Christoph D'Haese (born 25 February 1967) 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 languag ...

politician and is affiliated to the

N-VA The New Flemish Alliance ( nl, Nieuw-Vlaamse Alliantie, N-VA) is a Flemish nationalist and conservative political party in Belgium. The party was founded in 2001 by the right-leaning fraction of the centrist-nationalist People's Union (VU). T ...

Biography

D'Haese was born in 1967 in Aalst. He studied for a degree in law at the

Catholic University of Leuven University of Leuven or University of Louvain (french: Université de Louvain, link=no; nl, Universiteit Leuven, link=no) may refer to: * Old University of Leuven (1425–1797) * State University of Leuven (1817–1835) * Catholic University of ...

(KU-Leuven) and

University of Strasbourg The University of Strasbourg (french: Université de Strasbourg, Unistra) is a public research university located in Strasbourg, Alsace, France, with over 52,000 students and 3,300 researchers. The French university traces its history to the ea ...

. He worked as a lawyer specializing in criminal law and taught law at KU-Leuven. He also served on the Bar of

Dendermonde Dendermonde (; french: Termonde, ) is a city in the Flemish province of East Flanders in Belgium. The municipality comprises the city of Dendermonde and the towns of Appels, Baasrode, Grembergen, Mespelare, Oudegem, Schoonaarde, and Sint-Gillis-b ...

until 2013. In 2006, he was elected to the municipal council of Aalst for the

Open VLD french: Libéraux et démocrates flamands ouverts , abbreviation = Open Vld , logo = , leader1_title = President , leader1_name = Egbert Lachaert , foundation = 1992 (VLD)2007 (Open Vld) , predecessor = Pa ...

party and became chairman of the local council. In 2011, he left the Open-VLD and joined the

New Flemish Alliance The New Flemish Alliance ( nl, Nieuw-Vlaamse Alliantie, N-VA) is a Flemish nationalist and conservative political party in Belgium. The party was founded in 2001 by the right-leaning fraction of the centrist-nationalist People's Union (VU). T ...

. In 2014, he was elected to the Member of the Chamber of Representatives for the

East Flanders , native_name_lang = , settlement_type = Province of Belgium , image_flag = Flag of Oost-Vlaanderen.svg , flag_size = , image_shield = Wapen van O ...

constituency. D'Haese has also served as the mayor of Aalst since 2013. In 2019, D'Haese became involved in a dispute with

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

after UNESCO threatened to remove the Aalst Carnival from its world list of cultural heritage due to what was seen as anti-Semitic imagery on a float at the carnival. D'Haese argued that the floats featured at the carnival were based on satire rather than racism, however the float was condemned by fellow N-VA politician André Gantman who is Jewish.

Unia ''Unia'' ( en, Dreams), released on 25 May 2007, is the fifth full-length studio album by the power metal band Sonata Arctica, following the album ''Reckoning Night''. The first single from the album was " Paid in Full", released on 27 April 2007 ...

, the Belgian independent arbitrator for matters concerning discrimination, found that no laws had been broken. The incident led to widespread condemnation from multiple organizations, including the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body o ...

References

1967 births Living people Members of the Chamber of Representatives (Belgium) New Flemish Alliance politicians KU Leuven alumni 21st-century Belgian politicians University of Strasbourg alumni People from Aalst, Belgium 20th-century Belgian lawyers Mayors of places in Belgium Belgian city councillors Academic staff of KU Leuven {{Belgium-mayor-stub