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making him the first openly gay representative of the Vlaams Belang party. He acknowledged that members of the party had historically made anti-LGBT statements but denied the VB was homophobic and has since evolved on LGBT rights. VB leader Tom Van
Grieken wrote in support of Janssens.
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party when he was a teenager, citing concerns with social integration and multiculturalism which he argued had caused divides and harmed
Flemish identity. Janssens was first elected as a representative for the Vlaams Belang party to the
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constituency, and was re-elected in 2014 and 2019. He serves as the VB's floor leader in the
Flemish Parliament and its main spokesman for the Flemish region. Janssens has also been a city councilor in
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In
November 2020, Janssens received death threats on social media for calling for an end to Turkish funding of mosques in Belgium. At the same time, fellow Genk based Flemish politician and
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wing of the party which supports moderation to end the cordon placed on the VB by other
Belgian parties. He has also claimed to have rejected offers to defect to the
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Janssens obtained a degree in legal practice from the UC Leuven-Limburg before completing a conversion degree in business translation at the
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323:"Maak kennis met Chris Janssens, het nieuwe boegbeeld van Vlaams Belang: "Het zeventigpuntenplan was geen fout plan. De insteek was goed.""
262:"Maak kennis met Chris Janssens, het nieuwe boegbeeld van Vlaams Belang: "Het zeventigpuntenplan was geen fout plan. De insteek was goed.""
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and the current chairman of the VB's faction in the
Flemish Parliament. He is also the spokesman for the party in the Flemish region.
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also received threats via email for making similar statements. Janssens subsequently filed a complaint with the police.
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373:"Vlaams Belang-ondervoorzitter Chris Janssens out zich als homo: "Heb mijn geaardheid lang bewust genegeerd""
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347:"Ook Chris Janssens van Vlaams Belang met dood bedreigd, parket onderzoekt de zaak"
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party due to being seen as one of the VB's popular and less radical politicians.
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Politically, Janssens has been described as part of the more moderate
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officer prior to entering politics. He first joined the former
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234:Janssens came out as gay in a 2021 interview with
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413:Members of the Flemish Parliament
64:Chairman of Vlaams Belang in the
428:21st-century Belgian politicians
287:"Chris Janssens (Vlaams Belang)"
180:Katholieke Universiteit Leuven
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379:(in Dutch). Archived from
423:Vlaams Belang politicians
149:(born 8 November 1977 in
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305:"Het Belang van Limburg"
433:Belgian gay politicians
371:VRT NWS (2021-12-18).
309:Het Belang van Limburg
291:www.vlaamsparlement.be
237:Het Belang van Limburg
182:. He then worked as a
285:Parliament, Flemish.
220:New Flemish Alliance
353:. 20 November 2020
193:Flemish parliament
163:Flemish Parliament
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16:Belgian politician
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418:1977 births
224:Zuhal Demir
209:salonfähige
188:Vlaams Blok
402:Categories
387:2022-09-26
357:2021-01-01
332:2021-01-01
271:2021-01-01
248:References
114:1977-11-08
377:vrtnws.be
327:De Zondag
266:De Zondag
169:Biography
126:, Belgium
75:Incumbent
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222:member
197:Limburg
155:Flemish
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