De Paepe is a physician and heads the university’s centre for medical genetics. Her election comes as a surprise as her opponent, now vice-rector, was the favourite throughout the race.

Under Ghent’s new election system, the candidates form a male list and a female list, with each list producing one candidate for the board’s consideration. Together with the rectoral election, there was also an election for vice-rector, which produced the same two candidates. De Paepe is the first woman rector of a university in Flanders, though Els Witte was at the head of the Free University of Brussels (VUB) in the 1990s.

Earlier, incumbent rector Paul Van Cauwenberghe took the unusual step of issuing a statement taking issue with press reports of problems with the election. Among other things, he denied voters had abstained in protest at the existence of gender-based lists. De Paepe was elected with the necessary majority in the first round of both polls; a small number of students who did not vote forced the male list to go to a second round.

Although Mortier – an ethicist and philosophy professor – was expected to be elected to the senior job, according to the informal agreement which alternates scientists with members of the humanities faculty, some members of the board, according to Van Cauwenberghe, decided to send a signal by giving it to De Paepe.

Meanwhile in Leuven, former senator, canon jurist and TV personality Rik Torfs was elected rector, defeating his nearest opponent, Karen Maex, in the second round of voting by 772 to 736, having led in the first round but without the required majority. Maex is currently vice-rector in charge of the science and technology faculty. Torfs said he was “proud” of his victory. “This is the realisation of a dream I have cherished for a long time.”