Miet Smet
Maria Bertha Peter " rental " Smet ( born April 5, 1943 in Sint -Niklaas, East Flanders, Belgium) is a Belgian politician of the Christian - Democratisch en Vlaams (CD & V).
Biography
The daughter of the Christian Democratic Senator Albert Smet 1973 was co-founder of the Christian Democratic women's organization Vrouw en Maatschappij and then to 1982 the first chairman. In 1978, she was first elected to the Chamber of Deputies.
In November 1985, she was appointed by Prime Minister Wilfried Martens Secretary of State for Environment and social emancipation in its sixth Cabinet and held this position in the seventh, eighth and ninth government until March 1992 and was last January to March 1992 at the same time Secretary of State of Labour and Employment.
In the subsequent government of Prime Minister Jean -Luc Dehaene, she was Minister for Labour and Employment and as such was also commissioned in March 1992 with the equality policy between man and woman. This function they exercised in the second cabinet Dehaene until the end of his term in July 1999.
At a party internal conflict occurred in 1999 as a not the former Prime Minister Martens, but they won the first place on the list of the CD & V for the European elections in 1999. Under pressure from his second wife, Ilse Schouteden Martens gave up second place on the list of candidates, especially since both Mrs Smet and Ilse Schouteden Martens ' mistress during his first marriage with Lieve Vershoeven were.
Between 1999 and 2004 she was then a member of the 5th European Parliament. During this time it was 2001, Vice Chairman of the Association of European Parliamentarians for Africa ( AWEPA ).
For their political merits her the honorary title of Minister of State was awarded on 28 January 2002, and thus the membership of the Privy Council.
After her resignation from the European Parliament in 2004, she was elected as Members of the Flemish Parliament, which she served until 2009. At the same time it was between 2007 and 2009 as emissaries of the Flemish Parliament for the legislative period 2007-2011 Member of the Senate.
Mrs Smet was married since 2008 to his death by ex- Prime Minister Wilfried Martens.
Mrs Smet was also awarded in 2001 with the Grand Cross of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany. In 2002, she was awarded the dignity of Grand Officer of the Order of Leopold.