Brent Meuleman

Brent Meuleman
Meuleman in February 2020
Member of the Chamber of Representatives
Incumbent
Assumed office
9 June 2024
ConstituencyEast Flanders
Personal details
Born (1988-03-17) 17 March 1988 (age 36)
Ghent, Belgium
Political partyVooruit
Alma materHogeschool Gent

Brent Meuleman (born 17 March 1988) is a Belgian politician and member of the Chamber of Representatives.[1] A member of Vooruit, he has represented East Flanders since June 2024.

Meuleman was born on 17 March 1988 in Ghent.[1] He is the son of Dirk Meuleman, a labourer at Sidmar, and Vera Herry, a childcare worker at a OCMW crèche.[2] He was educated in Zelzate and obtained a teaching diploma at the Ledeganck campus of the Hogeschool Gent.[2] Meuleman worked as a communications officer for the municipal council in Zelzate between 2009 and 2010.[3][4] He was a worker at the BP oil refinery at the Port of Ghent.[2][4] He then taught ethics at the Royal Atheneum in Zelzate.[2][4]

Meuleman was elected to the municipal council in Zelzate at the 2012 local election.[5] He was re-elected at the 2018 local election.[6][7] After the election the Socialist Party Different (SP.A) formed an administration with the Workers' Party of Belgium, the first time the far-left party had joined a municipal government in Flanders, and Meuleman became mayor of Zelzate.[8][9] Incumbent mayor Frank Bruggeman of the Flemish Liberals and Democrats had complained of irregularities in the vote count but this was dismissed by the Council for Electoral Disputes and the Council of State.[10][11][12] Meuleman was sworn in as mayor on 16 January 2019.[13][14]

Meuleman contested the 2014 federal election as the SP.A's third placed substitute candidate in East Flanders and received 2,675 preference votes.[15] He contested the 2019 federal election as the SP.A's 18th placed candidate in East Flanders but was not elected.[16] He was elected chairman of the East Flanders branch of Vooruit in June 2023.[17][18] He was elected to the Chamber of Representatives at the 2024 federal election.[19]

Electoral history of Brent Meuleman
Election Constituency Party Votes Result
2012 local[5] Zelzate Socialist Party Different 302 Elected
2018 local[6] Zelzate Socialist Party Different 1,334 Elected
2019 federal[16] East Flanders Socialist Party Different 3,757 Not elected
2024 federal[19] East Flanders Vooruit 5,581 Elected
  1. ^ a b "De Kamerleden: Brent Meuleman" (in Dutch). Brussels, Belgium: Chamber of Representatives. Retrieved 16 September 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d Van Waesberghe, Koen (10 November 2018). "Brent wie? Brent Meuleman wordt de nieuwe burgemeester". Het Nieuwsblad (in Dutch). Groot-Bijgaarden, Belgium. Archived from the original on 11 November 2018. Retrieved 16 September 2024.
  3. ^ Vereecke, Kristof (29 April 2023). "Brent Meuleman zoekt zelf zijn opvolger". Het Laatste Nieuws (in Dutch). Antwerp, Belgium. Retrieved 16 September 2024.
  4. ^ a b c Van Waesberghe, Koen (20 October 2015). "SP.A Zelzate trekt verkiezingsstrijd op gang". Het Nieuwsblad (in Dutch). Groot-Bijgaarden, Belgium. Archived from the original on 21 October 2015. Retrieved 16 September 2024.
  5. ^ a b "Gemeenteraadsverkiezingen 14 oktober 2012" (in Dutch). Brussels, Belgium: Flemish Government. Retrieved 10 September 2024.
  6. ^ a b "Lokale verkiezingen 2018: Zelzate - Verkozen kandidaten". Vlaanderen kiest (in Dutch). Brussels, Belgium: Flemish Government. Retrieved 16 September 2024.
  7. ^ Van Waesberghe, Koen (15 October 2018). "Brent Meuleman is stemmenkampioen, Frank Bruggeman en Geert Asman verliezen voorkeurstemmen". Het Nieuwsblad (in Dutch). Groot-Bijgaarden, Belgium. Archived from the original on 15 October 2018. Retrieved 16 September 2024.
  8. ^ Vansevenant, Johny; Saerens, Zico (10 November 2018). "Absolute primeur in Vlaanderen: PVDA gaat mee besturen in Zelzate". VRT (in Dutch). Brussels, Belgium. Archived from the original on 22 March 2023. Retrieved 16 September 2024.
  9. ^ Van Puymbroeck, Rik (4 June 2022). "In Zelzate, waar de taxshift tot een ideologische discussie leidt". De Tijd (in Dutch). Brussels, Belgium. Archived from the original on 1 October 2023. Retrieved 16 September 2024.
  10. ^ "Liberale burgemeester van Zelzate eist hertelling van de stemmen om PVDA alsnog uit coalitie te houden". Het Belang van Limburg (in Dutch). Hasselt, Belgium. 11 November 2018. Retrieved 16 September 2024.
  11. ^ "Zelzaatse verkiezingsuitslag is geldig, dieprode coalitie kan aan de slag". Het Nieuwsblad (in Dutch). Groot-Bijgaarden, Belgium. 7 January 2019. Retrieved 16 September 2024.
  12. ^ "Gemeenteraadsverkiezingen Zelzate definitief geldig verklaard". Radio 2 (in Dutch). Brussels, Belgium: VRT. 17 May 2019. Retrieved 16 September 2024.
  13. ^ "Brent Meuleman nu echt vijfde socialistische burgemeester van Zelzate". Het Nieuwsblad (in Dutch). Groot-Bijgaarden, Belgium. 16 January 2019. Retrieved 16 September 2024.
  14. ^ Teirlinck, Nico (17 January 2019). "Nieuwe burgemeester Zelzate legt toch eed af". Radio 2 (in Dutch). Brussels, Belgium: VRT. Archived from the original on 17 September 2021. Retrieved 16 September 2024.
  15. ^ "Resultaat Kamer van Volksvertegenwoordigers 25 mei 2014 - Kieskring Oost-Vlaanderen". Verkiezingsuitslagen (in Dutch). Brussels, Belgium: Federal Public Service Interior. Archived from the original on 4 June 2024. Retrieved 16 September 2024.
  16. ^ a b "Resultaat Kamer van Volksvertegenwoordigers 26 mei 2019 - Kieskring Oost-Vlaanderen". Verkiezingsuitslagen (in Dutch). Brussels, Belgium: Federal Public Service Interior. Archived from the original on 4 June 2024. Retrieved 16 September 2024.
  17. ^ Blomme, Arne (5 June 2023). "Brent Meuleman verkozen tot nieuwe voorzitter van Vooruit Oost-Vlaanderen: "Combineren met burgmeesterschap"". Het Laatste Nieuws (in Dutch). Antwerp, Belgium. Archived from the original on 30 May 2024. Retrieved 16 September 2024.
  18. ^ "LOKAAL: Vooruit Gent goed vertegenwoordigd in nationaal partijbureau" (in Dutch). Brussels, Belgium: Vooruit. 9 June 2023. Archived from the original on 24 April 2024. Retrieved 16 September 2024.
  19. ^ a b "Resultaat Kamer van Volksvertegenwoordigers 9 juni 2024 - Kieskring Oost-Vlaanderen". Verkiezingsuitslagen (in Dutch). Brussels, Belgium: Federal Public Service Interior. Archived from the original on 8 September 2024. Retrieved 16 September 2024.