Born in 1976, Cindy Franssen holds a master’s degree in Political Science, which she obtained in 1998 at the University of Ghent. She started her career as staff member of the Christian Health Insurance Fund (CM), after which she became a parliamentary assistant of Belgian Senator Sabine de Bethune. She took her first steps in politics in the year 2000, as Provincial Councillor in East Flanders. From 2007 to 2019, she was a Member of the Flemish Parliament and from 2009, a Senator in the Belgian Senate, mainly focussing on Work & Social Affairs, Climate & Public Health and Equal Opportunities. In 2011, she was appointed as Vice-President of the Flemish Christian Democrats (CD&V). In May 2019, she was elected as a Member of the European Parliament. Aside from her duty as MEP, Cindy is also a Municipal Councillor in the City of Oudenaarde. Cindy is Vice-President of the European Union of Christian Democratic Workers (EUCDW) and of the EPP Workers’ Group. MEP since 2019.