André M. J. Gh. Flahaut (born 18 August 1955) is a Belgian
politician, then in the
province of Brabant and now in the
province of
Walloon Brabant. Flahaut studied political sciences and public administration at the
Université Libre de Bruxelles.
Political career
Flahaut was born in
Walhain
Walhain (; wa, Walin) is a municipality of Wallonia located in the Belgian province of Walloon Brabant. It consists of the former municipalities of Nil-Saint-Vincent-Saint-Martin, Tourinnes-Saint-Lambert and Walhain-Saint-Paul.
The Belgian Nat ...
. He joined the
Socialist Party in 1973. From 1989 to 1995 he served in various posts in the administration of Walloon Brabant. He has served in the local council of Walhain, in the provincial council of Walloon Brabant and as deputy governor of Walloon Brabant. Since 12 July 1999 he has served as Minister of Defence in both governments of
Guy Verhofstadt
Guy Maurice Marie Louise Verhofstadt (; ; born 11 April 1953) is a Belgian politician who was the leader of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe from 2009 to 2019, and has been a member of the European Parliament (MEP) from Belgium ...
, Verhofstadt I (1999–2003) and Verhofstadt II (2003–2007).
In 2009, he demanded the recall of the Belgian ambassador to the Holy See after controversy over comments by Pope Benedict XVI, who claimed that condoms promoted AIDS. Flahaut commented, ''"The comments made by the pope, who is a head of state, are sufficiently grave, inappropriate, and inadmissible that we should mark, in a symbolic but very strong fashion, our displeasure and disapproval."''
From 20 July 2010 through 30 June 2014, he was President of the Belgian Chamber of Representatives. Flahaut is the current Minister of Budget in the
Government of the French Community.
Anti-semitic charges and subsequent lawsuit
Because of charges of
antisemitism
Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism.
Antis ...
brought by the
Coordinating Committee of Jewish Organizations in Belgium (CCOJB) and Joël Rubinfeld, André Flahaut decided to lodge a complaint of defamation in June 2008, demanding €25000 in damages and official apology. The
tribunal of first instance of Brussels in a verdict returned in October 2009 agreed with Flahaut on an apology, but not on the damages. The CCOJB and Joël Rubinfeld appealed the decision.
New
Comité de coordination des organisations juives de Belgique (CCOJB) leader Professor
Maurice Sosnowski commented on the lawsuit: “Rubinfeld was right to accuse Flahaut and right to appeal the first circuit's sentence, but a reasonable compromise is better than a long and uncertain procedure.”
Honours
* 2014 : Knight Grand Cross in the
Order of Leopold II.
References
External links
*
Details
, -
, -
{{DEFAULTSORT:Flahaut, Andre
1955 births
Living people
Belgian Ministers of State
Socialist Party (Belgium) politicians
People from Walhain
Presidents of the Chamber of Representatives (Belgium)
Recipients of the Grand Cross of the Order of Leopold II
Belgian Ministers of Defence
21st-century Belgian politicians