Petrus Josephus Jacobus "Jaak" Gabriëls (born 22 September 1943) 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 language ...

politician and member of the

Flemish Liberals and Democrats 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 ...

(VLD) ( nl, Vlaamse Liberalen en Democraten or VLD). He graduated in 1965 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 ...

as Master of Philosophy and Arts. He started his political career as a Provincial Councillor for

Limburg Limburg or Limbourg may refer to: Regions * Limburg (Belgium), a province since 1839 in the Flanders region of Belgium * Limburg (Netherlands), a province since 1839 in the south of the Netherlands * Diocese of Limburg, Roman Catholic Diocese in ...

from 1974 to 1977. From 1977 till the last day of December 2012 he was the Mayor of Bree, and from 1977 he was Member of the Chamber of Representatives. From 1995 to 1999 he was a Member of the

Flemish Parliament The Flemish Parliament (Dutch: , formerly called Flemish Council or ''Vlaamse Raad'') constitutes the legislative power in Flanders for matters which fall within the competence of Flanders, both as a geographic region and as a cultural communi ...

. He was the leader of the People's Union ( nl, Volksunie or VU) from 1986 to 1992 and was a founding member of the VLD. He also was

Federal Federal or foederal (archaic) may refer to: Politics General *Federal monarchy, a federation of monarchies *Federation, or ''Federal state'' (federal system), a type of government characterized by both a central (federal) government and states or ...

Minister of Agriculture and middle class (from 1999 to 2001) and

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; ...

Minister of Economy, Foreign Trade and Housing (from 2001 to 2003). He again became a Member of the

in 2003 and he became a

Minister of State Minister of State is a title borne by politicians in certain countries governed under a parliamentary system. In some countries a Minister of State is a Junior Minister of government, who is assigned to assist a specific Cabinet Minister. In o ...

in 2004.

References

1943 births Living people Open Vlaamse Liberalen en Democraten politicians Ministers of Agriculture of Belgium Belgian Ministers of State KU Leuven alumni People's Union (Belgium) politicians {{Belgium-mayor-stub