Speaker

Gloria Ghéquière (b. 1991) is adviser on European and international affairs to Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Social Affairs and Public Health Frank Vandenbroucke. In this position, she focusses on pharmaceutical policies and crisis preparedness, as well as the negotiations on the international pandemic accord within the World Health Organisation. She is currently involved in the preparations of the Belgian Presidency of the Council of the European Union in 2024.

Before joining the cabinet, she was an advisor on international trade in the European Parliament. She helped establish the special committee on COVID-19 (COVI), which was tasked with formulating lessons and recommendations for the European approach to health crises.

Ghéquière studied Philosophy at Ghent University and European Studies at the Catholic University of Leuven. In 2023, she was nominated one of the most influential policymakers in the EU by the news website Politico.