From 2010 to 2014, Theo Francken served as a federal MP for the N-VA. He then joined the Michel I government as Secretary of State for Asylum and Migration, where he achieved remarkable success with his firm yet humane policy approach, making him Belgium’s most popular politician. Since 2013, he has also served as mayor of Lubbeek. After the Michel I government fell in late 2018, he returned to parliamentary duties. During the following legislature (2019-2024), he established himself as the N-VA’s defense specialist—a longstanding passion of his. He became the party’s shadow Defense Minister and gained recognition for his tireless work and extensive geopolitical expertise.
In 2019, he was elected to head Belgium’s delegation to NATO’s Parliamentary Assembly. As opposition leader, he championed a substantial increase in military spending. Strategically and geopolitically, Theo Francken is known as a staunch advocate for the transatlantic alliance and a strong defender of a free, democratic, and sovereign Ukraine. He negotiated the defense provisions of the coalition agreement for the N-VA and ultimately secured the significant budget increase that Belgian Defense desperately needed. He brings all of this knowledge, experience, and conviction to his role as Minister of Defense and Foreign Trade in the Bart De Wever I government, which began in February 2025. Source: https://francken.belgium.be/fr/biographie
