Jan Verroken

Jan Verroken
Verroken in 1988
Member of the Belgian Parliament for Oudenaarde
In office 1950–1981
Member of the European Parliament for the Dutch-speaking electoral college
In office 17 July 1979 – 23 July 1984
Personal details
Born	30 January 1917 Melden, Belgium
Died	24 July 2020(2020-07-24) (aged 103) Mechelen, Belgium
Political party	CDV

Jan Verroken (30 January 1917 – 24 July 2020) was a Belgian politician.

Biography

Born on 30 January 1917, Verroken served as burgomaster of Oudenaarde, President of the Christelijke Volkspartij in the Belgian Parliament, and a Deputy for the Oudenaarde constituency. He was also a member of the European Parliament and served on the Benelux Parliament.

Verroken was detested in Wallonia, the francophone part of Belgium. During the Split of the Catholic University of Leuven Flemish students chanted "Walen buiten" (Walloons out), a slogan coined by Verroken. The university was split into the KU Leuven and the Université catholique de Louvain. In a 2016 interview with Pierre Havaux, Verroken minimized his role in these events, as well as downplaying the separatist tendency of Flemish demands, saying that there was "never in Flanders a project of form a separatist government, as was the case in Wallonia during the Royal Question".