Belgium Appoints First Transgender Deputy PM
On 1st October a transgender woman Petra De Sutter was sworn in as deputy Prime Minister in Belgium's new coalition government.
Petra De Sutter made history last week with her appointment as Belgium's first Transgender deputy prime minister. This makes her the highest-ranking transgender politician in Europe. After her appointment Petra Tweeted and said: I am proud that in Belgium and in most of European Union, your gender identity does not define you as a person. It does not matter. I hope that my appointment deputy PM will create awareness about LGBTQIA+ rights in countries across the world #fighttransphobia. Last year during her election campaign she said: “I don’t want to only be known for being transgender, it’s one part of my identity. I have many others. I want people to talk about me because of my work because of my political actions"
Petra De Sutter is a gynaecologist by profession and is now one of seven Deputy Prime Ministers in Belgium. LGBTQ+ rights groups welcomed De Sutter's appointment. Matt Beard, executive director of international advocacy group All Out said, “We are delighted that a member of the trans community has been appointed to this senior political post.”LGBTQ+ rights are more accepted worldwide now. Gay and transgender politicians have gained greater prominence in recent years and last year Pauline Ngarmpring became Thailand's first trans candidate for prime minister. According to the LGBTQ Victory Institute which supports LGBTQ+ candidates, in the United States, more than 880 LGBTQ+ candidates have appeared or will appear on ballots across the country this year.
