Paul Beliën
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Paul Beliën (born 1959) is a Flemish Belgian political operative, writer, and former journalist and founder of the right-wing blog '' The Brussels Journal''. Beliën has a
Master of Laws A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is a postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in another subject. In many jurisdi ...
with specialisations in European and
social security Welfare spending is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specifically to social insurance ...
law from the
University of Ghent Ghent University (, abbreviated as UGent) is a Public university, public research university located in Ghent, in the East Flanders province of Belgium. Located in Flanders, Ghent University is the second largest Belgian university, consisting o ...
, and a Ph.D. in
international studies International relations (IR, and also referred to as international studies, international politics, or international affairs) is an academic discipline. In a broader sense, the study of IR, in addition to multilateral relations, concerns al ...
from the
University of Buckingham The University of Buckingham (UB) is a non-profit private university#United Kingdom, private university in Buckingham, England, and the oldest of the country's six private universities. It was founded as the University College at Buckingham (U ...
. He has been vice president of the International Free Press Society, a senior editor at the
Hudson Institute Hudson Institute is an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative think tank based in Washington, D.C. It was founded in 1961 in Croton-on-Hudson, New York, by futurist Herman Kahn and his colleagues at the RAND Corporation. Kahn ...
, director of the Middle East Forum's Islamist Watch, and a writer for the Gatestone Institute. More recently, he was the chief of staff for
Geert Wilders Geert Wilders (born 6 September 1963) is a Dutch politician who has led the far-right Party for Freedom (PVV) since he founded it in 2006. He is also the party's leader in the House of Representatives. Wilders is best known for his right-wing p ...
. He is an advocate of Flemish independence,
free trade Free trade is a trade policy that does not restrict imports or exports. In government, free trade is predominantly advocated by political parties that hold Economic liberalism, economically liberal positions, while economic nationalist politica ...
and is an opponent of
abortion Abortion is the early termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. Abortions that occur without intervention are known as miscarriages or "spontaneous abortions", and occur in roughly 30–40% of all pregnan ...
,
euthanasia Euthanasia (from : + ) is the practice of intentionally ending life to eliminate pain and suffering. Different countries have different Legality of euthanasia, euthanasia laws. The British House of Lords Select committee (United Kingdom), se ...
and
homosexuality Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or Human sexual activity, sexual behavior between people of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexu ...
. He is an Americophile, and has been actively opposed to Muslim immigration to Europe as part of the
counter-jihad Counter-jihad (also known as the counter-jihad movement) is a self-titled Islamophobia, anti-Muslim political movement loosely consisting of authors, bloggers, think tanks, demonstrators, and other activists across the Western world. Proponents are ...
movement.


Career


Early career until 2005

Beliën worked as a journalist for ''
Gazet van Antwerpen The (; ; popularly named ''De Frut'') is a Belgian newspaper in Antwerp and Flanders, published by Concentra. History and profile was established in 1891. Its editor was Jan Baptist Napolitaan Van Os, a Catholic. Shortly afterwards, the compa ...
'' from 1982, until he was fired in 1990 for leaking a story about King Baudouin's opposition to legalised abortion in ''
The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...
''. He was one of the nine founders of the party
Open Flemish Liberals and Democrats The Open Flemish Liberals and Democrats (, , Open Vld) is a Flemish liberal political party in Belgium. The party has been described as centre-right and has smaller factions within the party that have conservative liberal and social liberal ...
(VLD) in 1992, but soon left the party due to the party moving towards the left under the influence of
Guy Verhofstadt Guy Maurice Marie Louise Verhofstadt (; ; born 11 April 1953) is a Belgian politician who served as the prime minister of Belgium from 1999 to 2008. He was a member of the European Parliament (MEP) from Belgium from 2009 until 2024. He was a me ...
. In 1993 he contributed to the book ''Visions of Europe'' alongside
Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013), was a British stateswoman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of th ...
among others. He co-founded the Brussels-based Centre for the New Europe in 1993, a neoliberal euroskeptic think tank with attention to social conservative issues affiliated with the Bruges Group, together with lawyer Fernand Keuleneer, after having founded the magazine ''Nucleus'' together in 1990. Beliën served as research director for the think tank until 2000, but his politics shifted more rightwards towards secessionist and nationalist positions from the end of the decade. From 2000 to 2005, when his wife
Alexandra Colen Alexandra Maria Catherine Colen (born 9 July 1955) is a Belgium, Belgian politician. She was member of the Belgian Chamber of Representatives for the Vlaams Belang party from 21 May 1995 until May 2014. She holds a PhD in linguistics, and is know ...
served as a member of parliament, Beliën and Colen published a secessionist quarterly journal together entitled ''Secessie: Kwartaalblad voor de Studie van Separatisme en Directe Democratie''.


''The Brussels Journal'' (2005–10)

In 2005, Beliën founded ''The Brussels Journal'', an anti-Islamist, euroskeptic, pro-American blog, which was run by the Society for the Advancement of Freedom in Europe, a Swiss non-profit organisation. In 2006 it was one of the few websites that republished the ''Jyllands-Posten'' Muhammad cartoons, which attracted some two million unique visitors to the site. Beliën also compared Muslims to predators, and called for Belgium to decriminalise the possession of self-defense weapons in an article titled "Give us Weapons!" in 2006. The article caused a media storm, and led him to receive a letter from the Centre for Equal Opportunities and Opposition to Racism for "incitement to violence", ordering him to remove the post from the site or face prosecution. The conservative newspaper ''
The Washington Times ''The Washington Times'' is an American Conservatism, conservative daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It covers general interest topics with an emphasis on Politics of the United States, national politics. Its broadsheet daily edit ...
'' wrote that
free speech Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The right to freedom of expression has been recognise ...
was under attack in Belgium for the events. In 2007, Beliën used his contacts with the
Vlaams Belang Vlaams Belang (; ; VB) is a Flemish nationalist, Eurosceptic and right-wing populist political party in the Flemish Region and Brussels Capital Region of Belgium. It is widely considered by the media and political analysts to be on the polit ...
party to take part in hosting the international
counter-jihad Counter-jihad (also known as the counter-jihad movement) is a self-titled Islamophobia, anti-Muslim political movement loosely consisting of authors, bloggers, think tanks, demonstrators, and other activists across the Western world. Proponents are ...
conference in Brussels, which brought together at least seventy organisations and individuals for two days of speeches and networking opportunities. Beliën served as editor-in-chief of ''The Brussels Journal'' from 2005 to 2010.


Later activities (2010–present)

Beliën has later been described as a key ideologue of the Dutch
Party for Freedom The Party for Freedom ( , PVV) is a right-wing populist, far-right political party in the Netherlands. Geert Wilders is the founder, party leader, and sole registered member of the party. Founded in 2006 as the successor to Wilders' one-ma ...
(PVV), having served as a ghostwriter, speech writer, foreign secretary, fundraiser and personal assistant for
Geert Wilders Geert Wilders (born 6 September 1963) is a Dutch politician who has led the far-right Party for Freedom (PVV) since he founded it in 2006. He is also the party's leader in the House of Representatives. Wilders is best known for his right-wing p ...
since 2010. He served as chief of staff for Wilders until 2018, after which he has worked in the
European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two 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 ...
.


Personal life

Beliën is married to
Alexandra Colen Alexandra Maria Catherine Colen (born 9 July 1955) is a Belgium, Belgian politician. She was member of the Belgian Chamber of Representatives for the Vlaams Belang party from 21 May 1995 until May 2014. She holds a PhD in linguistics, and is know ...
, a former member of the
Belgian Federal Parliament The Federal Parliament (; ; ) is the bicameral parliament of Belgium. It consists of the Chamber of Representatives (lower house) and the Senate (upper house). It sits in the Palace of the Nation in the centre of the nation's capital, Brussels ...
for the political party
Vlaams Belang Vlaams Belang (; ; VB) is a Flemish nationalist, Eurosceptic and right-wing populist political party in the Flemish Region and Brussels Capital Region of Belgium. It is widely considered by the media and political analysts to be on the polit ...
, formerly Vlaams Blok. They have homeschooled all of their five children.


Publications

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Belien, Paul 1959 births Living people 20th-century Belgian journalists 20th-century Roman Catholics 21st-century Belgian journalists 21st-century Roman Catholics Alumni of the University of Buckingham Belgian anti-abortion activists Belgian bloggers Belgian critics of Islam Belgian editors Belgian male journalists Belgian non-fiction writers Belgian Roman Catholic writers Counter-jihad activists Flemish journalists Flemish writers Ghent University alumni Middle East Forum