Joachim Coens

Joachim Coens (born 6 September 1966) is a Belgian politician and businessman who has served as the leader of Christen-Democratisch en Vlaams, a Christian democratic political party, since December 2019. Before politics, he had been managing director of the holding company for the Port de Bruges-Zeebruges.

Joachim Coens
Joachim Coens in 2019
President of the CD&V
Assumed office
6 December 2019
Preceded byCindy Franssen (ad interim)
Griet Smaers (ad interim)
Mayor of Damme
Assumed office
3 June 2014
Preceded byDirk Bisschop
Personal details
Born (1966-09-06) 6 September 1966
Bruges, Belgium
Political partyChristen-Democratisch en Vlaams
Alma materCatholic University Louvain
Delft University of Technology

Biography

Coens was born in Bruges on 6 September 1966, the son of politician Daniël Coens, who served as a cabinet minister both in Flanders and nationally. Coens studied at the Catholic University of Leuven and Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands and became a civil engineer. From 1990 to 1995, he was an engineer at BESIX and worked on projects in the Middle East and Eastern Europe.

In 1995, Coens ran in the regional elections for the Flemish Parliament in the constituency of Bruges. He was elected, and was re-elected, in the 1999 Belgian regional elections. He resigned his post in March 2001 to become president and director general of the Maatschappij van de Brugse Zeevaartinrichtingen, the company that oversees the Port de Bruges-Zeebruges. He was replaced in the Flemish Parliament by Boudewijn Laloo.[1]

From 1995 to 2014, Coens also served as the échevin of the town of Damme, notably in charge of culture, heritage, libraries, urban development, the local economy, budget, finance and sport portfolios. After the accidental death of mayor Dirk Bisschop in May 2014,[2] Coens became interim mayor while also serving as échevin. On 3 June 2014 he was officially named mayor by a majority of the council.[3] In the 2018 Belgian local elections, he ran under the CD&V list and received an absolute majority.[4]

On 20 October 2019 he announced his candidacy for leadership of CD&V.[5] He faced six other candidates in the first round of leadership elections on 18 November 2019, and ended up with 26% of the vote. He qualified for the second round of elections, where he faced Sammy Mahdi, leader of the youth wing of the party JONGCD&V.[6] He was elected leader on 6 December 2019 with 53.12% of the vote.[7] Upon his election, he resigned his post at the Port of Zeebruges.[8]

After his election, he was named coalition informateur on 10 December 2019 by King Philippe, working in collaboration with the leader of Mouvement réformateur Georges-Louis Bouchez in an attempt to form a Federal government after the 2019 Belgian federal election. The two replace Paul Magnette of the Parti socialiste.[9] Their term as informateur ended on 31 January 2020 without a coalition being formed.[10]

Personal life

Coens is married to Kristin Dewever, a lawyer.[11]

References
  1. "Boudewijn Laloo volgt Joachim Coens op in Vlaams Parlement". De Standaard (in Dutch). 15 March 2001. Retrieved 22 December 2019..
  2. "Burgmeester van Damme overleden na ongeval". De Morgen (in Dutch). 1 May 2014. Retrieved 22 December 2019..
  3. "Coens volgt verongelukte burgemeester van Damme op". De Morgen (in Dutch). 4 June 2014. Retrieved 22 December 2019..
  4. Bart Huysentruyt (14 October 2018). "Damme: Coens (CD&V+) blijft burgemeester, N-VA levert in". Het Laatste Nieuws (in Dutch). Retrieved 22 December 2019..
  5. "Zesde kandidaat meldt zich: ook Zeebrugse havenbaas Joachim Coens doet gooi naar voorzitterschap CD&V". Het Laatste Nieuws (in Dutch). 20 October 2019. Retrieved 22 December 2019..
  6. "Présidence du CD&V : Joachim Coens et Sammy Mahdi s'affronteront lors d'un second tour". Le Vif/L'Express. 18 November 2019. Retrieved 22 December 2019..
  7. Laurent Henrard (6 December 2019). "Joachim Coens est élu nouveau président du CD&V". RTBF.be. Retrieved 22 December 2019..
  8. Bart Huysentruyt (7 December 2019). "Nieuwe CD&V-voorzitter Coens kan geen havenbaas meer zijn: "We zoeken een opvolger"". Het Laatste Nieuws (in Dutch). Retrieved 22 December 2019..
  9. Olivier Arendt (10 December 2019). "Joachim Coens (CD & V) et Georges-Louis Bouchez (MR) nommés informateurs, prochain rapport le 20 décembre". RTBF.be. Retrieved 22 December 2019..
  10. "Négociations fédérales: le Roi met fin à la mission des informateurs Georges-Louis Bouchez et Joachim Coens". Le Soir. 31 January 2020. Retrieved 5 February 2020..
  11. Jeffrey Dujardin (3 January 2019). "Vrouw burgemeester Damme vrijgesproken voor oplichting in beroep". Het Laatste Nieuws (in Dutch). Retrieved 22 December 2019..
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