Helga Stevens (born 9 August 1968) is a Belgian politician of 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 ...

(N-VA) and

member of the European Parliament A Member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the ECSC) first met in 1952, its ...

since 2014. She is well known for her work fighting for the rights of people with disabilities.

Early life

Born deaf, Helga Stevens first attended Koninklijk Instituut voor Doven en Spraakgestoorden, a special school for deaf students in Hasselt, before later switching to a mainstream school in

Sint-Truiden Sint-Truiden (; french: link=no, Saint-Trond ; li, Sintruin ) is a city and municipality located in the province of Limburg, Flemish Region, Belgium, and has over 41,500 inhabitants, which makes it one of the largest cities in Limburg. The mun ...

. While spending a year in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...

on a Rotary Scholarship 1987, she visited Gallaudet University and met a deaf attorney who inspired her to continue her studies in law. Back in Belgium, she studied law 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 ...

and became the first deaf lawyer in Belgium. In 1993, Stevens returned to the United States and obtained a master's degree at Boalt Hall Law School of the

University of California in Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant univ ...

on a Fulbright scholarship. In 1996, Stevens started working for the

European Union of the Deaf The European Union of the Deaf (EUD) is a supraorganization comprising each respective National Association of the Deaf of the member states of the European Union. The EUD is a nonprofit organization founded in 1985 and is a Regional Co-operating ...

(EUD) and was active in the Federation of Flemish Deaf Organisations.

Political career

Stevens became politically active and was for the first time a candidate in 1999 for the Belgian

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

on the People's Union list (10th place). She was again candidate for Senate in 2003 on the New Flemish Alliance list (3rd place). She was elected as a Member of the Flemish Parliament in 2004 and as a member of the Senate in 2007. She was reelected for the Flemish Parliament in 2009 and as a member of the Senate in 2010. In May 2014, Stevens was elected

Member of the European Parliament A Member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the ECSC) first met in 1952, its ...

. In November 2014, she was elected vice-president of the

European Conservatives and Reformists The European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) is a soft Eurosceptic, anti- federalist political group of the European Parliament. The ECR is the parliamentary group of the European Conservatives and Reformists Party (ECR Party) European pol ...

group. In addition to her committee assignments, Stevens serves as president of the European Parliament's Disabilities Intergroup. In October 2016, the ECR group announced Stevens as their group's choice to be the next

President of the European Parliament President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese f ...

.Cynthia Kroet (4 October 2016)
ECR picks its Parliament presidential candidate
''

Politico Europe ''Politico Europe'' (stylized as ''POLITICO Europe'') is the European edition of the German-owned news organization ''Politico'' reporting on political affairs of the European Union. Its headquarters are located in Brussels with additional offices ...

''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stevens, Helga 1968 births Living people New Flemish Alliance politicians Members of the Flemish Parliament Members of the Belgian Federal Parliament People's Union (Belgium) politicians Deaf politicians MEPs for Belgium 2014–2019 21st-century women MEPs for Belgium Belgian deaf people