Theo Francken was born in 1978, is married to An and father of Erin and Nelis. He studied Educational Sciences at KU Leuven.
From 2010 to 2014, he sat in the House of Representatives for the N-VA. He then joined the Michel I government as Secretary of State for Asylum and Migration, where he pursued a resolute but humane policy. He has been mayor of Lubbeek since 2013. After the Michel I government, he became a Member of Parliament again in 2018. In the subsequent legislature (2019-2024), he emerged as a defence specialist. In 2019, he was elected chairman of the Belgian delegation to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly. In 2023, he also became vice-chairman of the NATO parliament.
On a strategic and geopolitical level, Theo Francken is known as a convinced supporter of the transatlantic alliance and as a defender of a free, democratic and sovereign Ukraine. He negotiated the coalition agreement on Defence for the N-VA and managed to achieve the much-needed budget increase for the Belgian armed forces. He will put these insights and experiences into practice from February 2025 as Minister of Defence and Foreign Trade in the Bart De Wever I government.
In addition to being a politician, Theo Francken is also an author. In his books, he explores current topics in depth and places them in a historical and political context. An overview of his publications: Ruins of Vivaldi (2024), Migration in 24 questions and answers (2019), NATO, brain-dead or future-proof? (2021), Continent without borders (2018), Belgium, country without borders (2012).
