Boudewijn Bouckaert
Encyclopedia
Boudewijn Bouckaert is a Belgian law professor, a member of the Flemish Movement
Flemish movement
The Flemish Movement is a popular term used to describe the political movement for emancipation and greater autonomy of the Belgian region of Flanders, for protection of the Dutch language, and for the over-all protection of Flemish culture and history....

, and a libertarian
Libertarianism
Libertarianism, in the strictest sense, is the political philosophy that holds individual liberty as the basic moral principle of society. In the broadest sense, it is any political philosophy which approximates this view...

 conservative thinker
Thinker
Thinker may refer to:*Intellectual, one who tries to use his or her intellect to work, study, reflect, speculate on, or ask and answer questions with regard to a variety of different ideas...

 and politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...

. He chairs the academic board of the LIB-ERA! think tank and serves as Member of the Flemish Parliament for the liberal party List Dedecker. He is also a former president of the Belgian classical liberal
Classical liberalism
Classical liberalism is the philosophy committed to the ideal of limited government, constitutionalism, rule of law, due process, and liberty of individuals including freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly, and free markets....

 think tank Nova Civitas
Nova Civitas
Nova Civitas was a Flemish think tank based on the principles of classic liberalism in combination with Anglo-Saxon conservatism. Nova Civitas claimed at its founding to be completely independent, although it was recognized and supported by the Flemish Liberal Party...

.

Boudewijn Bouckaert holds a PhD
Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...

 and teaches at the Law School
Law school
A law school is an institution specializing in legal education.- Law degrees :- Canada :...

 of the University of Ghent, the University of Paris
University of Paris
The University of Paris was a university located in Paris, France and one of the earliest to be established in Europe. It was founded in the mid 12th century, and officially recognized as a university probably between 1160 and 1250...

 and the University of Aix-Marseille
University
A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...

. He is still director
Management
Management in all business and organizational activities is the act of getting people together to accomplish desired goals and objectives using available resources efficiently and effectively...

 of the Department of Legal Theory and History at Ghent University and chairperson of the European Master in Law and Economics Erasmus Mundi
Erasmus programme
The Erasmus Programme , a.k.a. Erasmus Project is a European Union student exchange programme established in 1987...

 program.

He has been lecturer at the Institute for Humane Studies
Institute for Humane Studies
The Institute for Humane Studies is a classical liberal non-profit organization whose stated mission is “to support the achievement of a freer society by discovering and facilitating the development of talented students, scholars, and other intellectuals who share an interest in liberty and in...

 in Fairfax
Fairfax, Virginia
The City of Fairfax is an independent city forming an enclave within the confines of Fairfax County, in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. Although politically independent of the surrounding county, the City is nevertheless the county seat....

, Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...

, at the Institute for Economic Studies in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 and also at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...

. He used to sit on the Belgian High Council for Judicial Matters and was chairman of the Land Management Committee. He is also a member of the international free-market group Mont Pelerin Society
Mont Pelerin Society
The Mont Pelerin Society is an international organization composed of economists , philosophers, historians, intellectuals, business leaders, and others who favour classical liberalism...

.

In 2006, Boudewijn Bouckaert succeeded professor Matthias Storme
Matthias Storme
Matthias Edward Storme is a Belgian lawyer, academic and conservative philosopher.- Family life :Storme was born and raised in a Catholic family in the Belgian city of Ghent. His father Marcel Storme Matthias Edward Storme (born Ghent, 1959) is a Belgian lawyer, academic and conservative...

 as chairman of the Overlegcentrum van Vlaamse Verenigingen (OVV, or Meeting Association of Flemish Organizations), the most important flamingant
Flamingant
The Dutch and French word flamingant refers to all activists of the Flemish movement and was initially used as a pejorative term by Belgicists to indicate nationalist Flemish people. It may be derived from Flamins, the Walloon word for Flemings. The word can be equally used as an adjective or...

 organization in Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...

.

On 7 June 2007, his pregnant 29 year-old wife Katrien Van den Berghe died in Ghent
Ghent
Ghent is a city and a municipality located in the Flemish region of Belgium. It is the capital and biggest city of the East Flanders province. The city started as a settlement at the confluence of the Rivers Scheldt and Lys and in the Middle Ages became one of the largest and richest cities of...

's University Hospital
Ghent University
Ghent University is a Dutch-speaking public university located in Ghent, Belgium. It is one of the larger Flemish universities, consisting of 32,000 students and 7,100 staff members. The current rector is Paul Van Cauwenberge.It was established in 1817 by King William I of the Netherlands...

 due to a cerebral hemorrhage. Their unborn son Elias could also not be saved.

VLD

Bouckaert was a member of the board of the Flemish Liberals and Democrats (VLD) party. In 2005 he created a stir when he publicly called for an "evolution to the formation of a two-party system after the Anglo-Saxon model." With "two homogenous groups," Bouckaert concluded, "a left-wing bloc around the SP.ASP.A, ACV
Confederation of Christian Trade Unions
-External links:* Official site....

 and Groen!, and a right wing bloc with the VLD, the right wing of the CD&V, the N-VA and the Vlaams Belang
Vlaams Belang
Vlaams Belang is a Belgian far-right political party in the Flemish Region and Brussels that advocates the independence of Flanders and strict limits on immigration, whereby immigrants would be obliged to adopt Flemish culture and language...

." His opinions were against the party line, and an agreement within the VLD to not criticize the party line. A conflict ensued between Bouckaert and party chairman Bart Somers
Bart Somers
Bartolomeus Jozef Lodewijk Rosalia "Bart" Somers is a Belgian, Flemish politician. He is currently the mayor of Mechelen...

, which ended on 8 July 2005, when Bouckaert stepped down from the party board.

After the dismissal of Jean-Marie Dedecker
Jean-Marie Dedecker
Jean-Marie Louis Dedecker is a Belgian Flemish politician.In 1999 and 2003, Dedecker was directly elected to the Belgian Senate. In 2004 Dedecker ran for a seat in the Flemish Parliament, after taking his seat in the Flemish Parliament, Dedecker was elected by his colleagues as a community senator...

 from the VLD, Hugo Coveliers
Hugo Coveliers
Hugo F.V. Coveliers is a Belgian politician and lawyer. He was a member of the Belgian Chamber of People's Representatives between 1985 and 1995 and from 1993 to 2003. Since 2003 he has been a member of the Belgian Senate...

, Dedecker and Boudewijn Bouckaert (and other Nova Civitas
Nova Civitas
Nova Civitas was a Flemish think tank based on the principles of classic liberalism in combination with Anglo-Saxon conservatism. Nova Civitas claimed at its founding to be completely independent, although it was recognized and supported by the Flemish Liberal Party...

 members) started negotiations to form a new right wing liberal party. Bouckaert handed in his party resignation on 27 October 2006, stating that the VLD "has become a left-liberal party that leans towards the SP.A." The social democratic
Social democracy
Social democracy is a political ideology of the center-left on the political spectrum. Social democracy is officially a form of evolutionary reformist socialism. It supports class collaboration as the course to achieve socialism...

 Different Socialist Party (SP.A) was a partner of the VLD from 1999 to 2007 in the Verhofstadt I
Guy Verhofstadt
Guy Verhofstadt is a Belgian politician who was the 47th Prime Minister of Belgium from 1999 to 2008. He is currently a Member of the European Parliament and leader of the Group of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe.- Early career :...

 and Verhofstadt II
Guy Verhofstadt
Guy Verhofstadt is a Belgian politician who was the 47th Prime Minister of Belgium from 1999 to 2008. He is currently a Member of the European Parliament and leader of the Group of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe.- Early career :...

 governments. Bouckaert briefly joined the N-VA political party, together with Jean-Marie Dedecker
Jean-Marie Dedecker
Jean-Marie Louis Dedecker is a Belgian Flemish politician.In 1999 and 2003, Dedecker was directly elected to the Belgian Senate. In 2004 Dedecker ran for a seat in the Flemish Parliament, after taking his seat in the Flemish Parliament, Dedecker was elected by his colleagues as a community senator...

, but sided with Dedecker after his New Flemish Alliance (N-VA) dismissal and List Dedecker foundation.

Trivia

  • He delivered the Wieser Memorial Lecture at the 2007 Prague
    Prague
    Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...

     Conference on Political Economy, in April 2007, at the Liberalní Institut, a Czech
    Czech Republic
    The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....

     free market
    Free market
    A free market is a competitive market where prices are determined by supply and demand. However, the term is also commonly used for markets in which economic intervention and regulation by the state is limited to tax collection, and enforcement of private ownership and contracts...

     think tank
    Think tank
    A think tank is an organization that conducts research and engages in advocacy in areas such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, and technology issues. Most think tanks are non-profit organizations, which some countries such as the United States and Canada provide with tax...

    .
  • He was a lecturer at the first and second Liberty Seminar held in Leuven
    Leuven
    Leuven is the capital of the province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region, Belgium...

     (Belgium) in July 2007 and August 2008.
  • Raised Catholic, he considered organized secularism
    Organized secularism
    Organized secularism is a French term which is used within Belgium to refer to local associations and organizations which provide moral support for atheist, agnostic, humanist, freethinking or irreligious/non-confessional citizens...

     ("vrijzinnigheid") in his student days, but is now a member of Belgium's small Protestant
    Protestantism
    Protestantism is one of the three major groupings within Christianity. It is a movement that began in Germany in the early 16th century as a reaction against medieval Roman Catholic doctrines and practices, especially in regards to salvation, justification, and ecclesiology.The doctrines of the...

     community.

External links

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