Member of the Senate, 2014–2019 In the
2014 European elections, De Sutter was second on the list for the
Flemish Green party. However, the party missed its hold on a second seat. She was subsequently co-opted by her party for a seat in the
Belgian Senate. In addition, De Sutter served as member of the Belgian delegation to the
Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe from 2014 until 2019. As member of the
Socialists, Democrats and Greens Group, she was a member of the Committee on Migration, Refugees and Displaced Persons; the Committee on Rules of Procedure, Immunities and Institutional Affairs; the Sub-Committee on Integration; the Sub-Committee on Public Health and Sustainable Development; and the Sub-Committee on Ethics. She served as the Assembly's
rapporteur on children's rights in relation to surrogacy arrangements (2016); on the use of new genetic technologies in human beings (2017); and on the conditions of reception of refugees and migrants (2018). Since her political debut, De Sutter has tackled a regulation for
surrogacy at a Belgian and European level, independent clinical research in the pharmaceutical industry, the risks of
TTIP for consumer's protection of food and chemicals, and standing up for rights for
LGBT people.
Member of the European Parliament, 2019–2020 and the
Green European Foundation On 15 September 2018, it was announced De Sutter was seeking nomination as one of the
European Greens two lead candidates for the
2019 European Parliament elections, which eventually fell down to the Dutch
Bas Eickhout and the German
Ska Keller. After joining the Parliament, she chaired the
Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection; she was the first Green politician in this position. In 2020, she also joined the Special Committee on Beating Cancer. In addition, De Sutter was part of the Parliament's delegation for relations with the countries of
South Asia (
Bangladesh,
Bhutan, the
Maldives,
Nepal,
Pakistan and
Sri Lanka). She was also a member of the
European Parliament Intergroup on LGBT Rights and co-chaired the
MEPs Against Cancer group. In December 2020, De Sutter received the Justice & Gender Equality award at
The Parliament Magazine's annual
MEP Awards, in recognition of her work as an MEP on
sexual and
reproductive rights.
Deputy Prime Minister of Belgium, 2020–2025 On 1 October 2020, De Sutter was sworn in as one of seven deputy prime ministers in the
government of
Prime Minister Alexander De Croo, becoming Europe's first transgender deputy prime minister, and the most senior trans politician in Europe. In October 2023, De Sutter criticised UK Prime Minister
Rishi Sunak's speech at the Conservative party conference where he argued that his audience should not be "bullied into believing that people can be any sex they want to be" and that "a man is a man and a woman is a woman." She described Sunak's words as "hurtful and very disappointing" as well as "fuelling transphobia." In November 2023, De Sutter criticized Israel's conduct during the
Gaza war, and said "It is time for sanctions against Israel. The rain of bombs is inhumane," De Sutter said. She also called on
Hamas to release all its
kidnapped hostages, and declared that “we must stop the money flows funding this terror organization." == University chancellor ==