Marie-Christine E. F. Marghem (born 22 May 1963 in

Tournai Tournai or Tournay ( ; ; nl, Doornik ; pcd, Tornai; wa, Tornè ; la, Tornacum) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. It lies southwest of Brussels on the river Scheldt. Tournai is part of Euromet ...

) is a Walloon

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. She served as Federal Minister of Energy, Environment and Sustainable Development in the Wilmès Government.

Education

She received her degree of Law from the

University of Liège The University of Liège (french: Université de Liège), or ULiège, is a major public university of the French Community of Belgium based in Liège, Wallonia, Belgium. Its official language is French. As of 2020, ULiège is ranked in the 301 ...

. She soon after founded her own law firm in 1987.

Political career

Marghem began her political career by appearing on the lists of the Christian Social Party (PSC) in the local elections of 1994 in Tournai. She was elected and became municipal councillor. She then left the PSC when Gérard Deprez founded the

Citizens' Movement for Change Citizens' Movement for Change (french: Mouvement des Citoyens pour le Changement, MCC) is a Christian-democratic political party in the French Community of Belgium founded by Gérard Deprez in 1998. Deprez was the leader of the Francophone Christ ...

. In the October 2006 local elections, she received 4840 preference votes, the highest score. As part of her parliamentary activities, Marghem stands out nationally for her work in the Commission on sexual abuse and the Commission related to the collapse of the

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 ...

bank. In the October 2012 local elections, Marghem obtained 7911 votes. The MR gets 12 seats and Marghem becomes 1st deputy mayor under a majority agreement with the PSC. In the federal election of 25 May 2014, she was elected with more than 21 000 votes. On 11 October 2014, she took the oath before King Philip as Minister of Energy, Environment and Sustainable Development in the

Michel Government The Michel Governments were various Belgian federal governments led by Prime Minister Charles Michel: * Michel I Government (2014–2018) * Michel II Government The Michel II Government was the Federal Government of Belgium, led by Prime Mini ...

. She has to manage the sensitive issue of

energy transition The energy transition is the process of downshifting fossil fuels and re-developing whole systems to operate on low carbon energy sources. More generally, an energy transition is a significant structural change in an energy system regarding ...

. She is also the minister responsible for the

Federal Institute for Sustainable Development The Federal Institute for Sustainable Development (FISD) assists the Belgian Federal Government in the preparation and enforcement of policy decisions related to sustainable development. History of European Sustainable Development The history ...

. In 2021 she became infamous for not following a request from the Federal Government. For over more than a year she needed to discuss the issue of the reversing counter for solar panels with the Flemish Government. However, no meetings were ever held ignoring the situation of half a million households.

Offices held

* 1994–present: Municipal councillor for Tournai. * 2000–2006: Alderman of Finance of Tournai * 2006–2014: 1st deputy mayor, in charge of Planning and Urban Development * 2014–2020: Minister of Energy, Environment and Sustainable Development in both the

and the Wilmès Government.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Marghem, Marie-Christine Living people 1963 births Women government ministers of Belgium 20th-century Belgian women politicians 20th-century Belgian politicians 21st-century Belgian women politicians 21st-century Belgian politicians