- Louis Tobback
Louis Marie Joseph Tobback (born
May 3 1938 ) is a Belgianpolitician . Tobback is a Flemishsocialist and member of the political party SP.a (formerly known as SP). He is currently the mayor ofLeuven . He graduated in roman philology at theVrije Universiteit Brussel .Political career
He started his political career in
1965 in the council of the OCMW( [http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/OCMW nl] ) / CPAS( [http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/CPAS fr] ). In1971 he was elected a member of the city council of Leuven, and became "eersteschepen " (firstalderman ).In
1974 , he became the leader of the socialist faction in theBelgian 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 until1994 he was BelgianInterior Minister in two coalitions formed by Christian democrats and socialists, who faced the tough task to make Belgium comply with the Maastricht norms. It was known that he liked cooperating withJean-Luc Dehaene , who was Prime Minister from1992 until1999 .In
1994 he became president of the Flemish Socialist Party (SP, now SP.a). In that time the party had a hard time due to theAgusta scandal in which several Flemish and Walloon socialists were accused of corruption. Despite this, the party did not lose too many votes in the federal and regional elections in1995 . As president of the SP, he also started a campaign of ideological and organisatorical innovation within the party.In
1995 , Tobback also became the mayor of Leuven, and he was granted the title ofMinister of State as a recognition of his work in politics.In April
1998 , he again became Interior Minister, afterJohan Vande Lanotte (also SP.a) resigned because of the escape ofMarc Dutroux during his transport from jail to the court hall. In September1998 he resigned himself after a Nigerian immigration candidate (Semira Adamu ) died during her forced repatriation.As of
10 October ,2006 , Tobback is the mayor of Leuven. He retained his position in the election earlier that month.ource
* [http://www.vub.ac.be/vlaamsestudenteninbrussel/personen/louistobback.html Louis Tobback] nl icon
* [http://www.hln.be/hln/regio/showElectionsArticles.page?pGeoNodeId=185&pOWC=15m Louis Tobback] (Elections 2006)
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