Rajae Maouane (born 3 July 1989) is a Belgian politician who serves as co-president of

Ecolo Ecolo, officially Écologistes Confédérés pour l'organisation de luttes originales'', (English: Confederate Ecologists for the Organisation of Original Struggles)'' is a French-speaking political party in Belgium based on green politics. The ...

Biography

Rajae Maouane was born on 3 July 1989 in

Uccle Uccle () or Ukkel () is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. In common with all of Brussels' municipalities, it is legally bilingual (French–Dutch). It is generally considered an affluent area of the city a ...

to a family of Moroccan Belgians. Her father was a

laborer A laborer (or labourer) is a person who works in manual labor types in the construction industry workforce. Laborers are in a working class of wage-earners in which their only possession of significant material value is their labor. Industries e ...

and her mother was a

homemaker Homemaking is mainly an American and Canadian term for the management of a home, otherwise known as housework, housekeeping, housewifery or household management. It is the act of overseeing the organizational, day-to-day operations of a hous ...

. Maouane completed her secondary studies in

Laeken () or () is a residential suburb in the north-western part of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. It belongs to the List of municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, municipality of the City of Brussels and is mostly identified by the ...

was passionate about

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

. During her studies at the Institut supérieur for social training and communications, Maouane worked as an press secretary and project manager for the

Brussels Intercommunal Transport Company The Brussels Intercommunal Transport Company (french: Société des Transports Intercommunaux de Bruxelles or ; nl, Maatschappij voor het Intercommunaal Vervoer te Brussel or ) is the local public transport operator in Brussels, Belgium. It is u ...

. After her university studies in communications, Maouane worked for the

satirical newspaper News satire or news comedy is a type of parody presented in a format typical of mainstream journalism, and called a satire because of its content. News satire has been around almost as long as journalism itself, but it is particularly popular on t ...

Pan.

Political life

Maouane's first contacts with the political sphere began when she served as for the press service for

. From 2013 to 2018, Maouane served as an assistant to Sarah Turine, échevin of

Molenbeek-Saint-Jean ( French, ) or (Dutch, ), often simply called Molenbeek, is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the western part of the region, it is bordered by the City of Brussels, from which it is separated ...

, where she also served as political co-secretary. Since 2016, Maouane has served as the co-president for the Brussels regional branch of Ecolo. Additionally, she was elected to the Communal Council of

Molenbeek ( French, ) or (Dutch, ), often simply called Molenbeek, is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the western part of the region, it is bordered by the City of Brussels, from which it is separated ...

in December 2018 and to the Brussels-Capital Region Parliament in the

2019 Belgian regional elections The 2019 Belgian regional elections took place on Sunday 26 May, the same day as the 2019 European Parliament election in Belgium, 2019 European Parliament election as well as the 2019 Belgian federal election, Belgian federal election. In the reg ...

. As a member of the Brussels Regional Parliament, Maouane also has a seat in the

Parliament of the French Community of Belgium The Parliament of the French Community (french: Parlement de la Communauté française or PCF) is the legislative assembly of the French Community of Belgium based in the Quartier Royal. It consists of all 75 members of the Walloon Parliament excep ...

. For the 2019 Brussels regional elections, Maouane was designated fourth on the Ecolo

party list An electoral list is a grouping of candidates for election, usually found in proportional or mixed electoral systems, but also in some plurality electoral systems. An electoral list can be registered by a political party (a party list) or can ...

. Maouane was elected to the fourth spot on the list with 4,297 votes. In August 2019, Maouane declared her candidacy as co-president of Ecolo with . At the party's general assembly in

Namur Namur (; ; nl, Namen ; wa, Nameur) is a city and municipality in Wallonia, Belgium. It is both the capital of the province of Namur and of Wallonia, hosting the Parliament of Wallonia, the Government of Wallonia and its administration. Namu ...

, Maouane and Nollet received 92% of votes. Upon her election as co-president, she resigned her posts in the Brussels and French Community Parliaments. She was succeeded in both offices by .

Controversy

in 2021, Maouane was accused of inciting antisemitism after sharing a picture and song on Instagram displaying a Palestinian fighter with a slingshot. The accompanying song, “Wein Al Malayeen”, asks the Arab nations unite against Israel. Maouane contested the accusation, claiming the post was a call for justice and an end to the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.

References

External links

Rajae Maouane on Ecolo's official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maouane, Rajae Ecolo politicians Members of the Parliament of the Brussels-Capital Region 1989 births People from Uccle Members of the Parliament of the French Community Living people