The De Croo Government is the incumbent

Federal Government of Belgium The Federal Government of Belgium ( nl, Federale regering, french: Gouvernement fédéral, german: Föderalregierung) exercises executive power in the Kingdom of Belgium. It consists of ministers and secretary of state ("junior", or deputy-min ...

, led by

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Alexander De Croo Alexander De Croo (born 3 November 1975) is a Belgian politician and businessman who has served as the prime minister of Belgium since October 2020. De Croo was born in Vilvoorde, Flemish Brabant, and studied business engineering at the Vrij ...

since 1 October 2020.

History

The creation of the De Croo Government occurred on 1 October 2020, 494 days after the

2019 Belgian federal election Federal elections were held in Belgium on 26 May 2019, alongside the country's 2019 European Parliament election in Belgium, European and 2019 Belgian regional elections, regional elections. All 150 members of the Chamber of Representatives (Bel ...

of May 2019 as the 2019–20 Belgian government formation had been again a difficult process. The government replaced the minority

Wilmès II Government The Wilmès II Government was a minority Federal Government of Belgium, led by Prime Minister Sophie Wilmès, the first female Prime Minister of Belgium. Wilmès had been selected as a caretaker Prime Minister following the 2019 Belgian federal ...

, which was a temporary government instated to handle the consequences of the coronavirus outbreak. The De Croo Government is a so-called Vivaldi coalition, named after composer

Antonio Vivaldi Antonio Lucio Vivaldi (4 March 1678 – 28 July 1741) was an Italian composer, virtuoso violinist and impresario of Baroque music. Regarded as one of the greatest Baroque composers, Vivaldi's influence during his lifetime was widespread a ...

due to his work The Four Seasons which corresponds to the four different political views present in this coalition: the liberals (

Open Vld french: Libéraux et démocrates flamands ouverts , abbreviation = Open Vld , logo = , leader1_title = President , leader1_name = Egbert Lachaert , foundation = 1992 (VLD)2007 (Open Vld) , predecessor = ...

and MR), the socialists (

Vooruit Vooruit ( nl, Kunstencentrum Vooruit, ) is a historic complex in Ghent, Belgium. Vooruit was originally the festival and art center of the Ghent-based labor movement, with a ballroom, cinema, theater, etc. It is now mainly used for concerts a ...

and PS), the greens (

Groen Groen or de Groen is a surname of Dutch origin, meaning ''green''.

and

Ecolo Ecolo, officially Écologistes Confédérés pour l'organisation de luttes originales'', (English: Confederate Ecologists for the Organisation of Original Struggles)'' is a French-speaking political party in Belgium based on green politics. The ...

) and the Christian democrats of CD&V. Most notably this government doesn't have a majority in the Flemish language group, as the two largest political parties in Flanders (and simultaneously in all of Belgium) are part of the opposition:

N-VA The New Flemish Alliance ( nl, Nieuw-Vlaamse Alliantie, N-VA) is a Flemish nationalist and conservative political party in Belgium. The party was founded in 2001 by the right-leaning fraction of the centrist-nationalist People's Union (VU). T ...

and

Vlaams Belang , ideology = , predecessor = Vlaams Blok , position = , europarl = Identity and Democracy , european = Identity and Democracy Party , youth_wing = Vlaams Belang Jongeren , colours = , ...

. Other opposition parties are the Francophone parties cdH and

DéFI DéFI () is a social-liberal, liberal, regionalist political party in Belgium mainly known for defending French-speakers’ interests in and near the Brussels region. The party is led by François de Smet, a member of the Chamber of Represen ...

and the nationwide PVDA-PTB.

Composition

The Constitution requires an equal number of Dutch- and French-speaking ministers (regardless of the Prime Minister) and with all parties requiring some positions, the number of members in the Government has increased considerably, from 12 to 14 ministers with an additional 5 extra Secretaries of State for a total of 7 extra members in the Government compared to the previous

. With several new parties coming in to the government and many existing parties replacing their ministers, only three ministers remain which were already present in the Wilmès II Government: Prime Minister

(who was Minister of Development Cooperation, Finance and fighting Fiscal Fraud), the previous Prime Minister

Sophie Wilmès Sophie Wilmès (; born 15 January 1975) is a Belgian politician who served as the prime minister of Belgium from 2019 to 2020. She later served as minister of Foreign Affairs from 2020 to 2022. A member of the Reformist Movement, she is the fir ...

who now becomes Minister of Foreign Affairs and

David Clarinval David Clarinval (born 10 January 1976) is a Belgian politician of the Reformist Movement who has been serving as Minister of the Middle Class, SMEs, Self-employed, Agriculture, Social Integration and Urban Policy in the government of Prime Minist ...

who moves from Minister of Budget, Civil Service, National Lottery and Scientific Policy to Minister of the Middle Class, SMEs, Self-employed, Agriculture, and Institutional Affairs. A large number of government members were relatively unknown at the time of their appointment, as several parties decided to opt for new faces instead of familiar ones. One notable returnee is

Frank Vandenbroucke Frank Vandenbroucke is the name of: *Frank Vandenbroucke (politician) (born 1955), Belgian politician *Frank Vandenbroucke (cyclist) Frank Vandenbroucke (6 November 1974 – 12 October 2009) was a Belgian professional road racing cyclist. After ...

who, after a nine-year break from politics, returns to become Minister of Health and Social Affairs, and has held multiple positions in the period 1994–2009, including Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Social Affairs, Labor, and Pensions.

References

{{EU governments 2020 establishments in Belgium Belgian governments Cabinets established in 2020 Current governments