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Bart De Wever | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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.jpg) De Wever in 2025 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Prime Minister of Belgium | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Assumed office 3 February 2025 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Monarch | Philippe | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Deputy | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Alexander De Croo | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mayor of Antwerp | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 1 January 2013 – 3 February 2025 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Patrick Janssens | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Els van Doesburg (acting) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| President of theNew Flemish Alliance | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 24 October 2004 – 3 February 2025 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Geert Bourgeois | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Valerie Van Peel | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Personal details | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | Bart Albert Liliane De Wever (1970-12-21)21 December 1970 (age 54) Mortsel, Belgium | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Political party | New Flemish Alliance | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Other political affiliations | People's Union (until 2001) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Spouse | Veerle Hegge | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Children | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Residence | Deurne, Belgium | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Alma mater | KU Leuven | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Signature |  | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Bart Albert Liliane De Wever (Dutch:[ˈbɑrtdəˈʋeːvər]; born 21 December 1970) is a Belgian author, historian and politician who has served as thePrime Minister of Belgium since February 2025. From 2004 to 2025, De Wever had been the leader of theNew Flemish Alliance (N-VA), a political party advocating for the transformation ofBelgium into aconfederal state. From January 2013 to February 2025, he wasMayor of Antwerp, following the2012 municipal elections.
De Wever presided over his party's victory in the2010 federal elections when N-VA became the largest party in bothFlanders and in Belgium as a whole. He accomplished this again in the subsequent three elections, eventually being tasked with forming a new government byKing Philippe following the2024 elections.
After more than eight months of negotiations between the parties N-VA,Vooruit,CD&V,MR andLes Engagés, it was announced on 31 January 2025 that an agreement had been reached, with De Wever becoming the prime minister-designate. On 3 February 2025, De Wever took the oath of office, becoming the firstFlemish nationalist politician to hold the office of prime minister of Belgium.
Bart Albert Liliane De Wever was born on 21 December 1970 inMortsel[1] and grew up inKontich, where his parents Irene and Henri owned a small supermarket. His father had previously worked for a Belgian railway company and was briefly active in theVlaamse Militanten Orde before becoming a local administrator for theVolksunie.[2] De Wever's older brother is historian and professorBruno De Wever, who teaches atGhent University. His grandfather had been the secretary of theFlemish National Union, a Flemish far-right party from the interwar period that had been recognised as the ruling party of Flanders during the Nazi occupation of Belgium. However, during an interview, Bart De Wever nuanced his grandfather's past by claiming he had not collaborated with the Nazis.[3]
De Wever began studying a law degree at theUniversity of Antwerp, but dropped out before switching to study history atSaint Ignatius University Centre, Antwerp and then theCatholic University of Leuven (KUL), graduating with alicentiate (equivalent of themaster's degree). As a student he was a member of theclassical liberalLiberaal Vlaams Studentenverbond (LVSV, Liberal Flemish Students' Union) and theconservativeKatholiek Vlaams Hoogstudentenverbond (KVHV, Catholic Flemish Students' Union) of Antwerp andLeuven. He is a former editor-in-chief of the KVHV newspapersTegenstroom (magazine of KVHV in Antwerp) andOns Leven (in Leuven). After graduating, he was employed as a research assistant working on theNieuwe Encyclopedie van de Vlaamse Beweging (New Encyclopedia of the Flemish Movement), as well as publishing a magazine article on the influence ofJoris Van Severen.[1]
De Wever initially started his political career as a member of theVolksunie (People's Union) party, which his father had belonged to, and was elected as a municipal councilor inBerchem for the party. During the ideological splits in the Volksunie, De Wever became part of the so-calledOranjehofgroep along withFrieda Brepoels,Eric Defoort,Ben Weyts andGeert Bourgeois. The Oranjehofgroup was a political clique within the Volksunie composed of right-wing, conservative-liberal and Flemish nationalist members who opposed the left-orientated direction the party was being taken underBert Anciaux. The members of the Oranjehofgroep would later found the N-VA together.
In 2004, he was elected as party leader of the N-VA with 95% of the votes, being the only candidate up for election. Initially, the N-VA had followed the political style of the People's Union by characterizing itself as abig tent party; however, under De Wever's leadership the N-VA took on aconservative identity and has seen a rise in support since.[4] De Wever went through a rough stretch in 2006, when he accepted theconservative-liberalJean-Marie Dedecker as an N-VA member, causing a split with theCD&V party. In order to reconcile the party, Dedecker had to leave. Although he was extensively criticised, the local N-VA leaders permitted De Wever to remain as N-VA president.[citation needed]
In 2007, a photograph was released of De Wever attending a conference held by the French extreme-rightFront National leaderJean-Marie Le Pen in 1996 at the Flemish National Debate Club in Antwerp.[5] In response to the controversy, De Wever stated "I had just finished my studies and I thought it was a unique opportunity to hear Le Pen, who was at the time a major figure in French politics. I am a legalist, with democratic convictions, but I have an Anglo-Saxon conception of freedom of expression: in a democracy, everyone must be free to express their opinion, even if it is an opinion that I hate. And I always prefer to have information first-hand rather than in a filtered manner."[6] De Wever later criticized Le Pen as a "a showman who had no answers for anything" and said he had no connections to Le Pen's party.[7]
In October 2007, after then Mayor of AntwerpPatrick Janssens issued an apology for the city's collaboration in the deportation of Jews duringWorld War II, Bart De Wever said that:
After his comments were met with controversy, De Wever issued a personal apology to representatives of Antwerp's Jewish community and in an open letter toDe Standaard.[9] Following these events, in an op-ed published inLe Monde, Belgian French-speaking writerPierre Mertens claimed that Bart De Wever was a "convincednegationist leader". De Wever sued Mertens for this allegation.[10][11]
In the2009 regional elections, his party won an unexpectedly high 13% of the votes, making N-VA the overall winner of the elections together with old cartel partner CD&V. N-VA subsequently joined the government,[clarification needed] with De Wever choosing to remain party president and appointing two other party members as ministers in theFlemish Government and one party member as speaker of theFlemish Parliament.[citation needed] Wever visited former British Prime MinisterDavid Cameron at10 Downing Street on a number of occasions and maintained contact withBoris Johnson during his time asMayor of London.[12][13]
Anearly election was held on 13 June 2010, resulting in the N-VA winning most votes in the Dutch-speaking areas and theSocialist Party (PS) in French-speaking Belgium. Nationally the two parties were almost even with 27 seats for the N-VA and 26 for the PS, the remaining seats being split between ten other parties. For 541 days after the elections, no agreement could be reached among the parties on a coalition to form a new government and during that period the country continued to be governed by an interim government. On 6 December 2011, theDi Rupo I Government was sworn in.[14] De Wever and the N-VA were not included in the makeup of this government,[15] although he himself won the mostpreference votes of the Dutch-speaking region (nearly 800,000).[16][17]
In a groundbreaking result during the2012 local elections, De Wever led the New Flemish Alliance to victory in the city ofAntwerp with 37.7% of the vote.[18]
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De Wever's swearing-in asmayor of Antwerp on 1 January 2013 marked the first time since 1933 that a non-socialist politician (excludingLeo Delwaide [nl]) was mayor of the city.[1][18] In December 2013, the Belgian newspaperHet Laatste Nieuws received a bullet in the post with a letter addressed to Bart De Wever, apparently from a communist extremist. De Wever received police protection.[19] In November 2013, De Wever was admitted to hospital with severe anxiety and chest pains.[20] He was readmitted into an intensive care unit in February 2014, with a severe lung infection.[21]
Despite N-VA winning the2014 federal election with their highest result ever,[1] PS party leaderElio Di Rupo noted that his party would be unwilling to enter into a dialogue with De Wever and the N-VA in forming a new federal government.[22]
With a result of 35.3% of the vote, N-VA retained its leadership of Antwerp in the2018 local elections, securing a second term for De Wever's mayoralty of the city.[23]
In a 2019 interview with Flemish newspaperDe Zondag, De Wever argued that mass immigration was impacting on identity, enlightenment and integration, and that immigrants from Muslim backgrounds were more likely to force their beliefs in public over other religious groups, stating "I have not yet seen an Orthodox Jew who wants a counter function in Antwerp. They avoid conflict. That is the difference. Muslims do claim a place in public space, in education, with their outward signs of faith. That creates tensions" while arguing that he supports freedom of religion and worship. He also accused the left ofcultural relativism, claiming "The same left that set bras on fire in May '68 is now embracing the headscarf as a symbol of equality. I find that very strange. They wanted to destroy Christianity, but they accept everything about Islam. I call that submission."[24] De Wever's comments were criticised by Socialist Party politicianPaul Magnette, who called them "a form of racism." Magnette's comments were in turn refuted by De Wever and N-VA ministerJan Jambon.[25]
During the2019 regional elections, N-VA lost 7 percent of the vote in Flanders compared to their result in 2014. Nevertheless, De Wever persevered as party president.[26] Neither he nor his party entered into thecoalition government of 2020, which was headed byAlexander De Croo.[27]
After the 2019 federal election, De Wever began showing interest to make a new political centre-right movement, aiming to reduce the number of political parties in parliament and go to a more American and British style parliament with fractions within larger parties (drawing on theConservative andLabour andRepublican Party andDemocratic Party dualism in the UK and USA respectively). De Wever expressed his desire to attract CD&V, Open VLD and some Vlaams Belang voters.Joachim Coens, former leader of CD&V, supported the idea and argued it would make future government formations easier.[citation needed]
In November 2020, he was reelected leader of the N-VA with 96.8% of the votes for a new three-year mandate. This made De Wever the longest serving leader of a Belgian political party.[28]
In March 2022, he said during a radio interview that Russian PresidentVladimir Putin will not end Russia's invasion ofUkraine, as he is a "psychopath" and a "madman", adding: "[Putin] said: ‘I will squash the Russians who are against me like mosquitoes’. When did I hear that before? I think here, 70 years ago."[29]
Following theOctober 7 attacks in 2023 and the subsequentGaza war, De Wever called for theBelgian Army to be deployed to protect Jewish sites in Antwerp.[30] During a commemoration for the victims of theOctober 7 attacks in Antwerp, De Wever stated "there is only one side to choose: that is the side of Israel, the side of democracy and the side of light. Against the forces of tyranny, against the forces of darkness. We know that they have a long arm: the long arm of Tehran, ofHezbollah, ofHamas, which reaches into the streets of Europe." After the speech received some criticism from other Antwerp politicians such members ofVooruit andGroen leaderMeyrem Almaci who claimed that both sides should respect human rights, De Wever stated "I have taken sides against terror and against Hamas" and argued that the war had also imported ethnic and sectarian conflicts in Belgium. Vooruit politician Tom Meeuws and deputy Alderman of Antwerp supported De Wever's speech.[30][31]
In the 2024 federal and theregional election in Flanders, De Wever's N-VA became the largest party in the Chamber of Representatives, narrowly beating the competing Vlaams Belang, though obtained the same number of seats as VB in the Flemish Parliament. On 10 July, the king appointed De Weverformateur, making him responsible for forming the next government.[32] On 31 January 2025, a governmental agreement was reached between the N-VA,Vooruit,CD&V,MR andLE. De Wever announced the agreement by posting the Latin phraseAlea iacta est on social media.[33][34]
De Wever was officially sworn in as Prime Minister on 3 February 2025.[35] He was the firstFlemish nationalist and eurosceptic politician to serve as a Belgian prime minister, and his victory was described by some political observers to be a part of a recent trend of right-wing and populist governments in Western Europe.[36][37][38][39] Despite his previous campaigns for Flemish independence, De Wever said in an interview with Walloon broadcasterRTBF that Francophone voters did not have to worry about his premiership and that he would aim to cooperate with parties from the French-speaking region in government.[40] De Wever stated in his initial address that the core focuses of his government would be on welfare and tax reform, stricter immigration policies, reductions in European Union regulations, expanding nuclear power and increasing Belgium's defence spending to 2% of GDP by 2029 to meet NATO commitments.[41][42]
In April 2025, De Wever announced the "Easter Agreement" of future policies that were negotiated between the N-VA and Dutch and French-speaking parties in government. The deal included raising Belgium's defense budget partially funded from taxes on frozen Russian assets and establishing a "Defence Fund" supported dividends from state-owned companies. In the agreement, De Wever also said that unemployment benefits will be limited to a maximum of two years with exceptions for those studying medical degrees.[43][44]
De Wever also pledged that Belgium would follow a stricter line on asylum and immigration by automatically rejecting asylum claims from migrants already registered in another EU country, tightened laws on family migration, raising the cost of applying for Belgian citizenship and returning foreign criminals housed in Belgian jails to their country of origin.[45]
He decided to implement austerity measures, including a time limit on unemployment benefits (which had previously been unlimited but degressive), tougher pension rules (periods of unemployment would no longer be taken into account), a review of wage indexation methods, a review of VAT rates applicable to various consumer goods, budget cuts in government departments and public services, etc. The unions called on workers to mobilize against this plan, leading to a general strike at the end of November 2025.[46]
In February 2025, De Wever attended the EU security summit where he affirmed that his government would continue to support Ukraine in the ongoing Russian invasion and increase NATO expenditures, stating "it is our duty to do our part to protect Western society." He was also critical ofDonald Trump's approach to Putin and Ukraine, but affirmed he would continue to maintain strong ties with the Trump administration while acknowledging that Belgium and Europe had not met defense spending targets and argued that calls to build a European military alliance without alignment with the United States were unrealistic.[47][48][49][50] In March 2025, De Wever argued against proposals made by other EU leaders to confiscate 200 billion euros worth of frozen Russian assets held byEuroclear, arguing that such a move would be considered an "act of war" by Russia. He furthermore said that European leaders would also pose "systemic risks to the entire financial world system" by publicly calling for the seizure of the frozen Russian assets.[51][52]
On 20 March 2025, De Wever was invited by Dutch Prime MinisterDick Schoof to a meeting of "migration-realist" European leaders. The meeting also includedGiorgia Meloni of Italy,Mette Frederiksen of Denmark, as well as representatives from Hungary and Austria. De Wever's attendance marked the first time a Belgian Prime Minister had been invited to the talks.[53] According to press observers, the "migration-realist" club consists of European leaders who wish to implement similar and stricter immigration policies in their countries and gain more influence over EU decision-making on asylum policy. Their aims include pushing for the EU and European Commission PresidentUrsula von der Leyen to adopt tighter border control measures, such as the construction of migrant "return centres" outside of Europe.[54][55]
In response to a question on Hungary's refusal to uphold the arrest warrant ofBenjamin Netanyahu by theInternational Criminal Court, De Wever expressed that "I think we would not do it either", signalling a break with the previous government.[56] Three of the parties in the De Wever government reacted negatively to this statement,[57] and foreign ministerMaxime Prévot quickly reassured the ICC that the warrant would be upheld.[58] Eventually, the governing parties came to a resolution in May to uphold the warrant.[59]
Politically, De Wever has described himself as aconservative and aFlemish nationalist.[60] He is an avowed admirer ofEdmund Burke and his political philosophy, and has described British conservative writer and social criticTheodore Dalrymple, former Prime MinisterMargaret Thatcher and Austrian economistFriedrich Hayek as influences.[61] De Wever has also written opinion columns and essays forDe Morgen andDe Standaard which he published as a book titledThe Precious Fabric of Society in 2008.
In July 2021, during an interview with Trends Talk on Kanaal Z, De Wever said "A confederation of theLow Countries could be a reality the day after tomorrow. If I could die as a Southern Dutchman, I would die happier than as a Belgian,"[62] During his premiership, in an interview with radio broadcaster Sven op 1 ofWNL on 24 June 2025, De Wever expressed his continued support for the idea of a reunification between Belgium and the Netherlands.[63][64] According to him "as a politician and a human being, I am convinced that the separation of the Netherlands in the 16th century is the greatest disaster that has ever befallen us."[63][64] De Wever repeated this opinion during a speech at the 17thEW HJ Schoo-lezing in the Rode Hoed inAmsterdam on 4 September 2025.[65]
During his time as leader of the Flemish nationalist N-VA, De Wever campaigned in favour of gradual Flemish secessionism from Belgium and an independent Flanders within a wider democratic European confederation of sovereign states. In a 2010 interview, he stated "I'm not a revolutionary, and I'm not working toward the immediate end of Belgium" but believed the Belgian state is in a natural process of coming to an end.[66] De Wever has argued that the French-speaking parties, particularly theSocialist Party, have blocked meaningful reforms for the country, and that opposition to financial transfers from Flanders as solidarity to Wallonia has increased Flemish nationalism, and that an independent Flanders would be able to regulate its own taxation and business policies. He has also stated "it's also a matter of our national and cultural identity. Saying that seems outmoded today. The embodiment of the modern age is the "global citizen," who is as mobile, flexible and rich as possible. In reality, most people are afraid of globalization and are asking themselves the question: Where exactly do I belong? This is no different in Flanders."[66]
De Wever has also spoken in favour of theGreater Netherlands concept in which Flanders and the Netherlands can potentially be united into the same country or under a federal agreement, arguing that Dutch and Flemings are "the same people separated by the same language."[67]
De Wever also asserts the N-VA as the mostliberal of the major Belgian parties on economic issues. He has stressed defense ofentrepreneurship as one of the key points of his program, and he is committed to opposing all tax increases and reducing public spending, particularly in the social sphere. De Wever has argued for limits tounemployment benefits over time, abolish early retirement pensions, raise the retirement age and reduce the number of civil servants. He also proposes to transfer certain tax and social security powers to the regions.[68]
As Prime Minister of Belgium, De Wever said he would oppose what he termed as the European Union's "regulatory fervour" and called for reductions in the number of regulations put in place by the EU, arguing that excessive EU regulation stifled economic growth and innovation, as well as hampered both Belgium and Europe's ability to compete globally.[69]
In a 2018 op-ed forDe Morgen De Wever wrote that the political left in Belgium had used a "a subtle form of moral blackmail" to promote an immigration policy that would lead to "the total degradation of the welfare state." He said that open borders undermines social security and wrote "Politicians must let the general interest prevail over personal conscience, however hard it may be."[70][71]
When discussing the theft of an ambulance in Antwerp by a gang of youths in a September 2024 interview with broadcasterVRT, De Wever linked Belgium'simmigration policies to levels of crime and delinquency, arguing "The source of all the misery seems to me to be our migration policy, where we give many people who have little prospect access to our country."[72] He argued young people of non-European immigrant backgrounds were "the same young people who hang around, intimidate or even sexually harass women, throw firecrackers and come out and act the beast on New Year's Eve." De Wever argued that to tackle to issue, he would introduce mandatory "citizen internships" where young people perform work for the city during high school and a zero tolerance law to prosecute assaulting government employees such as police officers, emergency responders and social workers.[73]
In Belgian politics, De Wever has expressed criticism of thecordon sanitaire placed on theVlaams Belang (VB) party, describing it as undemocratic and counterproductive. He was previously critical of itsVlaams Blok predecessor, claiming that he had resisted offers to join the party and in 2010 argued that the radical right-wing populist stances of the Vlaams Blok had harmed the image of the Flemish movement.[66] However, following the2019 Belgian federal election, De Wever stated that he was considering breaking the Cordon to include the VB as a potential coalition partner. Although De Wever and the N-VA held official talks with the VB in 2019, they ultimately did not form an agreement.[74][75]
In 2023, De Wever stated that he would rather enter a governing coalition with the VB than with theWorkers' Party of Belgium, when asked about the rise of both parties in polls, describing the latter as "communists." In the same interview, De Wever also said that he had previously been hesitant to work with the Vlaams Belang due to the beliefs of certain individuals within the party but he would now form a Flemish nationalist coalition and government with the VB if it distanced itself from extremism.[76] However, that same year De Wever partially retreated from the idea of forming a coalition with the VB, citing his concerns about some of the members of the party and the recent accusation of Chinese espionage scandals with a VB politician.[77]
Assessing De Wever's ideological views, philosopherJason Stanley has opined that he is "a master of polite xenophobia"[78] whereas Belgian political scientistCarl Devos [nl] argues that De Wever is not xenophobic or populist but takes a firm stance on immigration and asylum policy.[79] Writing for the Centre for Political Studies in Brussels in 2010, scholar on Belgian politics Regis Dantoy assessed that De Wever politically positions himself "very ambiguously" between a charismatic populist and a mainstream image as a "popular figure who flirts with populism" in order to attract a wider degree of support.[80] In an interview withDer Spiegel De Wever described himself as opposed to forms of extreme far-right and far-left politics, arguing "I'm conservative by nature and I don't like adventures."[81] Professor of digital media and politics Ico Maly has argued that De Wever's political communication consists of the following ideological components: Flemish nationalism,neoliberalism,counter-enlightenment and cultural homogeny.[82] PhilosopherPhilippe Van Parijs described him as acivic nationalist instead of anethnic nationalist, and also questioned if De Wever could still be described as a separatist.[83]
De Wever is married to a Dutch national, with whom he has four children. They live together inDeurne.[84][85] In 2012, De Wever undertook acrash diet and lost 60 kilos. His physical transformation was noted by the Belgian media and he subsequently published a book advising on weight loss. De Wever has cited marathon running as his main interest outside of politics.[86] In addition toDutch, De Wever speaksFrench,English andGerman.[87]
De Wever's written works are listed at his entry on theEncyclopedia of the Flemish Movement.[1]
But was Bart De Wever really then, and is he today, a separatist? In the opening speech he gave (in very decent French) to my Louvain-la-Neuve students, he presented his nationalist and conservative political philosophy. As a (civic, not ethnic) nationalist, he believes that a democracy can only thrive within a community firmly knit together by a shared identity, a shared culture, a shared language. Being a conservative, he is striving for his goal "as a surgeon and not as a butcher", in evolutionary and not revolutionary fashion, by respecting the existing constitutional order and not by smashing it.
Media related toBart De Wever at Wikimedia Commons
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| Preceded by | President of theNew Flemish Alliance 2004–2025 | Succeeded by Steven Vandeput Acting |
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| Preceded by | Mayor of Antwerp 2013–2025 | Succeeded by Els van Doesburg Acting |
| Preceded by | Prime Minister of Belgium 2025–present | Incumbent |
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