Harrie Hendrickx is a former

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 ...

local politician in

Schoten Schoten () is a municipality located in Antwerp Province, Belgium. The municipality only comprises the town of Schoten proper. As of 1 January 2020 Schoten has a total population of 34,311. The total area is which gives a population density of ...

for the Christian democratic CVP/ CD&V party.

Biography

Hendrickx studied Political and Social sciences and subsequently Bookkeeping. After finishing his education, he entered the financial sector, and was employed at A.V., BAC,

BACOB Dexia N.V./S.A., or the Dexia Group, is a Franco-Belgian financial institution formed in 1996. At its peak in 2010, it had about 35,200 members of staff and a core shareholders' equity of €19.2 billion. In 2008, the bank entered severe ...

and finally

Dexia Dexia N.V./S.A., or the Dexia Group, is a Franco-Belgian financial institution formed in 1996. At its peak in 2010, it had about 35,200 members of staff and a core shareholders' equity of €19.2 billion. In 2008, the bank entered severe ...

. In 1983 he started as an independent insurance consultant. In 1970 he became politically active during the local elections, and was elected to the municipal council. Hendrickx was able to hold on to this position until May 2003, when he was appointed as

acting mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well as ...

, replacing then mayor Tony Sebrechts (also a member of the CD&V party). After the fulfilling of legal formalities in June, he was appointed as mayor. In 2002, he was subject of a larger investigation into literary forgery and violations of the building regulations. Due to the running investigation, he could not be sworn in as mayor by provincial governor Camille Paulus, having won the municipal elections that year. The charges against him were eventually dropped by the prosecutor because no evidence of wrongdoing had been found, and Hendrickx was able to start his second term. Hendrickx also gained prominence in the national media during the runup to the same election, after declaring he was willing to break the

cordon sanitaire ''Cordon sanitaire'' () is French for "sanitary cordon". It may refer to: *Cordon sanitaire (medicine), a cordon that quarantines an area during an infectious disease outbreak *Cordon sanitaire (politics), refusal to cooperate with certain politic ...

and form a coalition with the far right

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

, led by Marie-Rose Morel. Eventually, this turned out to be unnecessary, as the tripartite of CD&V/ N-VA, VLD and SP.A was formed instead. In the local elections of 2012, Hendrickx and the CD&V were defeated by the N-VA candidate Maarten De Veuster, who is coincidentally also his son in law. He has since retired from politics.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hendrickx, Harrie 21st-century Belgian politicians