The Crown Council of Belgium (french: Conseil de la Couronne, nl, Kroonraad) is composed of the

King of the Belgians Belgium is a constitutional, hereditary, and popular monarchy. The monarch is titled king or queen of the Belgians ( nl, Koning(in) der Belgen, french: Roi / Reine des Belges}, german: König(in) der Belgier) and serves as the country's ...

, the Ministers and the Ministers of State (mostly former ministers and other major politicians). The constitutional Monarch chairs the Crown Council, which has no legal competence but simply advises the crown when consulted on extraordinary matters.

Working

During a session of the Crown Council, the Ministers of State can do nothing but advise the King, as the authority to make political decisions is vested in the King and the

Federal Government A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government ( federalism). In a federation, the self-gover ...

, in accordance with the

Belgian Constitution The Constitution of Belgium ( nl, Belgische Grondwet, french: Constitution belge, german: Verfassung Belgiens) dates back to 1831. Since then Belgium has been a parliamentary monarchy that applies the principles of ministerial responsibility ...

. To date, the Crown Council has met on only five occasions:

Current use

Nowadays, the Crown Council is seen as an old-fashioned or even outdated political organ. The title of

Minister of State Minister of State is a title borne by politicians in certain countries governed under a parliamentary system. In some countries a Minister of State is a Junior Minister of government, who is assigned to assist a specific Cabinet Minister. I ...

is given as an honorary title, with no view to any possible Crown Council meeting. None of the living Ministers of State have ever participated in a Crown Council session. During the 2007–08 Belgian government formation though, King Albert II formally asked the help of several Ministers of State with experience in solving political crises. The King consulted Ministers of State Wilfried Martens,

Jean-Luc Dehaene Jean Luc Joseph Marie "Jean-Luc" Dehaene (; 7 August 1940 – 15 May 2014) was a Belgian politician who served as the prime minister of Belgium from 1992 until 1999. During his political career, he was nicknamed "The Plumber" and "The Mineswee ...

Guy Verhofstadt Guy Maurice Marie Louise Verhofstadt (; ; born 11 April 1953) is a Belgian politician who was the leader of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe from 2009 to 2019, and has been a member of the European Parliament (MEP) from Belgium ...

, Philippe Moureaux, Willy Claes,

Gérard Deprez Gérard M.J. Deprez (born 13 August 1943 in Noville, Bastogne) is a Belgian politician. He was the president of the Walloon Christian Social Party (PSC) from 1981 to 1996. In 1998 he left the PSC and founded the Citizens' Movement for Change (M ...

Jos Geysels Josephus "Jos" Elisabeth A. M. Geysels (born 20 September 1952 in Turnhout) is a former Belgian (Flemish) politician, and former Representative in the Belgian Chamber for the ecologist party Agalev for which he was party chairman. He resigned ...

Philippe Busquin Philippe Busquin (born 6 January 1941) is a Belgian politician. Busquin was born in Feluy. He was a Member of the European Parliament from 2004 to 2009 for the French Community of Belgium with the Parti Socialiste, part of the Socialist Gro ...

Charles-Ferdinand Nothomb Baron Charles-Ferdinand N. M. P. Nothomb (born 3 May 1936) is a French-speaking Belgian politician. He is a member of the Humanist Democratic Centre (cdH). He served as Belgian Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1980 until 1981, and as Minist ...

José Daras José Daras (born 28 May 1948 in Malonne) is a Belgian politician and a member of Ecolo. Early professional career Before dedicating his life to his political career, José Daras taught geography during 10 years. Political career He is ...

Raymond Langendries Raymond A. Langendries (born 1 October 1943 in Tubize) is a Belgian politician and Member of the European Parliament for the French Community of Belgium with the Centre Démocrate Humaniste, part of the European People's Party and sits on the ...

Herman De Croo Herman Francies Joseph De Croo (born 12 August 1937) is a Belgian politician of the Open Flemish Liberals and Democrats. First elected in March 1968, he is the longest serving Belgian member of parliament, serving uninterrupted until 2014. He is ...

, Louis Michel, Herman Van Rompuy and Armand De Decker. Some political analysts saw this as comparable to the Crown Council. Commonly, Ministers of State are appointed to formal offices is the process of forming a government or to solve a cabinet crisis.

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Current use

References

Further reading