The Flemish Government ( nl, Vlaamse regering ) is the executive branch of the
Flemish Community and the
Flemish Region
The Flemish Region ( nl, Vlaams Gewest, ),; german: Flämische Region usually simply referred to as Flanders ( nl, link=no, Vlaanderen ) ; german: link=no, Flandern is one of the three regions of Belgium—alongside the Walloon Region and t ...
of
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
. It consists of a government cabinet, headed by the
Minister-President
A minister-president or minister president is the head of government in a number of European countries or subnational governments with a parliamentary or semi-presidential system of government where they preside over the council of ministers. I ...
and accountable to the
Flemish Parliament, and the public administration (civil service) divided into 13 policy areas, each with an executive department and multiple agencies.
The Flemish Government cabinet consists of up to a maximum of eleven ministers, chosen by the
Flemish Parliament. At least one minister must come from
Brussels
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
. The ministers are drawn from the political parties which, in practice, form the
governing coalition. The Government is chaired by the
Flemish Minister-President. Ministers head executive departments of the government administration. Ministers must defend their policies and performance in person before the Flemish Parliament. The Flemish Government must receive and keep the confidence of the Flemish Parliament.
Until 1993 the Flemish Government was called the Flemish Executive (''Vlaamse Executieve'').
Cabinet composition
Jambon (2019-current)
Homans (2019)
Bourgeois (2014-2019)
Peeters II (2009-2014)
Following the
7 June 2009 election,
CD&V (31 seats),
N-VA (16 seats) and
SP.A (19 seats) parties formed a coalition.
Leterme I/Peeters I (2004-2009)
![Coalitiezetels-LetermeI](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3a/Coalitiezetels-LetermeI.png)
Following the
2004 election, (29 seats)/ (6 seats), / (25 seats) and (19 seats) parties formed a coalition.
* From 19 July 2004 to 26 June 2007, the
Minister-President of Flanders
The Minister-President of Flanders ( nl, Minister-president van Vlaanderen) is the head of the Flemish Government, which is the executive branch of the Flemish Region and Flemish Community.See the communities, regions and language areas of Bel ...
was
Yves Leterme (
CD&V), leading a coalition of
CD&V-
N-VA,
VLD-
Vivant, and
SP.A-
Vl.Pro.
* On 26 June 2007, in the aftermath of the
2007 Belgian general elections, Yves Leterme and Inge Vervotte resigned as minister-president and minister in the Flemish Government to take their seats in the
Belgian Parliament. On June 28,
Kris Peeters was sworn in as new minister-president, taking over the responsibilities of Leterme, and Vanackere and Crevits replaced Vervotte and Peeters as Flemish ministers.
* On 10 October 2007
Fientje Moerman
Joséphine Rebecca Marie Julienne Bertha "Fientje" Moerman (born 19 October 1958) is a Belgian liberal politician and currently a judge on the Constitutional Court of Belgium.
Education
In 1981 Fientje Moerman obtained a master's degree in law. ...
resigned due to the fallout of a hiring scandal; she was replaced as vice-minister-president by Dirk Van Mechelen and as minister by
Patricia Ceysens
Patricia is a female given name of Latin origin. Derived from the Latin word ''patrician'', meaning "noble"; it is the feminine form of the masculine given name Patrick. The name Patricia was the second most common female name in the United State ...
.
* On 22 September 2008
Geert Bourgeois
Geert Albert Bourgeois (; born 6 July 1951) is a Belgian politician of the New Flemish Alliance (N-VA), which he founded in 2001, who is currently serving as a Member of the European Parliament since 2019. He previously served as the Minister-Pr ...
(
N-VA) was forced to resign due to pressure by the SP.A-Vl.Pro and Open VLD coalition partners because of his party's no confidence vote in the federal government of Leterme and their lack of trust in further negotiations by the Regions regarding the state reform. His portfolios of Administrative Affairs, Foreign Policy, Media and Tourism were taken over by minister-president Peeters.
* On December 30, 2008
Steven Vanackere
Steven Vanackere, (, born on 4 February 1964 in Wevelgem) is a Belgian politician from Flanders and member of the Christian Democratic and Flemish party (CD&V). He held the portfolios of Deputy Prime Minister of Belgium and Minister of Foreign Aff ...
resigned to become federal Minister of Civil Service and Public Enterprises. He was replaced in the Flemish Government by
Veerle Heeren.
The composition at the end of the legislature:
Dewael I (1999-2003)/Somers I (2003-2004)
![Coalitiezetels-SomersI](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a0/Coalitiezetels-SomersI.gif)
After the
regional elections of 1999, a coalition of
VLD,
SP,
Agalev and the
VU was formed with
Patrick Dewael (VLD) as Minister-President.
After the
federal elections of June 2003, Patrick Dewael resigned as Minister-President and went to the federal political level. He was succeeded by
Bart Somers as Flemish Minister-President until the end of term in 2004. Due to changes in political parties, the coalition was different:
*
Volksunie
People's Union ( nl, Volksunie, 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 suppor ...
(VU) fell apart. Instead,
Spirit
Spirit or spirits may refer to:
Liquor and other volatile liquids
* Spirits, a.k.a. liquor, distilled alcoholic drinks
* Spirit or tincture, an extract of plant or animal material dissolved in ethanol
* Volatile (especially flammable) liquids, ...
entered the coalition
* the SP was renamed to
SP.a
* Agalev was renamed to
Groen!
Groen (English: Green; nl, Groen, ), founded as Agalev (see Name below), is a green Flemish political party in Belgium. Its French-speaking equivalent is Ecolo; the two parties maintain close relations with each other.
Party history
Before 1 ...
Van den Brande IV (1995-1999)
![Coalitiezetels-VandenBrandeIV](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/af/Coalitiezetels-VandenBrandeIV.gif)
After the
regional elections of 1995 (which were the first direct elections for the Flemish Parliament), a coalition of
CVP and
SP was formed.
List of Flemish Minister-Presidents
Administration
![Place des Martyrs - Patria](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cc/Place_des_Martyrs_-_Patria.JPG)
The ''Flemish administration'' (Dutch: ''Vlaamse overheid'') denotes the Flemish
civil service. With the 2006 reform program ''Better Administrative Policy'' (Dutch: ''
Beter Bestuurlijk Beleid''), the Flemish civil service is designed to make the Flemish public administration more efficient and transparent.
The tasks of the Flemish public administration are now organised in 13 policy areas. Each policy area comprises a department and a number of (semi-) independent government agencies. Only those with their own article are mentioned below.
The 11 policy areas are:
# Public Governance and the Chancellery (KB)
# Foreign Affairs (iV)
#*
Liaison Agency Flanders-Europe (vleva)
#*
Flanders Investment and Trade
Flanders Investment and Trade (FIT) was founded by the Flemish government in 2005, by the fusion of 'Export Flanders' and 'Service of Investment in Flanders'. FIT helps Flemish companies expand their business abroad and assists foreign companies ...
(FIT)
# Finance and Budget (FB)
# Education and Training (OV)
# Economy, Science and Innovation (EWI)
#*
Agency for Innovation by Science and Technology (IWT)
#*
Participatiemaatschappij Vlaanderen
The Participatiemaatschappij Vlaanderen (PMV) is an independent organization owned by the Flemish government which supports economic investment initiatives in Flanders.
History
The PMV was established on 31 July 1995 as a specialised subdivision ...
(PMV)
#*
National Botanic Garden of Belgium
The Meise Botanic Garden ( nl, Plantentuin Meise, french: Jardin botanique de Meise), until 2014 called the National Botanic Garden of Belgium ( nl, Nationale Plantentuin van België, french: Jardin Botanique National de Belgique), is a botani ...
# Culture, Youth, Sport and Media (CJSM)
#*
Agency for the Promotion of Physical Development, Sport and the Outdoor Recreation (Bloso)
#*
Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp
The Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp ( Dutch: ''Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten Antwerpen'', ''KMSKA'') is a museum in Antwerp, Belgium, founded in 1810, that houses a collection of paintings, sculptures and drawings from the fourteenth ...
(KMSKA)
#
Welfare, Public Health and Family (WVG)
#*
Care Inspectorate
# Agriculture and Fisheries (LV)
# Work and Social Economy (WSE)
# Mobility and Public Works (MOW)
#*
Flemish Transport Company "De Lijn"
# Environment (OMG)
#*
Flemish Energy Agency Flemish Energy Agency ( nl, Vlaams Energieagentschap; ''VEA'') is a government agency of the Flemish Region under the ''Flemish Ministry of Environment, Nature and Energy'', tasked with the preparation and execution of Flemish energy policy.
Over ...
(VEA)
#*
Immovable Heritage
Several other institutes, such as the
Flemish Opera The Vlaamse Opera (Flemish Opera) is an opera company in Belgium directed by Jan Vandenhouwe which operates in two different opera houses in two Flemish cities, the Vlaamse Opera Antwerp at Van Ertbornstraat 8 and the Vlaamse Opera Ghent at Schouwbu ...
and the
Flemish Institute for Technological Research The Flemish institute for technological research ( nl, Vlaamse Instelling voor Technologisch Onderzoek or VITO), is an independent Flemish research organisation that provides scientific advice and technological innovations that facilitate the transi ...
(VITO), were not incorporated into the above structure.
Every year, the Minister-President presents the current state of affairs in Flanders and the Government's plans for next year during the
September Declaration on the fourth Monday in September.
Budget
The below figures use the 2018 budget as example, which had €44.7 billion in expenses and €42.3 billion in revenue.
The revenue comes from the following sources:
* 56% – Special financing law: the so-called "shared taxes" and "merged taxes" which the federal government raises through income taxes and VAT and partially transfers to the communities and regions based on a complex formula
* 34% – Fiscal autonomy
** 18% – ''Opcentiemen'': additional "
centime
Centime (from la, centesimus) is French for "cent", and is used in English as the name of the fraction currency in several Francophone countries (including Switzerland, Algeria, Belgium, Morocco and France).
In France, the usage of ''centime' ...
s" to the federal income tax (the height of which can be set by the Flemish Government)
** 16% – Regional taxes (taxes under the proper authority of the Flemish Government), such as the traffic tax and
inheritance tax
* 10% – Other revenues
The expenses are as follows per policy area:
Projects
The Flemish Government owns the rights to ''Flanders Today'', an English-speaking online and print newspaper focused on current affairs in Flanders and Brussels. The project was launched in 2007 by Geert Bourgeois – then Minister of Foreign Affairs and Tourism -, for three main reasons:
* Facilitating the integration of
expats
An expatriate (often shortened to expat) is a person who resides outside their native country. In common usage, the term often refers to educated professionals, skilled workers, or artists taking positions outside their home country, either ...
living in the region by informing them of the region's current events.
* Informing international journalists about the region, as most
foreign correspondents based in Brussels get their news from the French-speaking press because the majority cannot read Dutch. ''Flanders Today'' would act as a counterweight to that side of every story.
* Informing
diplomats
A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or internatio ...
, investors, potential tourists and others outside of Belgium's borders about the region.
In May 2017, the Flemish Government announced it would not be
rebidding the Flanders Today project. Both the print and the online version of the paper are to be shut down in October 2017.
See also
*
Flanders
Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to cultu ...
*
Flanders in Action {{refimprove, date=March 2017
Flanders in Action ( nl, Vlaanderen in Actie – ViA) is a social and economic action programme for the future of Flanders which was established by the Flemish government on 11 July 2006.
See also
* Flanders
* Flan ...
*
Flemish Community Commission
The Vlaamse Gemeenschapscommissie (or VGC, or, in English, the Flemish Community Commission) is the local representative of the Flemish authorities in the Brussels-Capital Region, one of the three regions of Belgium. The VGC depends on the Flemish ...
*
Government of the Brussels-Capital Region
The government of the Brussels-Capital Region was the political administration of the Brussels Capital Region of Belgium. (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) An election is held every five years. Th ...
*
Government of the French Community
The Cabinet of the French Community of Belgium (french: Gouvernement de la Communauté française ) is the executive branch of the French Community of Belgium, and it sits in Brussels. It consists of a number of ministers chosen by the Parliamen ...
*
Politics of Flanders
Flanders is both a Flemish Community, cultural community and an Flemish Region, economic region within the Belgium, Belgian state, and has significant autonomy.
Historically, the contemporary Flemish people, Flemish community (or nation, as som ...
References
External links
Flemish government(Dutch: ''Vlaamse overheid''), in English
Flemish government(Dutch: ''Vlaamse overheid''), in Dutch
Flemish Parliament(Dutch: ''Vlaams Parlement'')
Flemish Government(Dutch: ''Vlaamse Regering'')
{{Authority control
1981 establishments in Belgium
Politics of Flanders
Government of Belgium