"Eliane Tillieux was born in Namur, the capital of Wallonia. Every step of her career has been guided by her desire to improve society and defend the values of equality and social justice. After a Master's degree in translation from the Institut Supérieur des Traducteurs et Interprètes (ISTI) in Brussels and a wide range of professional experience, from teaching to banking, she joined the Société Wallonne des Eaux (SWDE). Wishing to deepen her knowledge of law and financial and budgetary management, she began studying accountancy at the same time as her work, before obtaining a Master's degree in public management from the Solvay Brussels School of Economics and Management.
Her involvement in politics began in 2000, driven by a desire to better promote the representation of women. She was elected for the first time to the Provincial Council of Namur. Four years later, she became a member of the Walloon Parliament, then a minister in the Walloon Government, firstly in charge of Social Action and Equal Opportunities, then Employment and Training. She led a significant reform of employment subsidies and made it a priority to upgrade work-linked training. She also published a book entitled "Saisir nos chances" (“Seizing our opportunities”), a testimony to her ministerial experience in the search for a new social model to develop the principles and mechanisms of solidarity and meet the challenges of today's world.
At the last general election in 2019, she opted for the federal parliament and became Speaker of the House of Representatives in October 2020. She thus becomes the first woman to accede to the highest office, symbolising a historic change in Belgian politics.
As part of the Belgian Presidency of the Council of the European Union, she is particularly keen to defend the rule of law and the balanced political participation of men and women".