People's Union (Belgium)
People's Union (, , abbr. VU) was a Flemish nationalist political party in Belgium, formed in 1954 as a successor to the Christian Flemish People's Union. The Volksunie defined itself as a big tent and catch-all party that combined support from the left and right with the main goal of focusing on increased Flemish autonomy and establishing more linguistic and political rights for the Flemish community. The party also based its platform on civic nationalism over radicalism in order to foster a more legitimate image. It also contained members sympathetic to federalism and full separatism, with its stance on whether to secede Flanders from Belgium or redefine Belgium as a federal nation in which Flanders had devolved power changing with its leadership. The VU participated in three coalitions with the Belgian government during its existence and has been credited by historians with successfully bringing the issue of Flemish nationalism to mainstream Belgian politics and implementing ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Flemish Nationalism
The Flemish Movement (, ) is an umbrella term which encompasses various political groups in the Belgian region of Flanders and, less commonly, in French Flanders. Ideologically, it encompasses groups which have sought to promote Flemish culture and the Dutch language as well as those seeking greater political autonomy for Flanders within Belgium. It also encompasses nationalists who seek the secession of Flanders from Belgium, either through outright independence or unification with the Netherlands. In the 19th century, the Flemish Movement emerged around a form of cultural patriotism which celebrated the regional traditions and history of Flanders and sought equal status for Dutch in the Belgian nation-state, often under the auspices of the Catholic Church. Although gaining many of its initial objectives, it became increasingly radical in the aftermath of World War I. Inspired by authoritarian and fascist politics, it was widely discredited for its association with collabor ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Flemish Movement
The Flemish Movement (, ) is an umbrella term which encompasses various political groups in the Belgium, Belgian region of Flanders and, less commonly, in French Flanders. Ideologically, it encompasses groups which have sought to promote Flemish culture and the Dutch language as well as those seeking greater political autonomy for Flanders within Belgium. It also encompasses territorial nationalism, nationalists who seek the secession of Flanders from Belgium, either through outright independence or unification with the Netherlands. In the 19th century, the Flemish Movement emerged around a form of Cultural nationalism, cultural patriotism which celebrated the regional traditions and history of Flanders and sought equal status for Dutch in the Belgian nation-state, often under the auspices of the Catholic Church. Although gaining many of its initial objectives, it became increasingly radical in the aftermath of World War I. Inspired by authoritarianism, authoritarian and fascism ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Leo Tindemans
Leonard Clemence "Leo" Tindemans (; 16 April 1922 – 26 December 2014) was a Belgian politician. He served as the prime minister of Belgium from 25 April 1974 until he resigned as minister on 20 October 1978. He was a member of the Christian Democratic and Flemish party. Tindemanns led a centre-right cabinet from 1974 to 1977, followed by a centre-left cabinet from 1977 to 1978. Early life Tindemans was born in Zwijndrecht, Belgium, to a Catholic family. Political career Early career Tindemans was affiliated with the CVP. At the time, the party was strong in the northern region of Flanders. Tindemans was elected to the Belgian Chamber of Representatives in 1961 and re-elected in 1965, 1968, 1971, 1974, 1977 and 1978. From 1965 to 1973 Tindemans also served as the mayor of Edegem. In 1968, Tindemans became minister tasked with the relations between the communities (1968–1972), during which he prepared the first constitutional reform, which saw Belgium start transformin ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Coalition Government
A coalition government, or coalition cabinet, is a government by political parties that enter into a power-sharing arrangement of the executive. Coalition governments usually occur when no single party has achieved an absolute majority after an election. A party not having majority is common under proportional representation, but not in nations with majoritarian electoral systems. There are different forms of coalition governments, minority coalitions and surplus majority coalition governments. A surplus majority coalition government controls more than the absolute majority of seats in parliament necessary to have a majority in the government, whereas minority coalition governments do not hold the majority of legislative seats. A coalition government may also be created in a time of national difficulty or crisis (for example, during wartime or economic crisis) to give a government the high degree of perceived political legitimacy or collective identity, it can also play a ro ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Right-wing Politics
Right-wing politics is the range of Ideology#Political ideologies, political ideologies that view certain social orders and Social stratification, hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position based on natural law, economics, authority, property, religion, or tradition. Hierarchy and Social inequality, inequality may be seen as natural results of traditional social differences or competition in market economies. Right-wing politics are considered the counterpart to left-wing politics, and the left–right political spectrum is the most common political spectrum. The right includes social conservatives and fiscal conservatives, as well as right-libertarianism, right-libertarians. "Right" and "right-wing" have been variously used as compliments and pejoratives describing neoliberal, conservative, and fascist economic and social ideas. Positions The following positions are typically associated with right-wing politics. Anti-com ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Belgian Federal Parliament
The Federal Parliament (; ; ) is the bicameral parliament of Belgium. It consists of the Chamber of Representatives (lower house) and the Senate (upper house). It sits in the Palace of the Nation in the centre of the nation's capital, Brussels. The Chamber of Representatives is the primary legislative body; the Senate functions only as a meeting place of the federal communities and regions. The Belgian Constitution does not mention the Federal Parliament as such; it stipulates that the federal legislative power is exercised by the King and the Chamber of Representatives (and exceptionally the Senate), and defines when the United Chambers convene. Chamber of Representatives The Chamber of Representatives (, , ) holds its plenary meetings in the Palace of the Nation in Brussels (''see below''). Eligibility requirements for the Chamber are a minimum age of 21, citizenship, and residency in Belgium. The number of seats in the Chamber is constitutionally set at 150 elected fr ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Belgian Senate
The Senate ( ; ; ) is one of the two chambers of the Bicameralism, bicameral Belgian Federal Parliament, Federal Parliament of Belgium, the other being the Chamber of Representatives (Belgium), Chamber of Representatives. It is considered to be the "upper house" of the Federal Parliament. Created in 1831 as a chamber fully equal to the Chamber of Representatives, the Senate has undergone several reforms in the past, most notably in 1993 and 2014. The Belgian federal election, 2014, 2014 elections were the first without a direct election of senators. Instead, the new Senate is composed of members of community and regional parliaments and Co-option, co-opted members. It is a chamber of the communities and regions and serves as a platform for discussion and reflection about matters between these federated entities. The Senate today plays a minor role in the federal legislative process. However, the Senate, together with the Chamber, has full competence for the Constitution and legi ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Chamber Of Representatives Of Belgium
The Chamber of Representatives (; ; ) is one of the two chambers in the bicameral Federal Parliament of Belgium, the other being the Senate. It is considered to be the "lower house" of the Federal Parliament. Members and elections Article 62 of the Belgian Constitution fixes the number of seats in the Chamber of Representatives at 150. There are 11 electoral districts, which correspond with the ten Provinces (five Dutch- and five French-speaking) and the Brussels-Capital Region. Prior to the sixth Belgian state reform, the province of Flemish Brabant was divided into two electoral districts: one for Leuven and the other, named Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde (BHV), which encompassed both the 19 bilingual municipalities from the Brussels-Capital Region and the 35 Dutch-speaking municipalities of Halle-Vilvoorde in Flemish Brabant, including seven municipalities with linguistic facilities for French-speaking inhabitants. The seats are divided among the political parties using the D'H ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Centrism
Centrism is the range of political ideologies that exist between left-wing politics and right-wing politics on the left–right political spectrum. It is associated with moderate politics, including people who strongly support moderate policies and people who are not strongly aligned with left-wing or right-wing policies. Centrism is commonly associated with liberalism, radical centrism, and agrarianism. Those who identify as centrist support gradualism, gradual political change, often through a welfare state with moderate Redistribution of income and wealth, redistributive policies. Though its placement is widely accepted in political science, radical groups that oppose centrist ideologies may sometimes describe them as leftist or rightist. Centrist parties typically hold the middle position between major left-wing and right-wing parties, though in some cases they will hold the left-leaning or right-leaning vote if there are no viable parties in the given direction. Centrist p ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Christian Social Party (Belgium, Defunct)
The Christian Social Party (, ,; , , ; generally abbreviated to PSC–CVP) was a major centre-right political parties in Belgium, political party in Belgium which existed from 1945 until 1968. It is sometimes referred to as the unitary Christian Social Party (''PSC unitaire''/''unitaire CVP'') to distinguish it from its two identically named successor parties. Established as the successor to the pre-war Catholic Party (Belgium), Catholic Party, the PSC-CVP was established after Liberation of Belgium, Belgium's Liberation in World War II with an explicitly "deconfessionalised" orientation in the Christian Democracy, Christian Democratic tradition. Conservative in outlook, it supported social welfare and limited economic redistribution. It remained the largest party in Belgian politics throughout much of its existence and was the last party in Belgian history to gain an outright majority in the 1950 Belgian general election, 1950 elections. It provided a number of influential prime m ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Flemish National League
The (, "Flemish National Union" or "Flemish National League"), widely known by its acronym VNV, was a Flemish nationalist political party active in Belgium between 1933 and 1945.Kinderen van de collaboratie. Ervaringen en getuigenissen van nakomelingen van collaborateurs in de Tweede Wereldoorlog University of Ghent, 2010, Master thesis history It became the leading force of political collaboration in during the [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Second World War
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the world's countries participated, with many nations mobilising all resources in pursuit of total war. Tanks in World War II, Tanks and Air warfare of World War II, aircraft played major roles, enabling the strategic bombing of cities and delivery of the Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, first and only nuclear weapons ever used in war. World War II is the List of wars by death toll, deadliest conflict in history, causing World War II casualties, the death of 70 to 85 million people, more than half of whom were civilians. Millions died in genocides, including the Holocaust, and by massacres, starvation, and disease. After the Allied victory, Allied-occupied Germany, Germany, Allied-occupied Austria, Austria, Occupation of Japan, Japan, a ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |