Jacques Simonet

Jacques Simonet (21 December 1963- 14 June 2007 [cite web
url=http://www.demorgen.be/dm/nl/nieuws/belgie/493455
title=Gemeente Anderlecht opent rouwregister voor Simonet
publisher=DeMorgen.be
accessdate=2007-06-14 nl icon] ) was a Belgian politician and a former Minister-President of the Brussels-Capital Region.

He is the son of Henri Simonet, former Socialist Party minister and for many years mayor of Anderlecht. His mother Marie-Louise Angenet taught at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel.

He was born in Watermael-Boitsfort, Belgium. He studied law at the Université Libre de Bruxelles. He married Véronica Labe, a notary, in 1988; they had two children. He entered politics as a student activist in the Socialist Party, but later became a member of the Reformist Movement (MR).

Simonet served as mayor of Anderlecht from 2000 until his death and as Minister-President of the Brussels-Capital Region from July 15, 1999, to October 18, 2000. He served as state secretary for European Affairs of Belgium from 12 July 2003 until 12 February 2004 when he became Minister-President of Brussels for the second time on the resignation of Daniel Ducarme following revelations of Ducarme's unpaid taxes in the newspaper "Vers L'Avenir". He led the MR list in the elections of June 2004, losing to the Socialists led by former Minister-President Charles Picqué and gave up the minister-presidency a month later.

Simonet was hospitalised on 9 September 2006 as the result of a pulmonary embolism. [cite web
url=http://www.7sur7.be/hlns/cache/fr/det/art_257257.html?wt.bron=hlnRPArtikels
title=Jacques Simonet hospitalisé à la suite d'une embolie pulmonaire
publisher=7SUR7.be
accessdate=2007-06-14 fr icon] In the elections which followed on 8 October 2006 he was re-elected as mayor of Anderlecht with 8500 preference votes. On 14 June 2007 he suddenly died of a heart attack aged only 43. [cite web
url=http://www.vrtnieuws.net/cm/vrtnieuws.net/nieuws/regionaal/Brussel/070614_Simonet
title=Jacques Simonet plots overleden
publisher=Vrtnieuws.net
accessdate=2007-06-14 nl icon] [cite web
url=http://www.rtbf.be/info/belgique/ARTICLE_099991
title=Décès de Jacques Simonet
publisher=RTBF.be
accessdate=2007-06-14 fr icon] [cite web
url=http://www.mr-bxl.be/News/14-06-07_Jacques.php
title=Jacques Simonet nous a quittés à l’âge de 43 ans
publisher=MR-BXL.be
accessdate=2007-06-14 fr icon] [cite web
url=http://www.lalibre.be/article.phtml?id=10&subid=90&art_id=354195
title=Jacques Simonet est mort
publisher=LaLibre.be
accessdate=2007-06-14 fr icon]

References

ources

* [http://www.jacques-simonet.be/ Website of Jacques Simonet]
* [http://www.mr-bxl.be/President/index.php Biographical note at the MR website]
* [http://twitter.com/BreakingNewsOn/statuses/104191222 Mayor Jacques Simonet passed away]