OREANDA-NEWS. The post of Deputy Prime Minister of Belgium for the first time in history was received by transgender woman Petra De Sutter from the Flemish green party Groen. This was reported by the The Brussels Times. The government was formed a week ago, but the Belgian media did not often mentioned the appointment of a transgender person to such a high post.

De Sutter wrote on Twitter that she is proud that in Belgium and most countries of the European Union “your gender identity does not define you as a person and is a non-issue,” adding that she hopes that her appointment as minister and deputy prime minister "can trigger debate in countries where this is not yet the case.”

The 57-year-old De Sutter has been a member of the European Parliament since last year. She is a professor of gynecology at the Ghent University. She actively advocates for the rights of transgender people, sharing her own experiences of transgender transition.