Thijs Cousaert sworn in as Kluisbergen’s new mayor: “A childhood dream come true”

Thijs Cousaert has taken the mayoral sash in Kluisbergen, fulfilling an ambition he first developed as an 11-year-old. He was sworn in during the municipal council meeting and succeeds Philippe Willequet, who served as mayor for 38 years.

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I am highly motivated and really looking forward to it.

“I am highly motivated and really looking forward to it,” Cousaert said. He recalled watching Willequet triumph in the blue hall with his parents when he was 11. It felt to him as if the mayor had won the World Cup, and from that moment he knew he also wanted to become mayor. Twenty-six years later, he said, that childhood dream has come true.

Cousaert had served for four years alongside Willequet on the municipal executive. He said Willequet taught him to make decisions, accept that not everyone can be pleased, and understand that a mayor must know people, not only official files. “As mayor, you must know not only the files, but above all the people,” Cousaert said.

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As mayor, you must know not only the files, but above all the people.

Willequet said he was confident his successor would do well and did not want to be a father-in-law looking over his shoulder. His key advice was that the mayor must always speak on behalf of the executive, because without it, “you are nothing.” Cousaert’s partner, Hanne Desseyn, said she was proud that he had achieved his dream, while hoping he could balance family life, his mayoral duties and his work in the butcher shop.

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I am proud of him for making his dream come true.

Valerie Vanden Berghe will replace Willequet on the council. Current Gemeentebelangen councillors Sam Dekimpe and Jan Desmet will divide Cousaert’s alderman role. Desmet begins the first term on Oct. 1, 2026, and Dekimpe will take over for the second term on Nov. 1, 2028.

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I know he will do well.