Annelies Verlinden

Annelies Jan Louisa Verlinden (born 5 September 1978)^[1] is a Belgian politician. As of 3 February 2025^[update], she is the Minister of Justice in the De Wever Government led by Prime Minister Bart De Wever. Previously she was Minister of the Interior, Institutional Reforms, and Democratic Renewal in the De Croo Government.^[2][3] Verlinden is a member of the Christen-Democratisch en Vlaams party.^[4]

Annelies Verlinden
Verlinden in 2024
Minister of Justice
Incumbent
Assumed office 3 February 2025
Prime Minister	Bart De Wever
Preceded by	Paul Van Tigchelt
Minister of the Interior
In office 1 October 2020 – 3 February 2025
Prime Minister	Alexander De Croo
Preceded by	Pieter De Crem
Succeeded by	Bernard Quintin
Member of the Schoten City Council
In office 13 June 2003 – 14 October 2012
Personal details
Born	Annelies Jan Louisa Verlinden (1978-09-05) 5 September 1978 (age 46) Merksem, Belgium
Political party	CD&V
Alma mater	Saint Ignatius University Centre KU Leuven Université catholique de Louvain
Occupation	Lawyer • Professor • Politician
Awards	Order of Leopold (2024)

In the 2024 Belgian federal election, she was elected to the Belgian Chamber of Representatives.

In a 2023 interview, Verlinden reflected on Belgium’s institutional complexity, stating: *“Belgium is quite a complex country. We all know the Belgian painter René Magritte, with his absurd paintings and sometimes the comparison is made between these paintings and the state structure of Belgium.”*^[5]