Patrick Jules Maria Vankrunkelsven (born 2 May 1957 in Geel

Geel

Geel is a city located in the Belgian province of Antwerp which acquired the status of a city in the 1980s.It comprises Central-Geel which is constituted of 4 old parishes a/o towns : Sint-Amand, Sint-Dimpna, Holven and Elsum...

), physician

Physician

A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...

, dr. sc. med., Professor

Professor

A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...

 in medicine

Medicine

Medicine is the science and art of healing. It encompasses a variety of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness....

 and 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

Politician

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

. He obtained an MD and PhD from the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven

Katholieke Universiteit Leuven

The Katholieke Universiteit Leuven is a Dutch-speaking university in Flanders, Belgium.It is located at the centre of the historic town of Leuven, and is a prominent part of the city, home to the university since 1425...

 (Leuven

Leuven

Leuven is the capital of the province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region, Belgium...

, 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...

).

Political career

He was president of the Volksunie from 1998 till 2000, succeeding Bert Anciaux

Bert Anciaux

Bert Jozef Herman Vic Anciaux is a Belgian politician, a founder and former member of Spirit...

. When that party was dissolved in 2001, He initially chose the left-liberal SPIRIT, but eventually went to the VLD

Flemish Liberals and Democrats

' , commonly known as Open VLD and also simply as the VLD, is a Flemish liberal political party in Belgium, created in 1992 from the former Party for Freedom and Progress and a few other politicians from other parties. The party led the government for three cabinets under Guy Verhofstadt from 1999...

 where he is now senator. Within that party he is in the left wing. Patrik Vankrunkelsven has been mayor of Laakdal

Laakdal

Laakdal is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Antwerp. The municipality comprises the towns of Eindhout, Veerle, Vorst and Vorst-Meerlaar . On January 1, 2006 Laakdal had a total population of 14,951. The total area is 42.48 km² which gives a population density of 352 inhabitants per...

 from 1994 to 2006.