Jan Jambon


Jan Jambon is a Belgian politician affiliated to the New Flemish Alliance. He replaced Kris Peeters as a member of the Belgian Chamber of Representatives in 2007. N-VA was at that time partners with the Christen-Democratisch en Vlaams party. In June 2010 and May 2014 he was re-elected on an N-VA list.
He became mayor of Brasschaat in 2013 after his party won the local elections in 2012. In November 2014, he was replaced as acting mayor by Koen Verberck, after joining the new Federal Government.
In October 2014 he became Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior and Security, charged with the direction of public buildings, in the Michel Government. Jambon remained in this position until the government fell in December 2018.
In October 2019, Jambon became the new Minister-President of Flanders, leading the Jambon Government.

Controversies

Birthday of Sint-Maartensfonds

Jan Jambon has been criticized for having given a speech in 2001, as representative of the Flemish NGO Vlaamse Volksbeweging, during the 50th birthday of Sint-Maartensfonds, an association of former Flemish nazi collaborators who joined Nazi Germany 's troops during World War II. In October 2014, replying to these remarks, Jambon declared the following as part of an interview.
This statement was criticized by several Belgian politicians, as well as the Social-Democrat Group Leader in the European Parliament, Gianni Pittella.

Private

Jambon is married to Mieke Huybrechts, sister of Pieter Huybrechts, who is a former member of the forbidden extreme right-wing paramilitary organization Vlaamse Militanten Orde, and former son-in-law of Karel Dillen who founded Vlaams Blok, an extreme-right political party. Jambon and his wife Mieke Huybrechts have four children.