She studied classics at the Institute of the Sisters of Saint Andrew [fr] in Charleroi, before going on to graduate in law from the Université Catholique de Louvain in 1984.

[1] During the government formation negotiations she was given the nickname "Madame Non" (Mrs No) by the Flemish media [nl] for her fierce resistance to constitutional reform that would give more autonomy to the different communities of Belgium.

In October 2017, Ms Joëlle Milquet was appointed Special Adviser to President Jean-Claude Juncker for the compensation of victims of crime.

[4] As opinion maker and several times former minister she is often interviewed by Belgian newspapers and Television such as RTBF, Le Soir and La Libre Belgique, LN24, Paris Match etc..

[5] In January 2025 she was appointed as Chair of the Board of Directors of RTBF (Radio-télévision belge de la communauté française), Belgium's national public broadcasting organization.