Elio Di Rupo (b. Morlanwelz 18 July 1951) is a belgian socialist politician and the President of the Socialist Party. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 253 × 154 pixelsFull resolution (253 × 154 pixel, file size: 10 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Elio Di Rupo ... Morlanwelz is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Hainaut. ... is the 199th day of the year (200th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1951 (MCMLI) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Socialism is a social and economic system (or the political philosophy advocating such a system) in which the economic means of production are owned and controlled collectively by the people. ...

Biography

Elio Di Rupo is the son of Italian immigrants. His father died when he was one year old, and his mother had to take care of the seven children. For financial reasons, three of the children had to placed in an orphanage, located at a kilometre's distance of where the family lived in Morlanwelz. // The first orphanages, called orphanotrophia, were founded in the 1st century amid various alternative means of orphan support. ...

He graduated as a chemist at the Université de Mons-Hainaut (UMH) and a PhD from the Same University and the University of Leeds. He started his professional career at the Université de Mons-Hainaut and The Houldsworth School of Applied Sciences of the University of Leeds. The Université de Mons-Hainaut (UMH) , in Mons, Wallonia, Belgium, is a university in the French Community of Belgium. ... The University of Leeds is a major teaching and research university, one of the largest in the United Kingdom with over 32,000 full-time students. ... The University of Leeds is a major teaching and research university, one of the largest in the United Kingdom with over 32,000 full-time students. ...

Political career

He started his political career as an attache at the cabinet of Jean-Maurice Dehousse in 1980-1981.

Elio Di Rupo is the leader of one of the two Belgian socialist parties, the French-speaking Parti Socialiste (PS), and one of Belgium's most powerful politicians. The Parti Socialiste or PS of Belgium is a French-speaking social democratic political party. ... The Politics series Politics Portal This box:      A politician is an individual who is a formally recognized and active member of a government, or a person who influences the way a society is governed through an understanding of political power and group dynamics. ...

Elio Di Rupo is a flamboyant left-winger, and is widely considered to have played a major part in the resurgence of the PS, now the joint largest party in the Belgian parliament. He is widely known to always wear red bow ties. One option to tie a bowtie The bowtie is a mens fashion accessory, popularly worn with other formal attire, such as suits. ...

His political career started in 1982. He is a deputy (MP) for the Hainaut division of Wallonia. He once described François Mitterrand as being "a character from a novel". ^[1] Hainaut (French; English traditionally Hainault, Dutch: Henegouwen, German: Hennegau, Walloon: Hinnot) is the westernmost province of Wallonia, one of the three regions of Belgium. ... Wallonia (French: Wallonie, German: Wallonien, Walloon: Walonreye, Dutch: Wallonië) or the Walloon Region (French: Région Wallonne, Dutch: Waals Gewest) is the predominantly French-speaking region that constitutes one of the three federal regions of Belgium, with its capital at Namur. ...   IPA: (October 26, 1916 – January 8, 1996) was President of France from 1981 to 1995, elected as representative of the Socialist Party (PS). ...

In 1996, he was wrongly accused of having had sex with minors by a young gay, Olivier Trusgnach. These allegations nearly put an end to his political career. Year 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display full 1996 Gregorian calendar). ...

He became bourgmestre of Mons, capital of the province of Hainaut, in 2000. A mayor (from the Latin māior, meaning larger, greater) is the modern title of the highest ranking municipal officer. ... Geography Country Belgium Community French Community Region Walloon Region Province Hainaut Arrondissement Mons Coordinates , , Area 146. ... Hainaut (French; English traditionally Hainault, Dutch: Henegouwen, German: Hennegau, Walloon: Hinnot) is the westernmost province of Wallonia, one of the three regions of Belgium. ...

In October 2005, he became Minister-President of Wallonia after Jean-Claude Van Cauwenberghe resigned amid a corruption scandal, involving several members of Di Rupo's party. Di Rupo continued as party leader though, and has had to deal with the PS's ICDI scandal that emerged in May 2006. Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... This is the list of Minister-Presidents (prime ministers) of Wallonia, one of the three regions of Belgium. ... Jean-Claude Van Cauwenberghe (born April 28, 1944), sometimes nicknamed as Van Cau, is a French-speaking Belgian politician. ... The ICDI affair is a Belgium political scandal involving the Intercommunale pour la Collecte et la Destruction des Immondices (ICDI), the refuse collector of the Wallonian region of Charleroi. ...

In 2006 and 2007, Di Rupo and its party appeared unsuccessful in trying to clean out corruption. This was probably instrumental in the party losing its first place amongst French-speaking parties 2007 federal election ^[2]. Di Rupo then decided to take a firmer stance against corruption in Charleroi: he virtually took control of the city's socialist party and ordered the socialist mayor and aldermens to resign ^[3]. The next Belgian general election is scheduled to take place on Sunday June 24, 2007. ... A mayor (from the Latin māior, meaning larger, greater) is the modern title of the highest ranking municipal officer. ... An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions. ...

After former PS president Guy Spitaels urged him to choose between the presidency of the party and of the Walloon Region, Di Rupo decided to organize internal elections for party president in July 2007 rather than in October and announced that he would resign from his mandate as Minister-President if reelected. On July 11, 2007, Di Rupo was reelected president of the Socialist Party with 89.5% of the votes ^[4] Guy Spitaels (born September 3, 1931 in Ath) is a Belgian politician of the Socialist Party. ... This is the list of Ministers-President (prime ministers) of Wallonia, one of the three regions of Belgium. ...

External link

• (French) Official blog of Elio Di Rupo

Notes

1. ^ Elio, tout simplement, article from La Libre Belgique, April 22, 2003
2. ^ The party loses 20% of its seats at the Chamber of Representatives, see also this article that analysis the impact on socialists
3. ^ See article from VRT News and La Libre Belgique
4. ^ See this press release and La Libre Belgique

La Libre Belgique (English: Free Belgium) is a Belgian newspaper in French. ...

References

• Elio Di Rupo (Walloon government, in French)
• Elio Di Rupo (in French)
• Elio Di Rupo (in Dutch)
• Interview with Di Rupo