Philippe De Backer
Philippe De Backer (born 4 December 1978) has been a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for Open Vld since September 2011.
Philippe De Backer was born in Ekeren, Belgium and grew up in Kapellen. He studied biotechnology at Ghent University, where he earned a doctorate in 2004. During his student days, De Backer was active in the Liberal Flemish Students Association (LVSV) in Ghent and he was a core member of the liberal think tank Liberales. He was also elected for two years as a student representative in the Board of Directors of Ghent University. Afterwards, he worked for an investment fund specialized in healthcare.
From 2007 to 2010, De Backer was president of Jong VLD Nationaal, the youth section of Open Vld. In that period, he was also a member of the city council of Kapellen.
European Parliament
Since September 2011, De Backer has been a member of the European Parliament. He succeeded his party colleague Dirk Sterckx. He is a member of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE), led by former Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt. He deals with the dossiers in the Transport Committee and the Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee. In 2014, he was appointed first successor at the European election list for Open Vld.