Els Witte

Els, Baroness Witte (born 30 September 1941, Borgerhout) is a Belgian historian. She was professor at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel and honorary rector of the university. Els Witte was the first female rector of a Belgian university. She was a member of the Coudenberg group, a Belgian federalist think tank.

Career She started her career as an assistant at the University of Ghent (Ghent, Belgium). In 1974 she joined the in 1969 newly founded Vrije Universiteit Brussel as a full-time historian. Between 1994 and 2000, she was Rector of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel. In the course of her career, she was also President of the board of the Belgian Radio and Television (now: Flemish Radio and Television Network VRT).