Frieda Leontine Mauritia Van Themsche (born 26 April 1955 – 16 March 2023) was a member of the Belgian federal parliament.

1955–2003

Van Themsche was born 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 ...

into a Flemish-nationalist family. Her father Karel and his twin brother fought on the side of the Waffen-SS on the Eastern Front during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Her father lost a leg, his brother died. Her brother, Hans van Themsche's father, was a founding member of the

Vlaams Blok ''Vlaams Blok'' ( en, Flemish Block, or VB) was the name of a Belgian far-right and secessionist political party with an anti-immigration platform.Erk, 2005, pp. 493-502. Its ideologies embraced Flemish nationalism, calling for the independence ...

. Hans Van Themsche has been convicted of several racist murders, which he committed in the city of

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

in the spring of 2006. After marriage, Van Themsche moved to

Harelbeke Harelbeke (; vls, Oarlbeke) is a city and municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Harelbeke proper and the towns of Bavikhove and Hulste. On January 1, 2019, Harelbeke had a total pop ...

. Before going into politics, she was a teacher for seven years.

2003–2023

Frieda Van Themsche was a member of parliament for

from 2003 to 2007. After her first speech 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 ...

, Van Themsche pronounced the words "België Barst" ('Belgium must crack'). Then-chairman of the Chamber,

Flemish Flemish (''Vlaams'') is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch (), Belgian Dutch ( ), or Southern Dutch (). Flemish is native to Flanders, a historical region in northern Belgium; ...

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

Herman De Croo, gave the order to delete the words from the minutes of the parliamentary assembly. On 14 September 2003, Van Themsche's son, Floris Vandenbroucke, was run over by a car in Kuurne. He died on the spot at the age of fifteen years. The offender committed a hit and run and was not found. The event spurred Van Themsche's interest in traffic regulations, road safety, and speeding. In May 2005, Van Themsche proposed to ban trucks from the roads on Sundays and public holidays. Van Themsche left federal politics in 2007. The immediate cause of her departure was the Virginia Tech massacre, which once again brought attention to the deadly excursion of her nephew Hans in

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

in 2006. Additionally, her pregnant daughter living with a man of Moroccan origin played a role. She was a

councilor A councillor is an elected representative for a local government council in some countries. Canada Due to the control that the provinces have over their municipal governments, terms that councillors serve vary from province to province. Unl ...

in the

city council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...

for

Vlaams Belang , ideology = , predecessor = Vlaams Blok , position = , europarl = Identity and Democracy , european = Identity and Democracy Party , youth_wing = Vlaams Belang Jongeren , colours = , ...

from 2001 to 2012.

References and sources

External links

Vlaams Belang Kamerfractie

Stem Test (vlaams parlement) - Vlaams Blok - Frieda Van Themsche - West-Vlaanderen
{{DEFAULTSORT:Van Themsche, Frieda 1955 births Living people Vlaams Belang politicians 21st-century Belgian politicians 21st-century Belgian women politicians