Bart Somers

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Bartolomeus Jozef Lodewijk Rosalia "Bart" Somers (born 12 May 1964 in Mechelen) is a Belgian, Flemish politician. He is currently the mayor of Mechelen and chairman of the party VLD. He obtained a law degree from the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (Leuven, Belgium).

[edit] Political career

Between 2003 and 2004 he was the Minister-President of Flanders.

After the regional elections of June 2004 he was appointed the interim chairman of the Flemish Liberals and Democrats (VLD). On December 4, 2004, he was elected with just over 50 percent to a full term as chairman.

Bart Somers was one of the three negotiators for the Open VLD during the 2007 Belgian government formation.

[edit] Personal life

He is married to Miet Bourlon and he has 2 children, a girl Lieze and a boy Jan Klaas. In February 2006, Somers announced that he and his wife were splitting up.

[edit] External links

Preceded by
Patrick Dewael		 Minister-President of Flanders
2003–2004		 Succeeded by
Yves Leterme