Caroline Désir Leaves Ixelles Council After Nearly 20 Years

Caroline Désir, a prominent Belgian politician and former Minister of Education of the Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles, has stepped down from the Ixelles municipal council after nearly two decades of service. Her final council session took place on Thursday evening, July 2, 2026, prompted by her upcoming move to the neighboring Brussels commune of Forest.

According to La Libre Belgique, Désir admitted she was leaving Ixelles “with a little pang in my heart” just hours after a long night at the Chamber of Representatives, where the Interior and Migration Committee debated a bill on home visits.

A Two-Decade Political Journey

First elected to the Ixelles council in 2006, Désir’s local political career has been marked by steady progression. She served as an alderman from 2013 to 2019, initially responsible for Urban Renewal, Mobility, and Communal Properties, and later for Public Education. In December 2024, she became the PS group leader in the council.

RTBF reported that Désir reflected on her time in Ixelles, saying: “I had the opportunity to do great things in Ixelles, as a municipal councilor and then as an alderman. I met wonderful civil servants there.”

Her political career extends well beyond local politics. According to her Wikipedia biography, Désir served as Minister of Education of the Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles from September 2019 to July 2024, and was elected as a federal deputy for the Brussels-Capital constituency in July 2024 — a role she continues to hold.

A Lasting Imprint on Ixelles

Romain De Reusme (PS), the Mayor of Ixelles, saluted Désir’s departure as that of a “prominent figure” of the municipal council, stating that she will leave a “lasting imprint” in the recent history of Ixelles.

Désir’s departure also reshapes the local council’s composition. Her replacement, Gerard Rinse Oosterwijk of the Flemish social democratic party Vooruit, will be sworn in at the September council session. This marks the return of a Vooruit elected official to the Ixelles council — while PS and Vooruit ran on a joint list in the last municipal elections, no Vooruit candidate was directly elected at the time.

A New Chapter in Forest

Désir is not leaving local politics entirely. She will join the PS section in Forest, a commune governed by a PS-PTB-Ecolo coalition led by Mayor Charles Spapens. The move is widely seen as a significant boost for the Forest PS.

“Having a strong local anchor has always been important to me,” Désir said, as quoted by La Libre Belgique. “Now I’m going to have new adventures with a local [party section] and a mayor I’ve known for a long time.”

Analysis and Implications

Désir’s departure from the Ixelles council marks the end of an era in Brussels local politics. Her nearly uninterrupted two-decade tenure saw her rise from municipal councilor to alderman, then to one of the most prominent education ministers in the French Community’s history, and finally to federal deputy.

The shift also highlights the fluid nature of Brussels communal politics, where politicians frequently move between communes. For Ixelles, the arrival of a Vooruit councilor rebalances the PS-Vooruit coalition dynamics at the local level. For Forest, gaining a former minister and experienced federal deputy strengthens the PS presence in a unique coalition government.

What’s Next

Désir remains active in federal politics as a deputy in the Chamber of Representatives, so her political career continues at the national level. The PS group in Ixelles will need to elect a new group leader following her departure, while political observers will watch whether Désir eventually runs for local office in Forest in future elections.

The Ixelles council will convene again in September, when Oosterwijk takes his seat and the new political configuration begins to take shape.