yves Leterme
Succeeded by	Geert Bourgeois
Personal details
Born	(1962-05-18) 18 May 1962 Reet, Belgium
Political party	CD&V
Spouse	Ann
Children	Karel
Alma mater	University of Antwerp, Vlerick Business School

Kris Peeters (Dutch: [ˈkrɪs ˈpeːtərs]; born 18 May 1962) is a Belgian politician of the Christian Democratic and Flemish who has been serving as a member of the European Parliament since 2019. He was Minister-President of Flanders from 2007 until 2014 and was Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Employment in the government of Prime Minister Charles Michel.

Early life and education

At the left, next to Piet Vanthemsche.

After attending secondary school in Boom, Peeters studied law in Antwerp and obtained a law degree in 1986. In addition, he obtained a degree in taxation and accounting from Vlerick Business School in Ghent.

Career

Peeters served from 1991 to 1994 as Director of the NCMV research department. In 1994 he became Secretary-General of NCMV and when NCMV was reformed into the SME interest group UNIZO in 1999, he became its first managing director. In 2004, although not having been a candidate for public office at the 2004 regional elections, Peeters was asked to become a member of the Flemish Government. He resigned his position with UNIZO and became Flemish Minister for Public Works, Energy, the Environment and Nature.

During the 2006 municipal elections, Peeters ran for public office the first time in his career and was elected a member of the city council of his home town Puurs. In the 2007 Belgian federal elections, Peeters was elected to the Belgian Chamber of Representatives but chose not to take his seat, instead he succeeded Yves Leterme as Minister-President of Flanders, as Leterme headed the CD&V coalition talks for a new Belgian government. Peeters also gave up his former competences to Hilde Crevits and took on the responsibilities for Institutional Affairs, Agriculture and Sea Fisheries, formerly belonging to Leterme, while keeping his own competence regarding Ports. He has been serving a second term as head of the Flemish government since the regional elections of 7 June 2009, with the additional competences of Institutional Affairs, Economy, Agriculture and Sea Fisheries.

During the 2014 Belgian government formation Peeters was co-formateur along with Charles Michel (MR). Peeters was poised to become the new Prime Minister of Belgium. However, upon nominating Marianne Thyssen (also CD&V) as European Commissioner, his party already held a major political office. Consequently, Charles Michel became Prime Minister, and Kris Peeters became Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Employment, Economy and Consumer Affairs in the Michel Government.

Besides Bart De Wever, Maggie De Block and Theo Francken, Peeters is one of the most popular political figures in Flanders in recent years.

Member of the European Parliament

Since becoming a Member of the European Parliament in the 2019 elections, Peeters has been serving on the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection and the Subcommittee on Security and Defence. In addition to his committee assignments, he chairs the Parliament's delegation for relations with the NATO Parliamentary Assembly.

External links

Media related to Kris Peeters at Wikimedia Commons

• Website of Kris Peeters
• Kris Peeters on the website of CD&V