Martine Tanghe, who was VRT’s news anchor for almost 42 years, has died aged 67, the Flemish broadcaster announced in a statement on Sunday.
The journalist, who was well known in Flanders, had been ennobled on Thursday, having been awarded the title of Commander of the Order of the Crown.
Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo, tweeted in tribute: "Farewell to a beacon of confidence, a lady of class, but above all a warm human being. We would have wished you so many more beautiful moments. Goodbye Martine."
For more than 42 years, Martine Tanghe was a journalist and news anchor at VRT. Tanghe, born in the East Flanders town of Bellem but raised in Bissegem near Kortrijk, joined the Flemish public news service as a 23-year-old. Barely a few months later, she presented her first newsreel. For years, Tanghe combined reportage work with presentations in the studio.
Yet throughout her 42-year career, she grew into one of the faces of 'Het Journaal'. She became one of the best-known news presenters in Flanders and was labelled "the mother of all news anchors" upon her retirement. She was also the regular face of VRT's election programmes.
Flemish TV figurehead
For years, she chaired the Groot Dictee der Nederlandse Taal, the spelling competition between Flanders and the Netherlands.
Tanghe retired at the end of 2020. Her last Journaal broadcast is still the most watched Journaal ever with more than 2 million viewers. Not much later, she also received the honourary medal of the Flemish Community "for the mark she left on Flemish television journalism, not least through her correct and clear use of Dutch".
In 2011, Tanghe herself was diagnosed with breast cancer. She then disappeared from the screen for almost a year. After her career, she remained active, including as jury chairman of the new Flemish Prize for Children's and Young People's Literature and as a theatre writer.
