Louis Marie Joseph Tobback (born 3 May 1938) is a Belgian

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 ...

. Tobback is a

Flemish Flemish (''Vlaams'') is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch (), Belgian Dutch ( ), or Southern Dutch (). Flemish is native to Flanders, a historical region in northern Belgium; ...

social democrat Social democracy is a political, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocating economic and social interventions to promote soc ...

and member of the political party SP.A. He was the mayor of Leuven (1995–2018) He graduated in

Romance philology Romance studies or Romance philology ( an, filolochía romanica; ca, filologia romànica; french: romanistique; eo, latinida filologio; it, filologia romanza; pt, filologia românica; ro, romanistică; es, filología románica) is an acade ...

at the

Vrije Universiteit Brussel The Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) () is a Dutch and English-speaking research university located in Brussels, Belgium.The Vrije Universiteit Brussel is one of the five universities officially recognised by the Flemish government. listof all ...

. He is the father of Bruno Tobback, the former president of the

socialist party Different Socialist Party (SP.A).

Political career

Tobback started his political career in 1965 in the OCMW/CPAS council. In 1971 he was elected a member of the city council of Leuven, and became ''eerste

schepen A schepen (Dutch; . ') or échevin (French) or Schöffe (German) is a municipal officer in Belgium and formerly the Netherlands. It has been replaced by the ' in the Netherlands (a municipal executive). In modern Belgium, the ''schepen'' or ''éch ...

'' (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 ...

). In 1974, he became the leader of the Belgian Socialist Party faction in the Belgian Chamber of Representatives, and became a controversial but respected politician. Tobback is known for his oneliners in which he clearly states his opinion. From 1988 until 1994, Tobback was Belgium's

Minister of the Interior An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...

in two coalitions formed by Christian Democrats and Socialists, who faced the tough task of bringin Belgium into compliance with the

Maastricht Treaty The Treaty on European Union, commonly known as the Maastricht Treaty, is the foundation treaty of the European Union (EU). Concluded in 1992 between the then-twelve Member state of the European Union, member states of the European Communities, ...

. It was known that he liked cooperating with

Jean-Luc Dehaene Jean Luc Joseph Marie "Jean-Luc" Dehaene (; 7 August 1940 – 15 May 2014) was a Belgian politician who served as the prime minister of Belgium from 1992 until 1999. During his political career, he was nicknamed "The Plumber" and "The Mineswee ...

, who was Prime Minister from 1992 until 1999. In 1994 he became president of the Flemish social-democratic party (SP, since 2001 known as

Socialistische Partij Anders 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 ...

, SP.A). At that time, the party faced difficulties due to the

Agusta scandal The Agusta scandal (french: Affaire Agusta, nl, Agustaschandaal), alternatively known as the Agusta–Dassault Case, was a major political scandal which occurred in Belgium during the 1990s, based on allegations that two multinational companies ...

in which several Flemish and Francophone Socialists were accused of corruption. Despite this, the party did not lose too many votes in the federal and regional elections in 1995. As president of the SP, he also started a campaign of ideological and organisational innovation within the party. In 1995, Tobback also became the mayor of Leuven, and he was granted the title of

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 ...

in recognition of his work in politics. He was re-elected as mayor in 2000, 2006 and 2012 and retired on 31 December 2018. In April 1998, he again became Minister of the Interior, after Johan Vande Lanotte (also SP.A) resigned because of the escape of

Marc Dutroux Marc Paul Alain Dutroux (; born 6 November 1956) is a Belgian convicted serial killer, serial rapist, and child molester. Initially convicted for the abduction and rape of five young girls in 1989, Dutroux was released on parole after just thre ...

during his transport from jail to the court hall. In September 1998, Tobback himself resigned after a

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

n candidate for immigration ( Semira Adamu) died during her forced

repatriation Repatriation is the process of returning a thing or a person to its country of origin or citizenship. The term may refer to non-human entities, such as converting a foreign currency into the currency of one's own country, as well as to the pro ...

. Tobback is a self-declared Orangist. He considers the break-up of the Netherlands and Belgium a historic mistake. "If the

United Kingdom of the Netherlands The United Kingdom of the Netherlands ( nl, Verenigd Koninkrijk der Nederlanden; french: Royaume uni des Pays-Bas) is the unofficial name given to the Kingdom of the Netherlands as it existed between 1815 and 1839. The United Netherlands was cr ...

would have endured, we would have been a member of the G8 today", Tobback said in 2006.

Honours

* 1995: Grand Officer in the Order of Leopold. * 2003: Knight Grand Cross in the

Order of Leopold II The Order of Leopold II is an order of Belgium and is named in honor of King Leopold II. The decoration was established on 24 August 1900 by Leopold II as Sovereign of the Congo Free State and was in 1908, upon Congo being handed over to Belgium ...

Gallery

File:Villa squattus dei.jpg, The face of the squat '' in Leuven (Belgium). Also depicted: caricature of Louis Tobback.

References

Sources

Louis Tobback

Louis Tobback
(Elections 2006)

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tobback, Louis Socialistische Partij Anders politicians 1938 births Living people Flemish politicians Politicians from Leuven Belgian socialists Mayors of places in Belgium Belgian Ministers of State Free University of Brussels (1834–1969) alumni Recipients of the Grand Cross of the Order of Leopold II