37-year-old Mr De Backer was born in Kapellen, near Antwerp. He was the leader of the Flemish liberals’ youth wing from 2008 to 2010 and has been an MEP since 2011. The post of Secretary of State responsible for the North Sea, privacy and the battle against social fraud will be his first government post.



In a reaction posted on the social networking site Twitter, Mr De Backer wrote “I am proud and enthusiastic to accept the position of Secretary of State for the battle against social fraud, privacy and the Nort Sea”.

