The socialist alderman, Philippe Close, who has succeeded Yvan Mayeur as mayor of the City of Brussels, has been one of the pillars of the central town of the capital for 17 years. Aged 46, the current alderman of Finance and Tourism will not need a long period of time to adapt to his new position. In fact, from the year 2000, he served for six years as Chief of Staff of the former mayor, Freddy Thielemans (SP), with whom he remained very close on a personal level, quickly forging a solid record of control. He is also the backbone of the Neo project, which aims at redeveloping the Heysel plateau.
Having lived in Brussels since the age of 10, Philippe Close studied law at the ULB before becoming a parliamentary assistant to Senator Roger Lallemand, where he was in charge of institutional matters.
In 1999, he joined the Socialist Party study center and became the spokesman for Elio Di Rupo.
The following year, he took charge of the office of the mayor, Freddy Thielemans, with whom he shared a certain plumpness.
In 2006, the rugby enthusiast presented himself in front of voters for the first time and became alderman of the Staff of the City and Tourism, a sector to which he pays particular attention, convinced of his contribution to the economic and social development of the City-Region-Capital and its international influence.
Since 2009, Philippe Close has also been a member of the Brussels Parliament. A witness at the head of the Region between the minister-presidents, Charles Picqué and Rudi Vervoort (both SP), he succeeded the latter as leader of the socialist group. Re-elected in 2014, he has retained this mandate until today.
The Brussels Times
