Linkebeek (; ) is a Belgian municipality in

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 culture, ...

, part of the province of

Flemish Brabant Flemish Brabant ( nl, Vlaams-Brabant ; french: Brabant flamand ) is a province of Flanders, one of the three regions of Belgium. It borders on (clockwise from the North) the Belgian provinces of Antwerp, Limburg, Liège, Walloon Brabant, Haina ...

, and in the administrative district of

Halle-Vilvoorde The Halle-Vilvoorde Arrondissement () is one of the two administrative arrondissements in the Belgian province of Flemish Brabant. It almost completely surrounds the Brussels-Capital Region and lies to the west of the other arrondissement in the p ...

. The municipality only comprises the town of Linkebeek proper. As of 1 January 2006, Linkebeek has a total population of 4,759. The total area is 4.15 km² which gives a

population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...

of 1,147 inhabitants per km².

Language and politics

The official language is

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

with French facilities. In 1954, these special linguistic rights or "facilities" were given to Francophones, who then constituted nearly 40% of the population according to the 1947 census. Nowadays, Francophones make up the majority of the population. Francophones can request official documents from the local administration in French, but the official language remains Dutch. There are also primary and nursery schools teaching in French. Since the 2012 municipal elections, the municipal council consists of 13 French-speaking councillors, led by Damien Thiéry (MR), and two Dutch-speaking councillors (elected under "ProLink"). Damien Thiéry (MR) was the acting mayor from 2007 to 2015. He was never appointed mayor by the Flemish government for having violated

language law Language policy is an interdisciplinary academic field. Some scholars such as Joshua Fishman and Ofelia García consider it as part of sociolinguistics. On the other hand, other scholars such as Bernard SpolskyRobert B. Kaplanand Joseph Lo Bianco ...

, as confirmed by multiple

Council of State A Council of State is a governmental body in a country, or a subdivision of a country, with a function that varies by jurisdiction. It may be the formal name for the cabinet or it may refer to a non-executive advisory body associated with a head o ...

rulings. The French-speaking majority refused to propose anyone else as mayor. In October 2015 the Flemish minister

Liesbeth Homans Liesbeth Homans (born 17 February 1973 in Antwerp) is a Belgian politician and is affiliated to Nieuw-Vlaamse Alliantie (N-VA, New Flemish Alliance). She was elected as a member of the Flemish Parliament in 2009 and as a member of the Belgian Sena ...

(N-VA) appointed Eric De Bruycker (ProLink) as mayor. This caused controversy, and the French-speaking majority in the municipal council demanded his resignation. When De Bruycker refused, the 13 French-speaking councillors resigned to provoke a

snap election A snap election is an election that is called earlier than the one that has been scheduled. Generally, a snap election in a parliamentary system (the dissolution of parliament) is called to capitalize on an unusual electoral opportunity or to ...

. An election was then scheduled for 13 December to elect 13 councillors; the mayor and the other Flemish councillor both remain in office. A few days later, mayor De Bruycker submitted his resignation. If accepted by Flemish minister Liesbeth Homans, he will remain as acting mayor. Prolink, the Flemish party of De Bruycker, decided not to participate in the election and called on voters to vote blank. The 13 December 2015 snap election resulted in the status quo: the French-speaking list won all 13 seats. However, about 15% did not vote (despite its being compulsory) and about 13% voted blank.

Twin towns

Saint-Lambert-du-Lattay Saint-Lambert-du-Lattay () is a former commune in the Maine-et-Loire department in western France. On 31 December 2015, it was merged into the new commune Val-du-Layon.France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

) since 1981 * Kenton (

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

) since 1996

Famous inhabitants

Herman Teirlinck Herman Louis Cesar Teirlinck (Sint-Jans-Molenbeek, 24 February 1879 – Beersel-Lot, 4 February 1967) was a Belgian writer. He was the fifth child and only son of Isidoor Teirlinck and Oda van Nieuwenhove, who were both teachers in Brussels. As a ...

, writer (1879-1967) *

Audrey Hepburn Audrey Hepburn (born Audrey Kathleen Ruston; 4 May 1929 – 20 January 1993) was a British actress and humanitarian. Recognised as both a film and fashion icon, she was ranked by the American Film Institute as the AFI's 100 Years...100 Stars, t ...

, actress and humanitarian *

Roméo Elvis Roméo Johnny Elvis Kiki Van Laeken (; born 13 December 1992), better known by his stage name Roméo Elvis (), is a Belgian rapper and hip hop artist. His career began with the release of two EPs in 2013 and 2014, titled ''Bruxelles c'est dev ...

, rapper and hip-hop artist * Angèle Van Laeken, singer-songwriter and musician * Jehan Frison (on French Wikipedia) (1882-1961), painter and engraver *

Rodolphe Wytsman Rodolphe Paul Marie Wytsman (11 March 1860 – 2 November 1927) was a Belgian Impressionist painter. He trained at the Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts in Brussels, and was one of the founding members of Les XX, a group of avant-garde Belgian ar ...

(1860-1927), painter * Juliette Wytsman (1866-1925), painter

References

External links

*
Official website
- Information available in

and French Municipalities of Flemish Brabant {{FlemishBrabant-geo-stub