Jacques Steenbergen

Former President at Belgian Competition Authority & Prof. Emeritus, KuLeuven University

Speaker

Prof. em. Dr. Jacques Steenbergen (born in Antwerp (Belgium) in 1949) was from its establishmentas an independent authority in 2013 till 2023 president of the Belgian Competition Authority. Hewas from 2007 to 2013 director general of the directorate general for competition in the Belgianministry of economic affairs. He taught competition law at the University of Leuven from 1980 to2014. Before joining the competition authority, he was partner in the Brussels office of Allen &Overy, and he has been legal secretary to the President of the Court of Justice under the presidencyof Prof. J. Mertens de Wilmars.

He was also member of the Bureau of the OECD Competition Committee from 2010-2020, ismember of the board of editors and honorary editor-in-chief of the Dutch-Belgian European lawreview SEW, member of the scientific committee of the law review Concurrences, former chairmanof the Board of the Stichting van het Koninklijk Conservatorium of Brussels (the foundation of theroyal academy for music of Brussels), and honorary member of the Bar of Brussels (NederlandseOrde van Advocaten bij de Balie te Brussel). He is a former member of the Brussels and Flemish BarCouncils, and is since 2024 deputy chairman of the Cel Evenredigheid (advisory committee onproportionality) of the Flemish Bar Council (OVB), and since 2025 member of the board ofBlindenzorg Licht&Liefde (association for the support of visually impaired).

He lectured or gave conferences and served as member of nomination or PhD examination committees ininstitutes and universities in Austria, Belgium, China, France, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland,Romania, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States. He was alsospeaker or chairman at conferences in Australia, Brazil, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Germany,Greece, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Morocco, Portugal, the Slovak Republic, Slovenia,Switzerland, and Tunisia. He publishes regularly on EU and competition law.

He obtained a PhD at the KU Leuven with prof. dr. W. van Gerven on legal remedies and ailing industries(1978). He holds a masters degree in law from the KU Leuven (1972), and bachelor degrees or equivalentcertificate in law, philosophy and economics from the University of Antwerp (UFSIA)(1969).