Marianne Leonie Petrus Thyssen (Dutch pronunciation: [mɑrˈjɑnə 'tɛi̯sə(n)]; born 24 July 1956) is a Belgian politician of the Christian Democratic and Flemish Party (CD&V) who served as European Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs, Skills and Labour Mobility between 2014 and 2019. Born in Sint-Gillis-Waas, to a Flemish family, not related to the family of Baron Thyssen, Thyssen graduated from the Catholic University of Leuven (KUL) in 1979, where she obtained a degree in law. She worked as a legal adviser for a Belgian organisation for the self-employed and small and medium-sized businesses UNIZO and the women's network Christelijke Middenstands- en Burgervrouwen (CMBV) now Markant, becoming Director then acting Secretary-General at UNIZO in 1991. From 1986-1988 she acted as legal adviser to the state secretary for public health and disability policy. (Source: Wikipedia.org, CC BY-SA)