Bart De Wever facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Bart De Wever
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Official portrait, 2025
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| Prime Minister of Belgium | |
| Assumed office 3 February 2025 |
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| Monarch | Philippe |
| Deputy |
See list
Jan Jambon
David Clarinval Maxime Prévot Frank Vandenbroucke Vincent Van Peteghem |
| Preceded by | Alexander De Croo |
| Mayor of Antwerp | |
| In office 1 January 2013 – 3 February 2025 |
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| Preceded by | Patrick Janssens |
| Succeeded by | Els van Doesburg |
| President of the New Flemish Alliance | |
| In office 24 October 2004 – 3 February 2025 |
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| Preceded by | Geert Bourgeois |
| Succeeded by | Steven Vandeput (acting) |
| Member of the Chamber of Representatives | |
| In office 10 July 2024 – 3 February 2025 |
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| Constituency | Antwerp |
| In office 19 June 2014 – 25 April 2019 |
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| Constituency | Antwerp |
| In office 28 June 2007 – 30 June 2009 |
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| Constituency | Antwerp |
| Member of the Flemish Parliament | |
| In office 18 June 2019 – 8 June 2024 |
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| Constituency | Antwerp |
| In office 6 July 2004 – 28 June 2007 |
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| Constituency | Antwerp |
| Member of the Senate | |
| In office 6 July 2010 – 9 January 2013 |
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| Appointed by | Flemish Parliament |
| Succeeded by | Wilfried Vandaele |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Bart Albert Liliane De Wever
21 December 1970 Mortsel, Belgium |
| Political party | New Flemish Alliance (2001–present) |
| Other political affiliations |
People's Union (until 2001) |
| Spouse | Veerle Hegge |
| Children | 4 |
| Residence | Deurne, Belgium |
| Alma mater | Catholic University of Leuven |
Bart Albert Liliane De Wever (born 21 December 1970) is a Belgian politician. He is currently the Prime Minister of Belgium, starting in February 2025. Before that, from 2004 to 2025, Bart De Wever was the leader of a political party called the New Flemish Alliance (N-VA). This party wants to change Belgium into a confederal state, which means different parts of the country would have more power to make their own decisions. From January 2013 to February 2025, he was the Mayor of Antwerp, a big city in Belgium.
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About Bart De Wever
Bart De Wever was born in Mortsel, Belgium, and grew up in Kontich. His parents, Irene and Henri, owned a small supermarket. His father used to work for a railway company and was also involved in local politics. Bart De Wever's older brother, Bruno de Wever, is a historian and a professor at Ghent University.
Bart De Wever first started studying law at the University of Antwerp. He then changed his studies to history at the Catholic University of Leuven (KUL). He earned a master's degree in history. As a student, he was part of different student groups. After finishing his studies, he worked as a research assistant. He helped create a new encyclopedia about the Flemish Movement. He also wrote a book about a politician named Joris Van Severen.
Bart De Wever is married and has four children. They live in Deurne. In 2012, he lost a lot of weight and later wrote a book sharing his tips for weight loss. He enjoys running marathons in his free time. Besides Dutch, he can speak French, English, and German.
Bart De Wever's Political Journey
Bart De Wever began his political career with the Volksunie party, which his father was also a part of. He was elected as a local council member in Berchem. When the Volksunie party split, Bart De Wever helped create the N-VA party.
In 2004, he was chosen as the leader of the N-VA party. He was the only person running for the position and received 95% of the votes. Under his leadership, the N-VA party became more focused on conservative ideas and gained a lot of support.
In 2006, there was a disagreement when he allowed Jean-Marie Dedecker to join the N-VA. This caused some problems with another party, the CD&V party. To fix things, Dedecker had to leave. Even though he was criticized, the N-VA leaders allowed Bart De Wever to stay as president of the party.
In the regional elections in 2009, his party did very well, winning 13% of the votes. This made the N-VA one of the biggest winners. The N-VA then joined the government. Bart De Wever chose to remain the party president. He appointed other party members to be ministers in the Flemish Government and a speaker for the Flemish Parliament.
In the federal elections on 13 June 2010, his party won about 30% of the votes in Flanders. Bart De Wever himself received almost 800,000 "preference votes," which means many people specifically voted for him.
Bart De Wever has met with important British politicians like former Prime Minister David Cameron and Boris Johnson.
After the 2019 federal election, Bart De Wever showed interest in creating a new political movement. His goal is to have fewer political parties in parliament. He wants to make it more like the political systems in the UK and USA, where two main parties are very strong. He hopes to attract voters from other parties like CD&V, Open VLD, and Vlaams Belang. Some other political leaders support this idea, saying it would make it easier to form governments in the future.
In November 2020, he was reelected as the leader of the N-VA with 96.8% of the votes. This made him the longest-serving leader of a Belgian political party.
In October 2023, after an attack on Israel, Bart De Wever asked for the Belgian Army to help protect Jewish sites in Antwerp.
2010 Belgian Federal Election Outcome
An early election was held on 13 June 2010. The N-VA won the most votes in the Dutch-speaking parts of Belgium. The Socialist Party (PS) won the most votes in the French-speaking parts. Nationally, both parties had a similar number of seats in parliament.
For 541 days after these elections, the political parties could not agree on how to form a new government. During this time, the country was run by a temporary government. On 6 December 2011, a new government was finally formed, but Bart De Wever and the N-VA were not part of it.
Before the 25 May 2014 federal election, the PS party leader, Elio Di Rupo, said his party would not talk with Bart De Wever and the N-VA about forming a new federal government.
2024 Belgian Federal Election Outcome
In the 2024 federal and regional elections in Flanders, Bart De Wever's N-VA became the largest party in the Chamber of Representatives. They just barely won against another party called Vlaams Belang. However, both parties got the same number of seats in the Flemish Parliament.
On 10 July, the King of Belgium asked Bart De Wever to be the "formateur." This means he is in charge of putting together the next government. It is very likely that he will become the Prime Minister. Bart De Wever is expected to report back to the King on 24 July.
Bart De Wever's Political Beliefs
Bart De Wever describes himself as a conservative and a Flemish nationalist. This means he believes in traditional values and wants Flanders (the Dutch-speaking part of Belgium) to have more power and independence. He admires thinkers like Edmund Burke, Theodore Dalrymple, former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, and economist Friedrich Hayek. Bart De Wever has also written articles and essays for newspapers like De Morgen and De Standaard. These writings were later published as a book called The Precious Fabric of Society in 2008.
Books by Bart De Wever
- 2023: About Woke (Borgerhoff & Lamberigts)
- 2021: Do Civilizations Collide? with Khalid Benhaddou
- 2018: About Identity (Borgerhoff & Lamberigts)
- 2011: Freedom and Integrity with Theodore Dalrymple (Pelckmans)
- 2011: Workable Values (Pelckmans)
- 2008: The Precious Fabric of Society. Five years of Social Criticism (Pelckmans)
See also
In Spanish: Bart De Wever para niños
