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Daniel Féret | |
|---|---|
 Féret in 1994 | |
| Member of the European Parliament | |
| In office 19 July 1994 – 20 July 1999 | |
| Constituency | French-speaking electoral college |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1944-08-07)7 August 1944 (age 81) Momignies, Belgium |
| Political party | National Front |
| Other political affiliations | |
Daniel Féret (French pronunciation:[danjɛlfeʁɛ]; born 7 August 1944) is a Belgian politician most noted as founder and long-term leader of theNational Front. Féret worked as a physician.[1]
In his youth Féret was a member of the far-rightJeune Europe and subsequently the populistDemocratic Union of Labour.[2] He was not a leading member in either group however and did not become well-known figure until later.[1]
He established the National Front in 1985.[2] He was elected amember of the European Parliament in1994, holding the seat until 1999.[3] His personal political philosophy was inspired almost wholly by that of theFrench National Front, which he sought to copy, although his own party attracted an eclectic membership of extremists, ranging from populists toneo-Nazis.[4]
On 18 April 2006 he was sentenced to 250 hours of community service for the incitement to hatred, discrimination and segregation in the party's flyers and website.[5] As a result of this case he was prohibited from standing for parliamentary elections for ten years.[6]
He remained party leader from its foundation until 2008.[7] He was eventually forced out by disgruntled party members who accused him variously of deliberately retarding the development of party organisation in order to ensure his personal control and of using the party as a personal source of wealth.[8]