Maxime Prévot
{{Short description|Belgian politician (born 1978)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix =
| name = Maxime Prévot
| honorific-suffix =
| image = Belgian Minister of Foreign Affairs Maxime Prévot.jpg
| alt =
| caption = Prévot in 2025
| office = Deputy Prime Minister of Belgium
| primeminister = Bart De Wever
| term_start = 3 February 2025
| term_end =
| office1 = Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Affairs and Development Cooperation
| primeminister1 = Bart De Wever
| termstart1 = 3 February 2025
| predecessor1 = Bernard Quintin (as Minister of Foreign and European Affairs)
Frank Vandenbroucke (as Minister of Development Cooperation)
| successor1 =
| office2 = Mayor of Namur
| term_start2 = 5 March 2012
| predecessor2 = Jacques Etienne
| office3 = Member of the Chamber of Representatives
| constituency3 = Namur Province
| term_start3 = 20 June 2019
| term_end3 = 3 February 2025
| predecessor3 =
| successor3 =
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1978|4|9|df=y}}
| birthname = Maxime Patrick Robert Albert Prévot
| nationality =
| party = Les Engagés (2022–present)
| spouse =
| relations =
| children =
| residence =
| alma_mater = UCLouvain
University of Namur
| profession =
| cabinet =
| committees =
| portfolio =
| signature =
| signature_alt =
| website =
| footnotes =
| office4 = Member of the Parliament of Wallonia
| term_start4 = 28 July 2017
| term_start5 = 7 June 2009
| term_end4 = 3 May 2019
| term_end5 = 22 July 2014
| otherparty = CDH (1998–2022)
| office6 = President of Les Engagés
| termstart6 = 26 January 2019
| termend6 = 3 February 2025
| termend2 = 3 February 2025
| predecessor6 = Benoit Lutgen
| successor6 = Yvan Verougstraete (acting)
| successor2 = Charlotte Bazelaire
}}
Maxime Patrick Robert Albert Prévot ({{IPA|fr|maksim pʁevo}}; born 9 April 1978) is a Belgian politician of the {{Lang|fr|Les Engagés|italic=no}} party who has been serving as a Deputy Prime Minister and as the Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Affairs and Development Cooperation in the De Wever Government since february 2025. He previously served as the mayor of Namur from 2012 to 2025.
Biography
Prévot was born in Mons in 1978 to a middle-class family. He spent part of his upbringing in Luxembourg.{{cite journal |first=Éric |last=Burgraff |title=Entretien avec Maxime Prévot |date=29 October 2012 |journal=Le Soir |page=26 |url=http://archives.lesoir.be/prevot-pas-question_t-20121029-025DA7.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304025520/http://archives.lesoir.be/prevot-pas-question_t-20121029-025DA7.html |archive-date=4 March 2016}}{{cite web |url=https://lameuse-luxembourg.sudinfo.be/405172/article/2019-06-25/josy-arens-attert-en-desaccord-avec-la-ligne-de-maxime-prevot |title=Josy Arens (Attert) disagrees with Maxime Prévot's line |date=25 June 2019 |access-date=29 March 2022}} Prévot studied political science at the University of Namur and then completed a law conversion course at UCLouvain before working for PricewaterhouseCoopers.{{cite web |url=http://connaitrelawallonie.wallonie.be/fr/wallons-marquants/dictionnaire/prevot-maxime#.YkSV_3rMLrc |title=Maxime Prevot|access-date=29 March 2022}}{{cite web | url=https://observatoirevivreensemble.org/en/maxime-prevot | title=Maxime Prévot | date=20 October 2016 }}
Prévot first became involved in politics when he joined the youth chapter of the cdH in Namur. During the 2006 municipal elections in Belgium, he was elected as a councilor on the Provincial Council of Namur. In 2012, he succeeded {{Ill|Jacques Étienne|fr}} as Mayor of Namur. In the 2014 Belgian regional elections, he was elected to the Parliament of Wallonia as the number one candidate for the Namur constituency list.{{cite web |url=https://www.standaard.be/cnt/dmf20190126_04133176 |title=Maxime Prévot elected president of cdH |access-date=29 March 2022}}{{cite web | url=https://observatoirevivreensemble.org/en/maxime-prevot | title=Maxime Prévot | date=20 October 2016 }}
In January 2019, former cdH president Benoît Lutgen announced his intention to step down as leader. Prévot entered his name in the leadership race and was subsequently elected as the party's new president with 85% of the vote.{{cite web |url=https://www.standaard.be/cnt/dmf20190126_04133176 |title=Maxime Prévot elected president of cdH |access-date=29 March 2022}}
He was elected to the Chamber of Representatives in the 2024 Belgian federal election.
Political positions
Prévot has been described as coming from the more centre-right camp of the cdH with some of his ideas being close to those of the Mouvement Réformateur.{{cite web | url=https://www.levif.be/actualite/belgique/maxime-prevot-le-plus-liberal-des-cdh/article-normal-371317.html | title=Maxime Prévot, le plus libéral des CDH ? | date=12 March 2015 }} However, he has also described himself as holding progressive opinions on some issues.{{cite news|url=https://m.standaard.be/cnt/dmf20220312_96580229 |title=Franstalige partij CDH wordt Les Engagés|work= De Standaard|date=12 March 2022|language=nl}}
Following poor results for the cdH during the 2019 elections, Prévot announced a plan to rejuvenate and reorganize the party, including updating its policies and changing its identity and branding.{{cite news|url=https://www.hln.be/binnenland/partij-cdh-wordt-les-engages~ab5e6c6b/ |title=Partij cdH wordt Les Engagés|work= Het Laatste Nieuws|date=13 March 2022|language=nl}} In 2022, the party announced it would change its name from the cdH to {{Lang|fr|Les Engagés}}.{{cite news|url=https://m.standaard.be/cnt/dmf20220312_96580229 |title=Franstalige partij CDH wordt Les Engagés|work= De Standaard|date=12 March 2022|language=nl}}
Prévot condemned the March 2025 Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip, adding that Israel's blocking of humanitarian aid to Palestinians was "a serious violation of international law".{{Cite web |title=World reaction to Israel's wave of deadly attacks on Gaza |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/3/18/world-reaction-to-israels-wave-of-deadly-attacks-on-gaza |access-date=18 March 2025 |website=Al Jazeera |language=en}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{Commonscatinline}}
{{Foreign Ministers of the European Union member states}}
{{Foreign Ministers of NATO member states}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Prevot, Maxime}}
Category:Humanist Democratic Centre politicians
Category:Les Engagés politicians
Category:Mayors of places in Belgium
Category:Members of the 52nd Chamber of Representatives (Belgium)
Category:Members of the 55th Chamber of Representatives (Belgium)
Category:Members of the 56th Chamber of Representatives (Belgium)
Category:Members of the Parliament of Wallonia