place_of_birth wouter van bellingen
Wouter Van Bellingen ( born 20 April 1972 ) is a Flemish politician for the political party Spirit . Before that , he was employed by the city ___MASK7___ Sint - Niklaas as a civil servant working on youth and developing world issues . Since 2 January 2007 , Van Bellingen is an alderman in Sint - Niklaas , where he lives . As such , he became the first black alderman in Flanders . He is responsible for the city ' s activities related to youths , parties , international projects , civilian affairs and the civil registry and some administrative functions . Van Bellingen drew media attention in February 2007 when it was reported that 3 couples cancelled their wedding ceremony because they did n ' t want to be wed by a black registrar . In response to the event , Van Bellingen decided to organise a multicultural wedding event on 21 March 2007 , which is also the International Day for the Elimination ___MASK7___ Racial Discrimination . 626 couples were symbolically married by Van Bellingen that day and this event was perceived as a strong anti - racism signal . Van Bellingen was given up for adoption by his Rwandan mother . He grew up in Sint - Niklaas as the youngest son in a family with 4 adopted children . He is married and has 2 children . He was very active in the different sections ___MASK7___ the youth councils in Flanders , and a scouting leader . ___MASK37___ is a village and a deelgemeente of the municipality of Sint - Niklaas , which is situated in the Belgian province of East Flanders . Politika is a Serbian daily newspaper , published in ___MASK29___ . Founded in 1904 by Vladislav F . Ribnikar , it is the oldest daily newspaper still in circulation in the Balkans and is considered to be Serbia ' s newspaper ___MASK7___ record . Politics ( from Greek : Politiká : P " olitika ", definition " affairs ___MASK7___ the cities ") is the process ___MASK7___ making decisions applying to all members ___MASK7___ each group . More narrowly , it refers to achieving and exercising positions ___MASK7___ governance  organized control over a human community , particularly a state . Furthermore , politics is the study or practice ___MASK7___ the distribution ___MASK7___ power and resources within a given community ( a usually hierarchically organized population ) as well as the interrelationship ( s ) between communities . ___MASK4___ is the Dutch - speaking northern portion ___MASK7___ Belgium , although there are several overlapping definitions , including ones related to culture , language , politics and history . It is one ___MASK7___ the communities , regions and language areas ___MASK7___ Belgium . The demonym associated with ___MASK4___ is Fleming , while the corresponding adjective is Flemish . The official capital ___MASK7___ ___MASK4___ is Brussels , although Brussels itself has an independent regional government , and the government ___MASK7___ ___MASK4___ only oversees some cultural aspects ___MASK7___ Brussels life . A city is a large and permanent human settlement . Although there is no agreement on how a city is distinguished from a town in general English language meanings , many cities have a particular administrative , ___MASK83___ , or historical status based on local law . East ___MASK4___ ( Dutch : " Oost - Vlaanderen " , ) is a province ___MASK7___ ___MASK4___ , one ___MASK7___ the three regions ___MASK7___ Belgium . It borders ( clockwise from the North ) on Zeelandic ___MASK4___ ( the ___MASK11___ ) and ( in Belgium ) on the provinces ___MASK7___ ___MASK1___ , Flemish Brabant ( both in ___MASK4___ ), ___MASK7___ Hainaut ( Wallonia ) and ___MASK7___ West ___MASK4___ ( ___MASK4___ ). It has an area ___MASK7___ 2 , 991 km² which is divided into six administrative districts (" arrondissementen " in Dutch ) containing 65 municipalities . The provincial population is 1 , 408 , 484 and the capital is Ghent . A politician ( from " politics " + "- ian ", from the Greek title ___MASK7___ Aristotle ' s book  " Politika ", meaning " Civic Affairs ") is a person active in party politics , or a person holding or seeking office in government . In democratic countries , politicians seek elective positions within a government through elections or , at times , temporary appointment to replace politicians who have died , resigned or have been otherwise removed from office . In non - democratic countries , they employ other means ___MASK7___ reaching power through appointment , bribery , revolutions and intrigues . Some politicians are experienced in the art or science ___MASK7___ government . Politicians propose , support and create laws or policies that govern the land and , by extension , its people . Broadly speaking , a " politician " can be anyone who seeks to achieve political power in any bureaucratic institution . Sint - Niklaas ( French : " Saint - Nicolas ") is a Belgian city and municipality located in the Flemish province ___MASK7___ East Flanders . The municipality comprises the city ___MASK7___ Sint - Niklaas proper and the towns ___MASK7___ ___MASK37___ , Nieuwkerken - Waas , and Sinaai .