Valentine Vanhove

Valentine Vanhove graduated with a Masters in chemistry from the UIA (University Institution Antwerp), which she later supplemented with a postgraduate degree in Business Administration from the KULeuven. She started her career as an Administrative Secretary (intern student) at the Ministry of Public Health, Subsistence Level Service, after which she worked for five years in a number of ministerial cabinets, including the cabinet of the Secretary of State for Public Health and the Environment, where she mainly handled files relating to the Environment. At the cabinet of the Secretary of State for Energy, her focus was then on nuclear and other energy related matters. She concluded her cabinet era at the cabinet of the Minister of the Environment at Flemish level. In October 1988, she moved to NIRAS, the National Agency for Radioactive Waste and Enriched Fissile Materials, starting at the communications department. After taking over the management of the Administration and Legal Services department in 2004, she became Director of Administration and Legal Affairs in 2007, and a few years later Director of General Services. In these positions, she was responsible for communication, HR, administration, facility services, Finance, ICT, knowledge management and Internal organisational control. In 2015, as Secretary-General, she became responsible for the secretariat of the administrative bodies in addition to her other responsibilities. In 2016, she was appointed by NIRAS as Observer, responsible for legality supervision at the Stichting Lokaal Fonds. This fund is part of the creation, consolidation and expansion of social support for the storage of category A radioactive waste in Dessel and was one of the conditions of the population of Dessel and Mol to accept the surface storage in their living environment. By financially supporting projects and/or activities, the Lokaal Fonds aims to create sustainable added value for the population in the Dessel and Mol region and to increase their quality of life. Since her retirement on January 1, 2025, she has been an independent director at the Stichting Lokaal Fonds.