From Belgian tennis hopeful to federal minister: return to the political scene for Caroline Gennez

Caroline Gennez was born on August 21, 1975 in Sint-Truiden. Long considered a hope of Belgian women’s tennis, she had to give up a sporting career as a teenager due to back problems.

She then studied political and social sciences at the KU Leuven before embarking on politics via the sp.a Animo youth movement, of which she was president. From 1999, Caroline Gennez worked in various socialist cabinets, both Flemish and federal. And in 2003, she landed a position as alderman in Saint-Trond.

Steve Stevaert, the president of the Flemish Socialists at the time, noticed her and appointed her vice-president of the party in 2003. Four years later, when Steve Stevaert was replaced by Johan Vande Lanotte and the latter resigned following bad electoral results, Caroline Gennez takes over the reins of the party.

But in 2009 and 2010, the election results for the Flemish socialists were once more disappointing. A highlight of her presidency, Caroline Gennez decided to dismiss Frank Vandenbroucke from the Flemish government, whose position had aroused resentment during negotiations between the party leadership and the coalition partners CD&V and N-VA.

Caroline Gennez is not running for a second term. In 2011, Bruno Tobback succeeded him. In the meantime, the former president was elected to the Chamber where she sat until 2014 before returning to the Flemish Parliament. In 2019, she announced her retirement from local politics.

This Saturday evening, she will be sworn in before the king as as the new Minister for Development Cooperation and Urban Policy replacing Meryame Kitir, who stepped aside in mid-October for health reasons.