Steve Stevaert (; born Robert Stevaert ; 12 April 1954 – 2 April 2015) was a Belgian politician of the Flemish Socialist Party: the

SP.A Vooruit (Dutch for Forward, ) is a Flemish social democratic political party in Belgium. The party was known as the Flemish Socialist Party (1978–2001: ''Socialistische Partij'', SP; 2001–2021: ''Socialistische Partij Anders'', SP.A) until 2 ...

Biography

Stevaert was born on 12 April 1954 in

Rijkhoven Rijkhoven is a village in the Bilzen municipality of the Limburg province in the Flemish Community of Belgium. History The village was first mentioned in 1076 as Rudenchoven. It used to be part of the County of Loon. In 1220 the chapel of Alden B ...

in Belgium. After his studies at the "Hoger Rijksinstituut voor Toerisme, Hotelwezen en Voedingsbedrijven", Stevaert started as a bar owner in 1972. Stevaert became politically active in 1982 under the wings of his mentor

Willy Claes Willem Werner Hubert "Willy" Claes (; born 24 November 1938) is a Belgian politician who served as the eighth Secretary General of NATO, from 1994 to 1995. Claes was forced to resign from his NATO position after he was found guilty of corruptio ...

. Stevaert was elected to the Provincial Council of Limburg from 1985 to 1995. He became mayor and member of the city council of

Hasselt Hasselt (, , ; la, Hasseletum, Hasselatum) is a Belgian city and municipality, and capital and largest city of the province of Limburg in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is known for its former branding as "the city of taste", as well as its ...

in 1995. There he became famous for his policy of free

public transport Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typical ...

in 1997, which gave him his nickname "Steve Stunt". Stevaert was also elected to 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 ...

in 1995 and was re-elected in 1999 and 2004. Stevaert served as Flemish minister of Public Works, Transport and Spatial planning from 1998 to 1999 and as Flemish minister of Mobility, Transport and Public Works from 1999 to 2003, when he resigned having become chairman of his party, succeeding

Patrick Janssens Patrick Janssens (born 19 September 1956) is a Belgian former politician. He was a member of the SP.a and the former mayor of the port city Antwerp. Career Janssens studied "Political and Social Sciences" and "Applied Economic Sciences" (b ...

. He was chairman from 2003 until he resigned on 25 May 2005, having been appointed governor of the province

Limburg Limburg or Limbourg may refer to: Regions * Limburg (Belgium), a province since 1839 in the Flanders region of Belgium * Limburg (Netherlands), a province since 1839 in the south of the Netherlands * Diocese of Limburg, Roman Catholic Diocese in ...

, in which function he succeeded governor

Hilde Houben-Bertrand Hilde Houben-Bertrand (born Genk, 24 May 1940) is a Belgian politician of the Christian Democratic and Flemish Party (CD&V). She is best known for being a former governor of the Belgian province Limburg Limburg or Limbourg may refer to: Regions ...

. He became the 15th governor, and also the first 'socialist' governor of this province.

Caroline Gennez Caroline Gennez (; 21 August 1975) is a Belgian socialist politician who has been serving as the Minister of Development Cooperation and Urban Policy in the De Croo Government since December 2022. She is a former chairwoman of the Socialist Par ...

succeeded him as temporary chairman, until Johan Vande Lanotte was officially elected as the new chairman in October 2005. On 9 June 2009, the day of the Flemish regional elections, Stevaert announced he would step down as governor. He was succeeded by his fellow socialist

Herman Reynders Herman Reynders (born Hasselt, 1 February 1958) is a Belgian former basketball player and politician of the Vooruit party. Basketball Herman Reynders played in the Basketball League Belgium during a period of eight years, the highest Belgian bas ...

. Stevaert was given the

honorary title A title is one or more words used before or after a person's name, in certain contexts. It may signify either generation, an official position, or a professional or academic qualification. In some languages, titles may be inserted between the f ...

Minister of State Minister of State is a title borne by politicians in certain countries governed under a parliamentary system. In some countries a Minister of State is a Junior Minister of government, who is assigned to assist a specific Cabinet Minister. In o ...

on 26 January 2004. In early April 2015 allegations of

rape Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or ag ...

were made public in the Belgian media. Subsequently, on 2 April 2015, ten days before his 61st birthday, the public prosecutor of Hasselt confirmed that Stevaert had gone missing. His body was found that same day around 18h by divers in the

Albert Canal The Albert Canal (, ) is a canal located in northeastern Belgium, which was named for King Albert I of Belgium. The Albert Canal connects Antwerp with Liège, and also the Meuse river with the Scheldt river. It also connects with the Dessel� ...

near Hasselt.

References

External links

Short biography of Stevaert at the website of the Flemish Parliament
1954 births 2015 suicides Belgian Ministers of State Governors of Limburg (Belgium) Socialistische Partij Anders politicians People from Hasselt Mayors of places in Belgium Members of the Flemish Parliament Drinking establishment owners Belgian politicians who committed suicide Suicides by drowning Suicides in Belgium 2015 deaths {{Flanders-politician-stub