Marianne Leonie Petrus Thyssen (; born 24 July 1956) 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 languag ...

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...

of the

Christian Democratic and Flemish 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 w ...

Party (CD&V) who served as European Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs, Skills and Labour Mobility between 2014 and 2019.

Early life

Born in

Sint-Gillis-Waas Sint-Gillis-Waas (;Every word in isolation: . french: Saint-Gilles-Waes) is a municipality located in the Belgian province of East Flanders. The municipality comprises the towns of De Klinge, , Sint-Gillis-Waas proper and . On 1 January 2018, Sin ...

, to a Flemish family, not related to the family of Baron Thyssen, Thyssen graduated from the Catholic University of Leuven (KUL) in 1979, where she obtained a degree in law. She worked as a legal adviser for a Belgian organisation for the self-employed and small and medium-sized businesses

UNIZO {{unreferenced, date=February 2012 UNIZO ( nl, Unie van Zelfstandige Ondernemers) is a Belgian association of entrepreneurs, Small and Medium Sized Enterprises ( SME); it is mainly situated in the Flemish region of the Kingdom of Belgium. The Uni ...

and the women's network Christelijke Middenstands- en Burgervrouwen (CMBV) now Markant, becoming Director then acting Secretary-General at UNIZO in 1991. From 1986-1988 she acted as legal adviser to the state secretary for public health and disability policy.

Political activity

In 1991, Thyssen became a

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 ...

(MEP) for

Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to cultu ...

with the CD&V, the Flemish Christian Democrats in Belgium; she took the place of , who had moved to the Belgian Senate. From 1995-2008 she served as municipal

Councillor A councillor is an elected representative for a local government council in some countries. Canada Due to the control that the provinces have over their municipal governments, terms that councillors serve vary from province to province. Unl ...

for

Oud-Heverlee Oud-Heverlee () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Flemish Brabant. The municipality comprises the villages of ''Blanden'', '' Haasrode'', ''Oud-Heverlee proper'', '' Sint-Joris-Weert'' and ''Vaalbeek''. On January 1, 2018, Oud- ...

, a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

located in the Belgian province of Flemish Brabant, and in 2001 she became First

Alderman An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members t ...

for

. As a local councillor, she chose to work on such social issues as childcare and care for the elderly.Cynthia Kroet (15 January 2015)
Marianne Thyssen – self-starter
'' European Voice''. In 2008 Thyssen was elected leader of CD&V party. During her almost 23 years as a member of the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...

Thyssen was re-elected five times. She has sat on the European Parliament's

Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection The Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection (IMCO) is a committee of the European Parliament. Work of the committee The committee is responsible for: * coordination at Community level of national legislation in the sphere of th ...

, has substituted for the

Committee on International Trade The Committee on International Trade (INTA) is a committee of the European Parliament. Its current chair, elected on 10 July 2019, is Bernd Lange.EU-

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

Parliamentary Cooperation Committee and a substitute for the Delegation to the EU-

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

Joint Parliamentary Committee. From 1999-2014 she served as leader of the European People's Party's (EPP) Belgian delegation and from 2004-2009 was elected first vice-president of the EPP. In 2014 Thyssen was appointed to the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body ...

as Commissioner in charge of Employment, Social Affairs, Skills and Labour Mobility for the European Union (EU). She became the first Belgian woman to be appointed Commissioner.

Early career

* 1979: Degree in

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...

at the Catholic University of Leuven (KUL) * Assistant in the faculty of law, Catholic University of Leuven * Legal assistant in the office of the State Secretary for Health * Successively legal adviser, head of a research department and acting Secretary-General at Unizo (organisation for the self-employed and small and medium-sized businesses)

Career

* since 1991:

* Member of the bureau of the European People's Party * Vice-Chairwoman of the EPP-ED Group's SME Circle * First Deputy

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 ...

until 2008 * Chair woman of the CD&V (15 May 2008 – 23 June 2010)

References

External links