De Gucht in Brasília (November 21, 2006).
Picture: Antonio Cruz/ABr

Karel De Gucht (Overmere, 27 January 1954) is the Belgian Minister of Foreign Affairs, and a former chairman of the Flemish Liberals and Democrats (VLD), a Belgian political party and prominent member of the Freemasons, an ultra-liberal organisation . In January 2004 he was forced to step down as chairman and was temporarily replaced until after the elections of June 4 by Dirk Sterckx. The reason for his resignation was a conflict between Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt and him about a proposal to give non-citizen immigrants the right to vote in municipal elections, which De Gucht opposed. The conflict severely damaged the party's reputation, as reflected in the 2004 Belgian regional elections results. Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 338 × 599 pixels Full resolution (720 × 1277 pixel, file size: 578 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): Karel De Gucht Metadata This... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 338 × 599 pixels Full resolution (720 × 1277 pixel, file size: 578 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): Karel De Gucht Metadata This... Nickname: Location of Brasília Coordinates: Region Central-West State Distrito Federal Founded 21 April 1960 Government  - Administrator Ricardo Hernane Pires Area  - City 5,802 km²  (2,240. ... January 27 is the 27th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1954 (MCMLIV) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Belgian Minister of Foreign Affairs have been: ... The Vlaamse Liberalen en Democraten or VLD (Flemish Liberals and Democrats) is a Flemish liberal party, created in 1992 from the former PVV and a few other politicians from other parties. ... June 4 is the 155th day of the year (156th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Dirk Sterckx Dirk Sterckx (born on 25 September 1946 in Herent) is a Belgian politician and Member of the European Parliament for Flanders with the Vlaamse Liberalen en Democraten, Member of the Bureau of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe and sits on the European Parliaments Committee... A prime minister is the most senior minister of a cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. ... Guy Verhofstadt (help· info) (born April 11, 1953) is a Belgian politician, municipal councillor in Ghent and current Prime Minister of Belgium. ... (Redirected from 2004 Belgian regional elections) On June 13, 2004, regional elections were held in Belgium, to choose representatives in the regional councils of Flanders, Wallonia, and Brussels, as well as in the German Community Council. ...

De Gucht was elected to the Federal Parliament during the general elections on 18 May 2003. He was a member of the Flemish Parliament 1999-2003 and a member of the European Parliament 1995-1999. The Belgian Federal Parliament is a bicameral parliament. ... The May 18, 2003 Belgian general elections were the first Belgian elections to be held under a new electoral code. ... May 18 is the 138th day of the year (139th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Flemish Parliament (Dutch: Vlaams Parlement, and formerly called Flemish Council or Vlaamse Raad) constitutes the legislative power in Flanders, for matters which fall within the competence of Flanders, both as a geographic region and a cultural and linguistic community of Belgium. ... Established 1952, as the Common Assembly President Hans-Gert Pöttering (EPP) Since 16 January 2007 Vice-Presidents 14 Political parties 8 Committees 22 Last election June 2004 (785 MEPs) Meeting place Brussels and Strasbourg Secretariat Luxembourg and Brussels Website europarl. ...

Although elected to the Flemish Parliament and European Parliament in the elections of June 2004 he decided to take up neither seat and since July 18, Karel De Gucht is the Belgian Minister of Foreign Affairs. On June 13, 2004, regional elections were held in Belgium, to choose representatives in the regional councils of Flanders, Wallonia, and Brussels, as well as in the German Community Council. ... shelby was here 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... July 18 is the 199th day (200th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar, with 166 days remaining. ...

On a trip to Africa in late 2004, De Gucht made several negative remarks about the capabilities of Congolese leaders. This worsened diplomatic relations between both countries, but only for a short time. His remarks were mostly supported by the Dutch-speaking part of Belgium and denounced by the French-speaking part. A world map showing the continent of Africa Africa is the worlds second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. ... Motto Justice – Paix – Travail(French) Justice – Peace – Work Anthem Debout Congolais Capital (and largest city) Kinshasaa Official languages French Government Semi-Presidential Republic  -  President Joseph Kabila  -  Prime Minister Antoine Gizenga Independence  -  from Belgium June 30, 1960  Area  -  Total 2,344,858 km² (12th) 905,351 sq mi   -  Water (%) 3. ... This page is about negotiations; for the board game, see Diplomacy (game). ... Flanders (Dutch: ) has several main meanings: the social, cultural and linguistical, scientific and educational, economical and political community of the Flemings; generally called the Flemish community (others refer to this as the Flemish nation) which is, with over 6 million inhabitants, the majority of all Belgians; the constituent governing institution... 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. ...

In June 2005, De Gucht was part of a minor diplomatic riot between Belgium and the Netherlands, because he referred to the Dutch Prime Minister Jan-Peter Balkenende as "a mix between Harry Potter and a rigid bourgeois without charisma" in an interview with the popular Belgian newspaper Het Laatste Nieuws. Prime Minister of the Netherlands Dr. Jan Peter Balkenende   listen? (* May 7, 1956) is Prime Minister of The Netherlands since July 22, 2002. ... Bourgeois at the end of the thirteenth century. ... Het Laatste Nieuws is a Flemish language newspaper based in Brussels. ...

In december 2006, De Gucht condemned the International Conference to Review the Global Vision of the Holocaust, organised in Iran. Participants on the first day of the conference. ...

For the year 2006, De Gucht is the Chairman-in-Office of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe. The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is an international organization for security. ...

External links

• CV
• Official website in Dutch