Bernard Clerfayt (born 30 December 1961, in

Uccle Uccle () or Ukkel () is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. In common with all of Brussels' municipalities, it is legally bilingual (French–Dutch). It is generally considered an affluent area of the city a ...

) is a

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct language ...

politician. He has been the mayor of

Schaerbeek (French language, French and History of Dutch orthography, archaic Dutch, ) or (contemporary Dutch language, Dutch, ) is one of the List of municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, 19 municipalities of the Brussels, Brussels-Capital Re ...

since 2001 and is currently vice-president of the Front Démocratique des Francophones (FDF). As is common in Belgium, he holds a

dual mandate A dual mandate is the practice in which elected officials serve in more than one elected or other public position simultaneously. This practice is sometimes known as double jobbing in Britain and ''cumul des mandats'' in France; not to be confused ...

and has also been a member of the federal Belgian Chamber of Representatives since 2007. Clerfayt received a master's degree in

economics Economics () is the social science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and intera ...

from the

Université catholique de Louvain The Université catholique de Louvain (also known as the Catholic University of Louvain, the English translation of its French name, and the University of Louvain, its official English name) is Belgium's largest French-speaking university. It ...

(UCLouvain) in 1986 while working as a research assistant at the

Katholieke Universiteit Leuven KU Leuven (or Katholieke Universiteit Leuven) is a Catholic research university in the city of Leuven, Belgium. It conducts teaching, research, and services in computer science, engineering, natural sciences, theology, humanities, medicine, l ...

's Centre for Economic Studies (Centrum voor Economische Studien). After an internship at the

International Monetary Fund The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution, headquartered in Washington, D.C., consisting of 190 countries. Its stated mission is "working to foster globa ...

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, he joined IRES (Economic Analysis Service) at UCLouvain. He pursued his career as a research and teaching assistant. He then obtained the chair of Macroeconomics and Political Economics at UCLouvain, at Facultés universitaires catholiques de Mons and at Facultés Universitaires de Lille (1984-1997). Bernard Clerfayt joined the local section in Schaerbeek, where he had moved to, in 1985. Ten years later, he became 2nd Deputy Mayor in Schaerbeek and finally mayor in 2001. In June 1989, he was elected to the

Brussels Parliament The Parliament of the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) ( French: ''Parlement de la Région de Bruxelles-Capitale'', Dutch: ''Parlement van het Brussels Hoofdstedelijk Gew ...

and was reelected in 1995, 1999 and 2004. He has held different posts such as Vice-president of the Brussels Regional Council and President of the Committee for Town and Country Planning and Land Policy. In 2007, Clerfayt was elected to the

Belgian Chamber of Representatives The Chamber of Representatives (Dutch: , french: link=no, Chambre des représentants, german: link=no, Abgeordnetenkammer) is one of the two chambers in the bicameral Federal Parliament of Belgium, the other being the Senate. It is considered ...

and was appointed in 2008 as the Secretary of State for Finance in charge of the modernisation of the Department of Finance, green taxation and the fight against tax fraud. In 2010 he was re-elected to the federal chamber. Clerfayt was re-elected mayor of Schaerbeek in 2012 at the head of a governing coalition of his own party with

Ecolo Ecolo, officially Écologistes Confédérés pour l'organisation de luttes originales'', (English: Confederate Ecologists for the Organisation of Original Struggles)'' is a French-speaking political party in Belgium based on green politics. The ...

(green party) and the CdH (Christian-democrats). He had governed with Ecolo since 2006.

References

External links

Bernard Clerfayt's Official Website

Bernard Clerfayt's Website about the first edition of the Ecofisc symposium (green taxes) Profile, website of the Front Démocratique des FrancophonesProfile, website of the Mouvement Réformateur
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clerfayt, Bernard 1961 births Living people People from Uccle DéFI politicians Belgian Ministers of State Members of the Belgian Federal Parliament Mayors of places in Belgium 21st-century Belgian politicians