Patrick Janssens (born 19 September 1956) is a Belgian former politician. He was a member of the

SP.a Vooruit (Dutch language, Dutch for Forward, ) is a Flanders, Flemish Social democracy, social democratic list of political parties in Belgium, political party in Belgium. The party was known as the Flemish Socialist Party (1978–2001: ''Socialis ...

and the former mayor of the port city Antwerp.

Career

Janssens studied "Political and Social Sciences" and "Applied Economic Sciences" (both Masters) at the

University of Antwerp The University of Antwerp ( nl, Universiteit Antwerpen) is a major Belgian university located in the city of Antwerp. The official abbreviation is ''UA'', but ''UAntwerpen'' is more recently used. The University of Antwerp has about 20,000 stu ...

and Statistics at the

London School of Economics , mottoeng = To understand the causes of things , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £240.8 million (2021) , budget = £391.1 mill ...

. From 1979 to 1985 he was an assistant in the Department of Sociology and Social Policy at the University of Antwerp, first of Jan Vranken (with whom he wrote the first National Report on Poverty in Belgium, within the framework of the First European Anti-Poverty Programme) and then of Herman Deleeck. From 1985 to 1989, he ran a market research agency () after which he undertook several positions at the marketing agency VVL/BBDO until 1999. In 1999, he was appointed president of the

Socialist Party Socialist Party is the name of many different political parties around the world. All of these parties claim to uphold some form of socialism, though they may have very different interpretations of what "socialism" means. Statistically, most of t ...

. He resigned as president to become

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 as ...

of Antwerp in 2003. In the

general election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

held the same year, Janssens was elected to the

Belgian Chamber of People's Representatives The Chamber of Representatives ( Dutch: , french: link=no, Chambre des représentants, german: link=no, Abgeordnetenkammer) is one of the two chambers in the bicameral Federal Parliament of Belgium, the other being the Senate. It is considered ...

but he left the Chamber one year later when the 2004 regional elections saw Janssens becoming 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 commun ...

. In the municipal elections of 2006, he was overwhelmingly elected for another term as mayor. He was longlisted for the 2008

World Mayor World Mayor is a biennial award organized by the City Mayors Foundation since 2004. It intends to raise the profile of mayors worldwide, as well as honour those who have served their communities well and who have contributed to the well-being of c ...

award. Janssens lost the 2012 municipal elections to

Bart De Wever Bart Albert Liliane De Wever ( born 21 December 1970) is a Belgian politician. Since 2004 De Wever has been the leader of the New Flemish Alliance (N-VA), a political party advocating for the independence of Flanders. He is also a member of the ...

of 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). Th ...

. On 25 August 2014, he became general director of football club

KRC Genk Koninklijke Racing Club Genk (), commonly known as KRC Genk, Racing Genk or simply Genk, is a Belgian professional football club based in the city of Genk in Belgian Limburg. Racing Genk plays in the Belgian Pro League and have won four cha ...

but was succeeded by on 9 February 2018.

References

External links

*
citymayors.com profile
1956 births Living people Alumni of the London School of Economics Mayors of Antwerp, Belgium Socialistische Partij Anders politicians Belgian socialists University of Antwerp alumni 21st-century Belgian politicians {{Flanders-politician-stub