Matthias Diependaele (born 7 Augustus 1979 in

Sint-Niklaas Sint-Niklaas (; french: Saint-Nicolas, ) is a Belgian city and municipality located in the Flemish province of East Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Sint-Niklaas proper and the towns of Belsele, Nieuwkerken-Waas, and . Sint-Nikl ...

) 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 affiliated to the

N-VA 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 ...

who is the current Minister for Finance, Budget, Housing and Immovable Heritage in the

Flemish Government The Flemish Government ( nl, Vlaamse regering ) is the executive branch of the Flemish Community and the Flemish Region of Belgium. It consists of a government cabinet, headed by the Minister-President and accountable to the Flemish Parliament, a ...

. He previously served as 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 ...

between 2009 and 2019.

Career

In 2006, he graduated with a law degree from the

KU 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 ...

, having specialized himself in European and international law. He started his political career within the N-VA as a parliamentary aide to MEP

Frieda Brepoels Frederika Marie Joseph (Frieda) Brepoels (; born on 7 May 1955 in Bilzen, Mopertingen) is a Politics of Belgium, Belgian politician of Nieuw-Vlaamse Alliantie, N-VA, mayor of Bilzen and former Member of the European Parliament for Flanders. Career ...

. In the 2009 regional elections, at the age of 29, he was elected as a member of the Flemish parliament. In 2013, Diependaele became the

parliamentary leader A parliamentary leader is a political title or a descriptive term used in various countries to designate the person leading a parliamentary group or caucus in a legislative body, whether it be a national or sub-national legislature. They are the ...

for the N-VA in the Flemish parliament, succeeding

Kris Van Dijck Kris Van Dijck (born 2 October 1963 in Turnhout) is a Belgian politician affiliated to the New Flemish Alliance (N-VA), member of the Flemish Parliament and mayor of Dessel. He was elected as a member of the Flemish Parliament in 1995 and reele ...

. In the 2012 local elections, Diependaele was the

lead candidate In politics, a lead candidate (; , ) is the leader of a political party in an election to a legislative body. In parliamentary systems, it is often the party's nominee for the position of head of government. In open list electoral systems, it is ...

for the N-VA-ZAP list in his home town

Zottegem Zottegem (, Sotteghem and Sottegem in older English and French language sources) is a municipality located in Belgium and more particularly in Flanders, in the province of East Flanders. The municipality comprises the town of Zottegem proper and ...

and was elected as a municipal councillor. Despite his party gaining the largest share of the vote, it was excluded from the governing coalition and ended up in opposition. After the 2018 local elections, the N-VA formed a new coalition with

CD&V Christian Democratic and Flemish (, , CD&V) is a Flemish Christian-democratic political party in Belgium. The party has historical ties to both trade unionism ( ACV) and trade associations (UNIZO) and the Farmer's League. Until 2001, the party wa ...

and Diependaele was appointed as an

alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many Jurisdiction, jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council membe ...

tasked with traffic, mobility, public works, spatial planning, submunicipalities and animal welfare. As part of the coalition agreement, it was decided that Diependaele would take over as mayor at the start of 2022. He was reelected as a member of the Flemish parliament in the

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

and

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

regional elections. On 2 October 2019, Diependaele became the Minister for Finance, Budget, Housing and Immovable Heritage in the new

Jambon Government The Jambon Government (''Regering-Jambon'') is the Flemish Government formed and sworn in on 2 October 2019, following the 2019 Belgian regional elections and replacing the interim Homans Government. On 30 September 2019, just over four months ...

. As required by law, he resigned from his position as an alderman in Zottegem at the same time. However, he will still take up his mandate as mayor of Zottegem at the start of 2022. He was succeeded as parliamentary leader by

Wilfried Vandaele Wilfried Vandaele (born 5 June 1959 in Bruges) is a Belgian politician and is affiliated to the N-VA. He has been a member of the Flemish Parliament since 2009 and has served as its speaker between 13 July and 2 October 2019. He is also the curre ...

Notes

External links

* Living people Members of the Flemish Parliament New Flemish Alliance politicians 1979 births People from Sint-Niklaas 21st-century Belgian politicians {{Belgium-mayor-stub