Karine Lalieux has been appointed as the new Brussels Secretary of State for Housing, Taxis, and Sports Infrastructure for the Socialist Party (PS).
The 61-year-old previously served as Belgium’s federal Minister for Pensions and Beliris during the last parliamentary term.
Originally from Anderlecht, Lalieux is a criminologist and lecturer at the Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB). She has dedicated much of her career to fighting social exclusion, although her parliamentary focus has mainly been on economic issues and defending public services.
She first entered the national political scene in 1999, taking her parliamentary oath as the successor to then-Minister of Economy Charles Picqué.
Over the years, Lalieux worked on diverse files, including improving access to housing, advocating for a universal banking service, tackling price monitoring, and promoting freedom of choice regarding family names.
She also championed the depenalisation of abortion, chaired the special commission investigating sexual abuse in the Church, and participated in the commission for the Kazakhgate scandal.
Locally, she held various roles in Brussels city governance, such as Alderman for Public Cleanliness (2006), Culture (from 2012), and Tourism (from 2017, following the resignation of Mayor Yvan Mayeur). In late 2018, she became the chair of the Public Social Welfare Centre (OCMW).
In October 2020, Lalieux was sworn in as Minister for Pensions, Social Integration, and Combatting Poverty in the De Croo government, where she played a key role in increasing minimum pension thresholds.
