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Petra De Sutter

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Petra De Sutter (born 10 June 1963) is a Belgian gynaecologist and politician, currently serving as federal Deputy Prime Minister.

Petra De Sutter
De Sutter in 2020
Deputy Prime Minister of Belgium
Incumbent
Assumed office
1 October 2020
Prime MinisterAlexander De Croo
Minister of Civil Service
Incumbent
Assumed office
1 October 2020
Prime MinisterAlexander De Croo
Preceded byDavid Clarinval
Member of the European Parliament
for Belgium
In office
2 July 2019 – 30 September 2020
Member of the Belgian Senate
In office
3 July 2014 – 29 March 2019
Personal details
Born10 June 1963 (1963-06-10) (age 61)[1]
Oudenaarde, Belgium
Political partyGroen
Children1
Alma materGhent University
Websitewww.petradesutter.be

A member of the Groen party, she was previously a Member of the European Parliament from 2019 until 2020, when she was named Deputy PM with the responsibility of overseeing Belgium's public administration and public enterprises in Alexander De Croo's government.[2] She is the first transgender minister in Europe.[3]

Before entering into politics, she worked as professor of gynaecology at Ghent University, serving as head of the Department of Reproductive Medicine at Ghent University Hospital (UZ Gent).[1][4]

Early life and education

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De Sutter was born in Oudenaarde, in the Flemish province of East Flanders, in June 1963. She graduated from Ghent University with a medical degree in 1987 and with a PhD in biomedicine in 1991.[citation needed]

Medical career

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After graduating, De Sutter moved to the United States, spending two years studying oocyte genetics in Chicago. In 1994, she earned a specialisation in gynaecology.[5] In 2000, she was named Professor in Reproductive Medicine at Ghent University. In 2006, she was named Head of the Department for Reproductive Medicine of Ghent University Hospital.[citation needed]

Political career

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Member of the Senate, 2014–2019

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In the 2014 European elections, De Sutter was second on the list for the Flemish Green party. However, the party missed its hold on a second seat. She was subsequently co-opted by her party for a seat in the Belgian Senate.[4] As a trans woman,[1] she became the first openly transgender Belgian to be on a party election list.[6]

In addition, De Sutter served as member of the Belgian delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe from 2014 until 2019.[7] As member of the Socialists, Democrats and Greens Group, she was a member of the Committee on Migration, Refugees and Displaced Persons; the Committee on Rules of Procedure, Immunities and Institutional Affairs; the Sub-Committee on Integration; the Sub-Committee on Public Health and Sustainable Development; and the Sub-Committee on Ethics. She served as the Assembly's rapporteur on children's rights in relation to surrogacy arrangements (2016);[8] on the use of new genetic technologies in human beings (2017);[9] and on the conditions of reception of refugees and migrants (2018).[10]

Since her political debut, De Sutter has tackled a regulation for surrogacy at a Belgian and European level, independent clinical research in the pharmaceutical industry, the risks of TTIP for consumer's protection of food and chemicals, and standing up for rights for LGBT people.[11][citation needed]

Member of the European Parliament, 2019–2020

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De Sutter introducing herself in a video by the Heinrich Böll Foundation and the Green European Foundation

On 15 September 2018, it was announced De Sutter was seeking nomination as one of the European Greens two lead candidates for the 2019 European Parliament elections, which eventually fell down to the Dutch Bas Eickhout and the German Ska Keller.[12] After joining the Parliament, she chaired the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection; she was the first Green politician in this position.[13] In 2020, she also joined the Special Committee on Beating Cancer.[14]

In addition, De Sutter was part of the Parliament's delegation for relations with the countries of South Asia (Bangladesh, Bhutan, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka). She was also a member of the European Parliament Intergroup on LGBT Rights[15] and co-chaired the MEPs Against Cancer group.[16]

In December 2020, De Sutter received the Justice & Gender Equality award at The Parliament Magazine's annual MEP Awards, in recognition of her work as an MEP on sexual and reproductive rights.[17]

Deputy Prime Minister of Belgium, 2020–present

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De Sutter in 2024

On 1 October 2020, De Sutter was sworn in as one of seven deputy prime ministers in the government of Prime Minister Alexander De Croo, becoming Europe's first transgender deputy prime minister, and the most senior trans politician in Europe.[18]

In October 2023, De Sutter criticised UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's speech at the Conservative party conference where he argued that his audience should not be "bullied into believing that people can be any sex they want to be" and that "a man is a man and a woman is a woman." She described Sunak's words as "hurtful and very disappointing" as well as "fuelling transphobia."[19]

In November 2023, De Sutter criticized Israel's conduct of warfare on the Gaza Strip and said "It is time for sanctions against Israel.[20] The rain of bombs is inhumane," De Sutter said.[21] She also called on Hamas to release all its kidnapped hostages, and declared that “we must stop the money flows funding this terror organization."[22] On 29 February 2024, De Sutter said she was horrified by the news of the flour massacre.[23]

Other activities

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  • Friends of Europe, Member of the Board of Trustees (since 2020)[24]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Petra De Sutter, Elke Lahousse, (Over)leven: mijn strijd als transvrouw arts & politica (2016, ISBN 946041513X)
  2. ^ Barbara Moens (October 1, 2020), Green MEP Petra De Sutter to be named deputy Belgian PM Politico Europe.
  3. ^ Hugendubel, Katrin (1 October 2020). "Belgian milestone: A first trans minister and nobody cares". Politico. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
  4. ^ a b Professor Petra De Sutter aangeduid als gecoöpteerd senator voor Groen, 21 June 2014, Het Laatste Nieuws
  5. ^ ""Women are conditioned not to believe in themselves"". 20 February 2019.
  6. ^ "Petra De Sutter is eerste transgender op kieslijst". Het Nieuwsblad (in Flemish). March 2014. Retrieved 2019-11-20.
  7. ^ "Ms Petra De SUTTER". Parliamentary Assembly. Retrieved 3 October 2020.
  8. ^ Surrogacy: governments should consider drawing up guidelines to safeguard children’s rights, Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, press release of September 21, 2016.
  9. ^ Petra De Sutter: "High time for a debate on new genetic technologies" Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, press release of August 3, 2017.
  10. ^ More efforts needed for refugees’ reception on Greek islands Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, press release of July 13, 2018.
  11. ^ "'Wij willen niet getolereerd worden, wij willen respect'". Site-Knack-NL. 2015-05-16. Retrieved 2019-11-20.
  12. ^ European Greens - Support phase Leading Candidates
  13. ^ Maïa de La Baume (January 13, 2020), 20 MEPs to watch in 2020 Politico Europe.
  14. ^ Members of the Special Committee on Beating Cancer European Parliament, press release of July 9, 2020.
  15. ^ Members European Parliament Intergroup on LGBTI Rights.
  16. ^ MAC MEPs in the 2019-24 legislature Archived 2020-02-02 at the Wayback Machine MEPs Against Cancer.
  17. ^ Johnson, Brian (2 December 2020). "MEP Awards 2020: Reaction and comment from our winners". The Parliament Magazine. Retrieved 8 January 2021.
  18. ^ Oscar Lopez (October 1, 2020), Belgium appoints Europe's first transgender deputy PM Reuters.
  19. ^ Ashifa Kassam (October 6, 2023), Belgian transgender deputy PM urges Sunak not to join ‘the real bullies’ The Guardian.
  20. ^ "TikTok - Make Your Day". www.tiktok.com. Retrieved 2024-03-19.
  21. ^ Strauss, Marine (2023-11-08). "Belgium wants sanctions against Israel for Gaza bombings - deputy PM". Reuters. Retrieved 2023-11-08.
  22. ^ "TikTok - Make Your Day". www.tiktok.com. Retrieved 2024-03-19.
  23. ^ "'Heinous': Deadly Israeli attack on Gaza aid-seekers condemned". Al Jazeera. 29 February 2024. Archived from the original on 29 February 2024.
  24. ^ Friends of Europe appoints 29 new members to its Board of Trustees Friends of Europe, press release of June 25, 2020.
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