Homans was born in 1973 in
Wilrijk. She graduated in 1998 as a licentiate (master's degree) in history at the
Catholic University of Leuven and obtained a degree in international politics at the
University of Antwerp. During her student days she was active in the
Katholiek Vlaams Hoogstudentenverbond (KVHV) group where she met future N-VA leader
Bart De Wever. After being active in the Flemish nationalist
People's Union party she was a founding member of the N-VA in 2001. She was chairwoman of the
Openbaar centrum voor maatschappelijk welzijn (Public Centre for Social Welfare) in Antwerp from 2013 until July 2014, when she became a member of the
Bourgeois Government as Flemish Minister for Local Government, Poverty Reduction, Housing, Civic Integration, Equal Opportunities, Cities and Social Economy. In July 2019 she became the first female
Minister-President of Flanders in succession of
Geert Bourgeois as he became
member of the European parliament. The
Homans Government was however only an intermediate government in attendance of a new Flemish government and was replaced in October 2019 by the
Jambon Government. On 2 October 2019 she became
Speaker of the Flemish Parliament. ==Controversies==