Hans Bonte

Hans Bonte studied sociology at Ghent University and political science at the VUB. From 1985 to 1989, he was an outreach and youth worker at the non-profit organisation Centrum-West. In 1989, he began his political career at SEVI, the research department of the Socialist Party, where he was a staff officer until 1995. From 1995 to 2019, he served in the Belgian Chamber of Representatives and was, among other roles, Chair of the Committee on Public Health, the Environment and Social Renewal (2010–2013).

Following the 2000 municipal elections, he became an alderman and later Chair of the Public Centre for Social Welfare (OCMW) in Vilvoorde. In 2013, he became Mayor of Vilvoorde, a position he retained after the 2018 elections.

In 2024, he was elected to the Flemish Parliament for Vooruit, after which he lost his mayoral mandate at the end of that year and became an opposition member in Vilvoorde. He is active in several Flemish Parliament Committees and has served as Chair of the Committee on Housing, Tourism, Energy and Climate since 2025.