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.
PROFESSIONAL CURRICULUM
- Minister of Defence and Foreign Trade (2025 - PRESENT)
- Vice-President of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly (2023-2025)
- Chairman of the Belgian delegation to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly (2019-2025)
- Member of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly (2018-2025)
- Member of Parliament (2010-2014, 2018-2025) and leader of the N-VA parliamentary group (2024-2025)
- Secretary of State for Asylum and Migration and Administrative simplification (2014-2018)
- Mayor of Lubbeek (2013-PRESENT)
- Deputy Chief of Staff of Flemish Vice-Minister-President Geert Bourgeois for Integration and the Flemish Periphery (2009-2010)
- Scientific collaborator of the N-VA faction in the Flemish Parliament (2008-2009)
- Advisor to the Cabinet of Flemish Minister Geert Bourgeois (2004-2008)
- Scientific collaborator of the VU faction in the Flemish Parliament (2001-2004)