Kris Peeters
Encyclopedia
Kris Peeters is a Flemish
Flanders
Flanders is the community of the Flemings but also one of the institutions in Belgium, and a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France and the Netherlands. "Flanders" can also refer to the northern part of Belgium that contains Brussels, Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp...

 politician and member of the Christian Democratic and Flemish party who is currently Minister-President of Flanders, the northern region of Belgium.

Peeters served from 1991 to 1994 as Director of the NCMV research department. In 1994 he became Secretary-General of NCMV and when NCMV was reformed into the SME
Small and medium enterprise
Small and medium enterprises or small and medium-sized enterprises are companies whose headcount or turnover falls below certain limits.The abbreviation "SME" occurs commonly...

 interest group UNIZO
UNIZO
UNIZO is a Belgian organization of Self-Employed and Small and Medium Sized Enterprises ; it is mainly situated in the Flemish region of the Kingdom of Belgium. UNIZO wants to give SMEs a voice from the local up to the European level...

 in 1999, he became its first managing director. In 2004, although not having been a candidate for public office at the 2004 regional elections
Belgian regional elections, 2004
On June 13, 2004, regional elections were held in Belgium, to choose representatives in the regional councils of the Flemish Parliament, the Walloon Parliament, the Brussels Parliament and the German-speaking Community of Belgium...

, Peeters was asked to become a member of the Flemish Government
Flemish government
The Flemish Government is the executive branch of the Flemish Community and the Flemish Region. It consists of up to a maximum of eleven ministers, chosen by the Flemish Parliament...

. He resigned his position with UNIZO and became Flemish Minister for Public Works, Energy, the Environment and Nature.
During the 2006 municipal elections, Peeters ran for public office the first time in his career and was elected a member of the city council of his home town Puurs
Puurs
Puurs is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Antwerp. It is located in the Flemish Region. The municipality comprises the towns of Breendonk, Liezele, Kalfort, Ruisbroek and Puurs proper. On January 1, 2006 Puurs had a total population of 16,029...

. In the 2007 Belgian general elections
Belgian general election, 2007
The 2007 Belgian general election took place on Sunday 10 June 2007. Voters went to the polls in order to elect new members for the Chamber of Representatives and Senate.Eligible voters were Belgian citizens 18 years and older...

, Peeters was elected to the Belgian Chamber of Representatives but chose not to take his seat, instead he succeeded Yves Leterme
Yves Leterme
Yves Camille Désiré Leterme is a Flemish Belgian politician, a leader of the Christian Democratic and Flemish party , and the 48th Prime Minister of Belgium.Leterme was the Prime Minister of Belgium from March 2008 to December 2008...

 as Minister-President of Flanders, as Leterme headed the CD&V coalition talks for a new Belgian government. Peeters also gave up his former competences to Hilde Crevits
Hilde Crevits
Hilde Urbanie Julia Crevits is a Flemish politician and member of the Christian Democratic and Flemish party who is currently the Flemish minister of Mobility and Public Works....

 and took on the responsibilities for Institutional Affairs, Agriculture and Sea Fisheries, formerly belonging to Leterme, while keeping his own competence regarding Ports. He has been serving a second term as head of the Flemish government since the regional elections of 7 June 2009
Belgian regional elections, 2009
Regional elections were held in Belgium on 7 June 2009 to choose representatives in the regional councils of Flanders, Wallonia, Brussels and the German-speaking Community of Belgium...

, with the additional competences of Institutional Affairs, Economy, Agriculture and Sea Fisheries.

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