Jan Jambon

Johan "Jan" Martin Jozef Jambon (born 26 April 1960) is a Belgian businessman and politician of the New Flemish Alliance (N-VA) who has been serving as a Deputy Prime Minister and as the Minister of Finance, Pensions, National Lottery and Federal Culture Institutions in the De Wever Government since february 2025. Before that, he served as Minister-President of Flanders from 2019 to 2024. He replaced Kris Peeters as a member of the Belgian Chamber of Representatives in 2007. The N-VA was, at that time, partnered with the Christian-Democratic and Flemish party. In June 2010 and May 2014, he was re-elected on an N-VA list.

He became mayor of Brasschaat in 2013 after his party won the local elections in 2012. In November 2014, he was replaced as acting mayor by Koen Verberck (also N-VA), after joining the new Federal Government.

In October 2014, he became Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior and Security, charged with the direction of public buildings, in the Michel Government. Jambon remained in this position until the government fell in December 2018.

In 2019, he became the new Flemish Minister-President of the Jambon government. He is also the mayor of the municipality of Brasschaat. Jambon stepped down as Minister-President with the formation of the Diependaele Government, following the 2024 regional election.

Jan Jambon was born in Genk in April 1960. He received his secondary education at the Catholic Sint-Jan Berchmanscollege in Genk. He then pursued a degree in computer science at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, followed by a Master of Business Administration (MBA) at the University of Antwerp.

Between 1984 and 1992, Jambon worked as an account manager at IBM. From 1993 to 1996, he served as administrative manager of the Team SD Worx–Protime professional cycling team. He later joined the media group Corelio (now part of Mediahuis), publisher of De Standaard, Het Nieuwsblad, and Het Volk, where he held the positions of regional director and head of customer service in Antwerp.

In 2002, he transitioned to the financial sector, becoming general manager of the Bank Card Company, the issuer of VISA and MasterCard credit cards in Belgium.

Jan Jambon began his political career with the Volksunie Youth (VUJO) in Limburg, the youth chapter of the Flemish nationalist Volksunie. From 1985 to 1988, he was a member of the main board of the national Volksunie Youth and chief editor of the monthly magazine WIJ-Jongeren. He belonged to the "right wing" and more Flemish nationalist orientated faction of the party. Their position on the placement of nuclear weapons was diametrically opposed to the official VU party position. Jambon left the party behind in 1988, when nothing came of the so-called Third Phase of state reform. The broadening operation led by Hugo Schiltz and Jaak Gabriëls also proved difficult for him to digest, as did the election of the 'left-wing' member of parliament Herman Lauwers, national chairman of the VVKSM Scouts from Brasschaat. As a result He left the party in 1988 after the broadening operation wanted by Hugo Schiltz and Jaak Gabriëls, and moved with Peter De Roover to the advocacy group Vlaamse Volksbeweging (VVB).