Christoph D'Haese
{{Short description|Belgian politician (born 1967)}}
{{Infobox officeholder
|name = Christoph D'Haese
|image = Christoph dhaese-1482823373 (cropped).JPG
|caption =
|office = Mayor of Aalst
|term_start = 2013
|term_end =
|office1 = Member of the Chamber of Representatives
|term_start1 = 2014
|term_end1 =
|office2 =
|term_start2 =
|term_end2 =
|birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=yes|1967|2|25}}
|birth_place = Aalst
|nationality = Belgian
|party = N-VA (2011-)
Open VLD (2006-2011)
|residence = Aalst
|website =
}}
Christoph D'Haese (born 25 February 1967) is a Belgian politician and is affiliated to the N-VA.{{Cite web|url=https://www.n-va.be/wie-is-wie/christoph-dhaese|title = Christoph d'Haese|date = 28 March 2014}}
Biography
D'Haese was born in 1967 in Aalst. He studied for a degree in law at the Catholic University of Leuven (KU-Leuven) and the University of Strasbourg. He worked as a lawyer specializing in criminal law and taught law at KU-Leuven. He also served on the Bar of Dendermonde until 2013.{{Cite web|url=https://www.standaard.be/cnt/blvva_20121013_004|title = Alle ogen zijn nu op d'Haese gericht}} In 2006, he was elected to the municipal council of Aalst for the Open VLD party and became chairman of the local council. In 2011, he left the Open-VLD and joined the New Flemish Alliance. In 2014, he was elected as the Member of the Chamber of Representatives for the East Flanders constituency.{{Cite web| last = Lievens| first = Rutger| title = Christoph D’Haese (N-VA): "Partijen die niet kritisch staan tegen religie, verliezen het meest"| work = Het Laatste Nieuws| access-date = 2023-11-20| date = 2019-05-27| url = https://www.hln.be/aalst/christoph-dhaese-n-va-partijen-die-niet-kritisch-staan-tegen-religie-verliezen-het-meest~a05789fc/| language = nl}}
D'Haese has also served as the mayor of Aalst since 2013. In 2019, D'Haese became involved in a dispute with UNESCO after UNESCO threatened to remove the Aalst Carnival from its world list of cultural heritage due to what was seen as anti-Semitic imagery on a float at the carnival. D'Haese argued that the floats featured at the carnival were based on satire rather than racism; however, the float was condemned by fellow N-VA politician André Gantman, who is Jewish.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/04/world/europe/aalst-carnival-unesco.html|title = Anti-Semitic Imagery Could Cost Belgian Carnival Its UNESCO Status|newspaper=The New York Times|date=5 December 2019|last1= Moses|first1 = Claire}} Unia, the Belgian independent arbitrator for matters concerning discrimination, found that no laws had been broken.{{Cite web |url=https://www.hln.be/nieuws/binnenland/unia-aalsterse-carnavalsgroep-heeft-geen-wetten-overtreden-met-praalwagen~a3018d5a/ |title=Unia: "Aalsterse carnavalsgroep heeft geen wetten overtreden met praalwagen"|author=ADN |publisher=hln.be |date=8 March 2019}} The incident led to widespread condemnation from multiple organizations, including the European Commission.{{Cite news|url=https://www.brusselstimes.com/all-news/belgium-all-news/54240/aalst-jewish-caricatures-condemned-by-european-commission/|title= Aalst Jewish caricatures condemned by European Commission|date=5 March 2019|website=The Brussels News}}
References
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Category:New Flemish Alliance politicians
Category:University of Strasbourg alumni
Category:People from Aalst, Belgium
Category:20th-century Belgian lawyers
Category:Mayors of places in Belgium
Category:Belgian city councillors
Category:Academic staff of KU Leuven
Category:Members of the 54th Chamber of Representatives (Belgium)
Category:Members of the 55th Chamber of Representatives (Belgium)
Category:Members of the 56th Chamber of Representatives (Belgium)
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