Rudy Aernoudt

Rudy Aernoudt is a Belgian professor, writer, politician, economist and philosopher, born 5 November 1960 in Torhout. Between 2013 and 2015 he was Head of Cabinet of the President of the European Economic and Social Committee, Henri Malosse. He is professor 'corporate finance' at the Universities of Ghent and Nancy. He was among the first to openly oppose separatist tensions in Belgium and fought against corruption in both the north and the south of the country. He is also the only person to serve as Head of Cabinet at the European, Belgian, Walloon and Flemish levels. He has received several awards, including one for political courage and the prestigious award for democracy Aron-Condorcet.

Holding a Masters' Degree in economics from KU Leuven, European economics from the College of Europe and philosophy from KU Leuven, Rudy Aernoudt began his career as an official in the European Commission. He was mainly responsible for programs for access to finance. He has written several books and articles on corruption, its nature, its consequences and how to tackle and prevent it. In 2012 he published a novel (De Duivelszak) about it.

He is one of the few Belgians to make a career on both sides of the linguistic border being alternately Deputy Head of Cabinet of Serge Kubla (), MR Walloon Minister (Francophone liberal right) in 2001-2003 and then Head of Cabinet of Fientje Moerman, OpenVLD federal-level and then Flemish Minister (Dutch-speaking liberal right) in 2003-2006. He writes, following this experience and due to his convictions, the book which will make him known to the general public "Wallonia - Flanders, I love you, me neither" published in 2006. In it, he seeks to dispel the different Flemish clichés on Wallonia and to demonstrate the relevance of the unity of Belgium. This book is also a response to the Warande manifesto, a publication by a group of Flemish businessmen and academics, aiming to demonstrate the relevance of Flemish independence from an economic point of view. The same year as he became Secretary General of the Flemish administration, following his departure from office and his appointment, he denounced embezzlement within his own cabinet with the Minister Fienje Moerman, who was forced to resign. Rudy Aernoudt followed up on this momentum by publishing the following year "Brussels, the unloved child" which insists on the advantages that Brussels offers to Belgium, deemed underexploited.

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