Conner Rousseau (born 13 November 1992) is a Belgian politician who is the chairman of the social-democratic Flemish

Vooruit Vooruit ( nl, Kunstencentrum Vooruit, ) is a historic complex in Ghent, Belgium. Vooruit was originally the festival and art center of the Ghent-based labor movement, with a ballroom, cinema, theater, etc. It is now mainly used for concerts a ...

party (formerly known as the

sp.a Vooruit (Dutch for Forward, ) is a Flemish social democratic political party in Belgium. The party was known as the Flemish Socialist Party (1978–2001: ''Socialistische Partij'', SP; 2001–2021: ''Socialistische Partij Anders'', SP.A) until 2 ...

Biography

Rousseau was born in

Sint-Niklaas Sint-Niklaas (; french: Saint-Nicolas, ) is a Belgian city and municipality located in the Flemish province of East Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Sint-Niklaas proper and the towns of Belsele, Nieuwkerken-Waas, and . Sint-Nikl ...

and is the son of former sp.a politician and university professor Christel Geerts who was the mayor of Sint-Niklaas and John Rousseau, a former basketball player. He studied law at

Ghent University Ghent University ( nl, Universiteit Gent, abbreviated as UGent) is a public research university located in Ghent, Belgium. Established before the state of Belgium itself, the university was founded by the Dutch King William I in 1817, when the ...

and then worked as an advisor to Flemish minister Freya Van den Bossche and then sp.a chairman

John Crombez John Crombez (born 19 September 1973) is a Belgian politician. He has been leader of the Socialist Party Differently (sp.a) since 2015. In the Di Rupo Government (2011–2014) he was Secretary of State for combatting fraud. In 2009, Crombez wa ...

."Conner Rousseau (26) trekt Vlaamse lijst sp.a in Oost-Vlaanderen: "Nieuw socialisme op frisse manier brengen""
''

Het Laatste Nieuws ''Het Laatste Nieuws'' (; in English ''The Latest News'') is a Dutch-language newspaper based in Antwerp, Belgium. It was founded by Julius Hoste Sr. on 7 June 1888. It is now part of DPG Media, and is the most popular newspaper in Flanders and ...

'', 16 december 2018, online geraadpleegd op 4 juni 2019. During the

2019 Belgian regional elections The 2019 Belgian regional elections took place on Sunday 26 May, the same day as the 2019 European Parliament election in Belgium, 2019 European Parliament election as well as the 2019 Belgian federal election, Belgian federal election. In the reg ...

, Rousseau was elected to the Flemish Parliament on 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 ...

list. After his election, he announced his intention to run for leadership of the sp.a and succeeded Crombez in this role. In 2020, he announced his intention to change the name of the party from ''Socialistische Partij Anders'' (Socialist Party Differently) to ''Vooruit'' meaning "Forward." The motion was approved by party members and came into effect in 2021. Rousseau caused some controversy when he was videoed dancing at a wedding party in July 2020 in Fréjus, France without wearing a mask during the COVID-19 lockdown.Ophef over video van feestende SP.A-voorzitter Conner Rousseau: "Trouwfeest, volgens de geldende regels georganiseerd"
VRT Nieuws, 26 juli 2020

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rousseau, Conner 1992 births Living people Flemish politicians Socialistische Partij Anders politicians Members of the Flemish Parliament Ghent University alumni 21st-century Belgian politicians