french: Libéraux et démocrates flamands ouverts , abbreviation = Open Vld , logo =

, leader1_title = President , leader1_name =

Egbert Lachaert Egbert R. Lachaert (born 4 July 1977, in Ghent) is a Belgian lawyer, politician and party chairman of the Open VLD. Biography Lachaert was born in Ghent and is the son of Flemish politician Patrick Lachaert. He studied law at Ghent University whe ...

, foundation = 1992 (VLD)
2007 (Open Vld) , predecessor =

Party for Freedom and Progress The Party for Freedom and Progress ( nl, Partij voor Vrijheid en Vooruitgang; french: Parti de la Liberté et du Progrès; german: Partei für Freiheit und Fortschritt, PVV-PLP) was a liberal political party in Belgium which existed from 1961 unti ...

, headquarters = Melsensstraat 34 Brussels , membership_year = 2018 , membership = 60,000 , ideology = , position =

Centre-right Centre-right politics lean to the Right-wing politics, right of the Left–right politics, political spectrum, but are closer to the Centrism, centre. From the 1780s to the 1880s, there was a shift in the Western world of social class structure a ...

, international =

Liberal International Liberal International (LI) is a worldwide organization of liberal political parties - a political international. It was founded in Oxford in 1947 and has become the pre-eminent network for liberal parties, aiming to strengthen liberalism around ...

, european =

Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe The Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE; french: Alliance des Démocrates et des Libéraux pour l'Europe, ADLE) is a transnational alliance between two European political parties, the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Euro ...

, europarl =

Renew Europe Renew Europe (Renew) is a liberal, pro-European political group of the European Parliament founded for the ninth European Parliament term. The group is the successor to the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) group which exist ...

, affiliation1_title = Francophone counterpart , affiliation1 =

Reformist Movement The Reformist Movement (french: Mouvement Réformateur, MR) is a liberal French-speaking political party in Belgium. MR is traditionally a conservative-liberal party, but it also contains social-liberal factions. The party is in coalition as pa ...

, affiliation2_title = Germanophone counterpart , affiliation2 =

, seats1_title = Chamber of Representatives , seats1 = , seats2_title =

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

, seats2 = , seats3_title =

Flemish Parliament The Flemish Parliament (Dutch: , formerly called Flemish Council or ''Vlaamse Raad'') constitutes the legislative power in Flanders for matters which fall within the competence of Flanders, both as a geographic region and as a cultural communi ...

, seats3 = , seats4_title =

Brussels Parliament The Parliament of the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) ( French: ''Parlement de la Région de Bruxelles-Capitale'', Dutch: ''Parlement van het Brussels Hoofdstedelijk Gew ...

, seats4 = , seats5_title = European Parliament , seats5 = , seats6_title = Flemish Provincial Councils , seats6 = , colours =

Blue Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between violet and cyan on the spectrum of visible light. The eye perceives blue when obs ...

, website = , country = Belgium The Open Flemish Liberals and Democrats (, ; Open Vld) is a Flemish conservative-liberal

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...

in Belgium. The party was created in 1992 from the former bilingual

(PVV) and politicians from other parties after Belgium was reconstituted as a federal state based on language, with the French-speaking faction forming the

(MR) in Wallonia. The party led the government for three cabinets under

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 ...

from 1999 until March 2008. Open VLD then formed the Federal Government (the so-called "Swedish government") with

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 ...

CD&V Christian Democratic and Flemish (, , CD&V) is a Flemish Christian-democratic political party in Belgium. The party has historical ties to both trade unionism ( ACV) and trade associations (UNIZO) and the Farmer's League. Until 2001, the party wa ...

and Mouvement Réformateur. In the

, the VLD formed a

coalition government A coalition government is a form of government in which political parties cooperate to form a government. The usual reason for such an arrangement is that no single party has achieved an absolute majority after an election, an atypical outcome in ...

with sp.a-Spirit and

Christian Democratic and Flemish Christian Democratic and Flemish (, , CD&V) is a Flemish Christian-democratic political party in Belgium. The party has historical ties to both trade unionism ( ACV) and trade associations (UNIZO) and the Farmer's League. Until 2001, the party wa ...

(CD&V) from after the 2004 regional election until the 2009 regional election. Open VLD has been a member of the

Leterme I Government The Leterme I Government was the federal government of Belgium from 20 March 2008 to 22 December 2008. It took office when the Flemish Christian democrat Yves Leterme ( CD&V) was sworn in as Prime Minister. It followed the Belgian general el ...

formed on 22 March 2008, the

Van Rompuy I Government The Van Rompuy Government was the federal government of Belgium from 30 December 2008 until 15 November 2009. Herman Van Rompuy was nominated as the first President of the European Council and resigned shortly after as Premier. It took office when ...

formed on 2 January 2009, the

Leterme II Government The Leterme II Government was the federal government of Belgium from 25 November 2009 to 26 April 2010, and the caretaker government until 6 December 2011. It took office when the Flemish Christian Democrat Yves Leterme (CD&V) was sworn in as Pr ...

formed on 24 November 2009 and the

Di Rupo Government The Di Rupo Government was the federal cabinet of Belgium sworn in on 6 December 2011, after a record-breaking 541 days of negotiations following the June 2010 elections. The government included social democrats (sp.a/ PS), Christian democrats ...

formed on 6 December 2011. Ideologically, Open VLD started as an

economically liberal Economic liberalism is a political and economic ideology that supports a market economy based on individualism and private property in the means of production. Adam Smith is considered one of the primary initial writers on economic liberalism, ...

and somewhat libertarian

Thatcherite Thatcherism is a form of British conservative ideology named after Conservative Party leader Margaret Thatcher that relates to not just her political platform and particular policies but also her personal character and general style of manag ...

party under its founder,

which mirrored some of the original ideology of the PVV. The VLD rapidly became more

centrist Centrism is a political outlook or position involving acceptance or support of a balance of social equality and a degree of social hierarchy while opposing political changes that would result in a significant shift of society strongly to the l ...

and gave up much of its

free market In economics, a free market is an economic system in which the prices of goods and services are determined by supply and demand expressed by sellers and buyers. Such markets, as modeled, operate without the intervention of government or any o ...

approach, partly under the influence of Verhofstadt's political scientist brother

Dirk Verhofstadt Dirk Verhofstadt (born 25 August 1955 in Dendermonde) is a Belgian social liberal ( Rawlsian) theorist and younger brother of former Belgian Prime Minister and former ALDE European Parliament Leader Guy Verhofstadt. He has a keen interest in ...

, although the VLD continued to contain conservative-libertarian and classical liberal wings with ties to think-tanks like

Nova Civitas Nova Civitas was a Flemish think tank based on the principles of classic liberalism in combination with Anglo-Saxon conservatism. Nova Civitas claimed at its founding to be completely independent, although it was recognized and supported by the Fl ...

. Party chairman

Bart Somers Bartolomeus Jozef Lodewijk Rosalia "Bart" Somers (born 12 May 1964 in Mechelen) is a Belgian, Flemish politician. He is currently the mayor of Mechelen and President of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe in the European Committee of ...

called in November 2006 for a "revolution" within the party, saying that "a liberal party", like the VLD, "can be only progressive and social". From 2000 to 2004, during the second period of its participation in the Belgian federal government and under

Belgian Prime Minister german: Premierminister von Belgien , insignia = State Coat of Arms of Belgium.svg , insigniasize = 100px , insigniacaption = Coat of arms , insigniaalt = , flag = Government ...

Guy Verhofstadt, the VLD allegedly lost most of its ideological appeal. Several of its thinkers such as (former member) Boudewijn Bouckaert, president of

, heavily criticised the party. Many others, particularly from the party's conservative and Flemish autonomist wing, resented the priority it placed on the 'Belgian compromise', which enabled the

French Community The French Community (1958–1960; french: Communauté française) was the constitutional organization set up in 1958 between France and its remaining African colonies, then in the process of decolonization. It replaced the French Union, which ...

's Socialist Party to gain a dominant position in the formulation of Belgian federal government policy. In 2004, the VLD teamed up with the minority social-liberal party

Vivant Vivant is a small social-liberal political party in Belgium founded by millionaire Roland Duchâtelet. In the regional elections in June 2004, the party formed a strategic alliance with the Flemish Liberals and Democrats (VLD). Both parties are ...

for both the Flemish and

European elections Elections to the European Parliament take place every five years by universal adult suffrage; with more than 400 million people eligible to vote, they are considered the second largest democratic elections in the world after India's. Until ...

. VLD-Vivant lost the elections to arch rivals CD&V and the Flemish Bloc. The VLD fell from second to third place among the Flemish political parties, slipping narrowly behind the sp.a-Spirit cartel. Internal feuds, the support for electoral rights for immigrants and an unsuccessful economic policy were seen as the main reasons for its election defeat. From 2007 the party kept having electoral difficulties, first due to competition from split-off

List Dedecker Libertarian, Direct, Democratic ( nl, Libertair, Direct, Democratisch; LDD) is a conservative-liberal, libertarian, right-wing populist Flemish political party in Belgium. The party surprised commentators by winning five seats in the Chamber an ...

and after 2010 from the liberal-conservative Flemish-nationalist party

History

The VLD has its origins in the

(which in turn was a successor to the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

), a bilingual party which stood in both the Flemish and Walloon regions of Belgium. As such the liberal party is the oldest political party of Belgium. In 1846,

Walthère Frère-Orban Hubert Joseph Walthère Frère-Orban (24 April 1812 – 2 January 1896) was a Belgian liberal statesman. Early life He was born at Liège, received his education at home and in Paris, and began the practice of law in his native town. He identif ...

succeeded in creating a political program which could unite several liberal groups into one party. Before 1960, the

of Belgium was barely organised. The school pact of 1958, as a result of which the most important argument for the traditional

anti-clericalism Anti-clericalism is opposition to religious authority, typically in social or political matters. Historical anti-clericalism has mainly been opposed to the influence of Roman Catholicism. Anti-clericalism is related to secularism, which seeks to ...

was removed, gave the necessary impetus for a thorough renewal. During the liberal party congress of 1961, the Liberal Party was reformed into the bilingual

(PVV-PLP), and

Omer Vanaudenhove Omer Rudolphe Jean, Viscount Vanaudenhove (3 December 1913 – 26 November 1994) was a Belgian liberal politician, mayor and minister. A businessman, Vanaudenhove was an owner of a shoe factory. He was burgomaster of Diest (1947–1955 and 1974� ...

became the chairman of the new party. The new liberal party, which struggled with an anti-clerical image, opened its doors for believers, but wasn't too concerned about the situation of workers and primarily defended the interests of employers. It is a central principle of Classical Liberalism that employers and employees do NOT have opposed long term interests. In the late 1960s and the early 1970s, the tensions between the different communities in Belgium rose and there were disagreements within the liberal movement as well. In 1972, the unitary PVV-PLP was split into separate a

Flemish Flemish (''Vlaams'') is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch (), Belgian Dutch ( ), or Southern Dutch (). Flemish is native to Flanders, a historical region in northern Belgium; ...

and a

Francophone French became an international language in the Middle Ages, when the power of the Kingdom of France made it the second international language, alongside Latin. This status continued to grow into the 18th century, by which time French was the l ...

parties. On Flemish side, under the guidance of

Frans Grootjans Frans Edward Elisabeth Grootjans (24 January 1922 – 20 February 1999), was a Belgian politician and minister for the PVV. Grootjans was born at Wilrijk. He became a licentiate in the trade and consular sciences and was chief editor and dir ...

Herman Vanderpoorten Herman Vanderpoorten (; 25 August 1922 – 3 September 1984) was a Belgian liberal politician. He was a son of the politician Arthur Vanderpoorten, the father of Marleen Vanderpoorten and an uncle of Patrick Dewael. Education He obtained a law ...

and

Willy De Clercq Willy Clarisse Elvire Hector, Viscount De Clercq (8 July 1927 – 28 October 2011) was a Belgian liberal politician. De Clercq was born in Ghent, son of Frans de Clercq.Etat présent de la noblesse belge 2015, p. 62 After his law and notariat s ...

, the PVV was created, on Walloon side

Milou Jeunehomme Emile-Edgar (Milou) Jeunehomme (1924–2001) was a Belgian liberal politician. On 15 January 1958 he became a member of parliament for the district Liège. He played for a long time an important role in the liberal party under Omer Vanaudenh ...

became the head of the PLP and Brussels got its own but totally disintegrated liberal party landscape. Willy De Clercq became the first chairman of the independent Party of Freedom and Progress ( nl, Partij voor Vrijheid en Vooruitgang, PVV). De Clercq, together with Frans Grootjans and Herman Vanderpoorten, set out the lines for the new party. This reform was coupled an Ethical Congress, on which the PVV adopted very progressive and tolerant stances regarding abortion,

euthanasia Euthanasia (from el, εὐθανασία 'good death': εὖ, ''eu'' 'well, good' + θάνατος, ''thanatos'' 'death') is the practice of intentionally ending life to eliminate pain and suffering. Different countries have different eut ...

adultery Adultery (from Latin ''adulterium'') is extramarital sex that is considered objectionable on social, religious, moral, or legal grounds. Although the sexual activities that constitute adultery vary, as well as the social, religious, and legal ...

, homosexuality and

gender equality Gender equality, also known as sexual equality or equality of the sexes, is the state of equal ease of access to resources and opportunities regardless of gender, including economic participation and decision-making; and the state of valuing d ...

. In 1982, the 29-year-old reformer

became the chairman of the party, and even was Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Budget from 1986 to 1988.

Annemie Neyts Anne-Marie Cécile J. Neyts-Uyttebroeck (; born 17 June 1944) is a Politics of Belgium, Belgian politician and was a Member of the European Parliament for Flanders with the Open Vlaamse Liberalen en Democraten, Open Flemish Liberals and Democrat ...

succeeded him as chairman, becoming the first female party chairman. In 1989, Verhofstadt once more became the chairman of the PVV, after his party had been condemned to the opposition by the Christian People's Party (CVP) in 1987. In 1992, the PVV was reformed into the Flemish Liberals and Democrats (''Vlaamse Liberalen en Democraten'', VLD) under the impulse of Verhofstadt. Although the VLD was the successor of the PVV, many politicians with democratic nationalist or socialist roots joined the new party. Notable examples are

Jaak Gabriëls Petrus Josephus Jacobus "Jaak" Gabriëls (born 22 September 1943) is a Belgium, Belgian politician and member of the Open Vlaamse Liberalen en Democraten, Flemish Liberals and Democrats (VLD) ( nl, Vlaamse Liberalen en Democraten or VLD). He gra ...

, then-president of the Flemish People's Union, and

Hugo Coveliers Hugo F.V. Coveliers (born 21 February 1947) is a retired Belgian politician and lawyer. He was a member of the Belgian Chamber of People's Representatives between 1985 and 1995 and from 1993 to 2003. Since 2003 he has been a member of the Belgi ...

. From the early 1990s, the VLD advanced in every election, only to get in government following the 1999 general election when the VLD became the largest party. Guy Verhofstadt became

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 ...

and Patrick Dewael became

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 Belgiu ...

. They were both at the head of a coalition of liberals, social democrats and greens.

2007 elections

Before the 2007 general election, the VLD participated in a cartel with

and

Liberal Appeal The Liberal Appeal ( nl, Liberaal Appèl, LA) was a Flemish conservative-liberal political party. Founded on March 22, 2002 by the liberal MEP Ward Beysen (1941-2005) as a secession of the VLD, mostly in Antwerp. The Liberaal Appèl was fir ...

. In February 2007, it decided to cease the cartel and start operating under the name Open VLD. On 10 June 2007

general elections A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

, Open VLD won 18 out of 150 seats in the Chamber of Representatives and 5 out of 40 seats in the

2010 elections

In the 2010 general election, Open VLD won 13 out of 150 seats in the Chamber of Representatives. After the long government formation process, on 6 December 2011 the

was formed, with Open VLD one of the six constituent parties.

Ideology and support

At its inception, the Open VLD was a

classical liberal Classical liberalism is a political tradition and a branch of liberalism that advocates free market and laissez-faire economics; civil liberties under the rule of law with especial emphasis on individual autonomy, limited government, economic ...

and somewhat

right-libertarian Right-libertarianism,Rothbard, Murray (1 March 1971)"The Left and Right Within Libertarianism" ''WIN: Peace and Freedom Through Nonviolent Action''. 7 (4): 6–10. Retrieved 14 January 2020.Goodway, David (2006). '' Anarchist Seeds Beneath the ...

party with support for free-markets and deregulation. Former party leader Guy Verhofstadt was compared to

Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. S ...

in his beliefs during his time as party chairman. In the 1990s, the party switched from a libertarian to a more

socially liberal Cultural liberalism is a social philosophy which expresses the social dimension of liberalism and advocates the freedom of individuals to choose whether to conform to cultural norms. In the words of Henry David Thoreau, it is often expressed a ...

position under

. Some of the party's ideological influences have been

Karl Popper Sir Karl Raimund Popper (28 July 1902 – 17 September 1994) was an Austrian-British philosopher, academic and social commentator. One of the 20th century's most influential philosophers of science, Popper is known for his rejection of the cl ...

John Stuart Mill John Stuart Mill (20 May 1806 – 7 May 1873) was an English philosopher, political economist, Member of Parliament (MP) and civil servant. One of the most influential thinkers in the history of classical liberalism, he contributed widely to ...

Thomas Paine Thomas Paine (born Thomas Pain; – In the contemporary record as noted by Conway, Paine's birth date is given as January 29, 1736–37. Common practice was to use a dash or a slash to separate the old-style year from the new-style year. In th ...

Amartya Sen Amartya Kumar Sen (; born 3 November 1933) is an Indian economist and philosopher, who since 1972 has taught and worked in the United Kingdom and the United States. Sen has made contributions to welfare economics, social choice theory, econom ...

and

Martha Nussbaum Martha Craven Nussbaum (; born May 6, 1947) is an American philosopher and the current Ernst Freund Distinguished Service Professor of Law and Ethics at the University of Chicago, where she is jointly appointed in the law school and the philosoph ...

. The party also contained members from both social democratic and Flemish nationalist liberal-conservative backgrounds who have influenced the VLD's course, such as former

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 ...

leader

and

falling into the latter camp. Others had ties to the conservative-libertarian organization

, and were open to working with the

Vlaams Blok ''Vlaams Blok'' ( en, Flemish Block, or VB) was the name of a Belgian far-right and secessionist political party with an anti-immigration platform.Erk, 2005, pp. 493-502. Its ideologies embraced Flemish nationalism, calling for the independence ...

and later

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

party, although this was strongly opposed by the party leadership as a whole. Presently, the Open VLD retains an economically liberal position by supporting lower taxes and private property ownership while also closing tax loopholes. It supports a Canadian model of migration and for a more inclusive society towards immigrants, but claims not to endorse open borders and wants quicker deportation of illegal immigrants. It also retains a socially liberal stance on matters such as same-sex marriage, LGBT rights and introducing a

third gender Third gender is a concept in which individuals are categorized, either by themselves or by society, as neither man nor woman. It is also a social category present in societies that recognize three or more genders. The term ''third'' is usually ...

option on official documents, but also believes the government shouldn't interfere with matters related to sexuality. For a period, the party was considered the main centre-right rival to the Christian Democratic

in the Flemish region and saw its highest period of support in the late 1990s and early 2000s. However, the emergence of the Flemish nationalist

party and the LDD drew some of the party's conservative leaning voters away and contributed to a decline in votes. Ideological disputes also caused some of the party's more conservative and traditionalist libertarian wing such as Boudewijn Bouckaert, Jean-Marie Dedecker and

to leave the party. Dedecker later founded the LDD and Coveliers

VLOTT VLOTT is a minor Belgium, Belgian conservative liberalism, right-wing liberal or Fortuynism, fortuynist political party. Its title, ''VLOTT'', is an acronym for "Flemish, Liberal, Independent, Tolerant, Transparent" (''Vlaams, Liberaal, Onafhankeli ...

while others joined the N-VA.

Representation in EU institutions

The party is fairly pro-European, and sits in the

group with two MEPs. Then-Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt (VLD) was rejected as a candidate for the presidency of the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body o ...

in June 2004. In the

European Committee of the Regions The European Committee of the Regions (CoR) is the European Union's (EU) assembly of local and regional representatives that provides sub-national authorities (i.e. regions, counties, provinces, municipalities and cities) with a direct voice w ...

, Open VLD sits in the Renew Europe CoR group, with one full and two alternate members for the 2020-2025 mandate. Jean-Luc Vanraes is Coordinator in the CIVEX Commission.

Members holding notable public offices

European politics

Federal politics

Regional politics

Provincial politics

Electoral results

Chamber of Representatives

Senate

Regional

Brussels Parliament

Flemish Parliament

Provincial councils

European Parliament

International

The party is a member of the

, which was co-chaired by

, member of Open VLD.

Presidents

* 1992–1995

* 1995–1997

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 ...

* 1997–1999

* 1999–2004 Karel De Gucht * 2004

Dirk Sterckx Dirk Jozef Maria Sterckx (), born on 25 September 1946 in Herent, is a Politics of Belgium, Belgian politician of the Vlaamse Liberalen en Democraten who served as a Member of the European Parliament from 1999 until 2011, representing Flanders. In ...

* 2004–2009

* 2009

* 2009–2012

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 ...

* 2012

Vincent Van Quickenborne Vincent ( la, Vincentius) is a male given name derived from the Roman name Vincentius, which is derived from the Latin word (''to conquer''). People with the given name Artists *Vincent Apap (1909–2003), Maltese sculptor *Vincent van Gogh ...

* 2012–2020

Gwendolyn Rutten Gwendolyn Angeline Albert Maria Rutten (born 26 June 1975) is a Belgian politician. She was the chairwoman of the Flemish liberal party until March 22, 2020. On 11 January 2017 she resigned from the Flemish Parliament in order to prepare her part ...

* 2020–

Notable members

Maggie De Block Maggie Celine Louise De Block (, born 28 April 1962) is a Belgian politician of the who has been chairing her party's group in the Chamber of Representatives since 2020. De Block served as Minister of Social Affairs and Health in the governm ...

, Minister of Social Affairs and Health * Fons Borginon, former VLD

floor leader In politics, floor leaders, also known as a caucus leader, are leaders of their respective political party in a body of a legislature. Philippines In the Philippines each body of the bicameral Congress has a majority floor leader and a minor ...

in the

Belgian Chamber of Representatives The Chamber of Representatives (Dutch: , french: link=no, Chambre des représentants, german: link=no, Abgeordnetenkammer) is one of the two chambers in the bicameral Federal Parliament of Belgium, the other being the Senate. It is considered ...

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 ...

, former Flemish Minister of the Economy and former VLD floor leader in the

* Karel De Gucht, former party leader and former Minister of Foreign Affairs * Patrick Dewael, former minister-president of Flanders and former Minister of Internal Affairs *

Margriet Hermans Margareta Maria Josepha (Margriet) Hermans (born 1954) is a Belgian singer, former radio and TV talk show host, politician and a member of the Open VLD. She was elected as a member of the Belgian Senate The Senate ( nl, Senaat, ; french: Séna ...

, former member of the Flemish Parliament and senator *

Marino Keulen Marino Ghislainus Keulen (born 24 October 1963) is a Belgian politician from Flanders and a member of the Open Flemish Liberals and Democrats party. He is a representative in the Flemish Parliament, and served in the Flemish Government of 2004 ...

, former Flemish Minister of Integration *

Goedele Liekens Goedele Maria Gertrude Liekens (born 21 January 1963 in Aarschot) is a Belgian politician, sexologist and television presenter, currently serving as a member of the Belgian Chamber of Representatives for the party Open VLD, to which she was elec ...

, sexologist and TV presenter *

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. ...

, former vice-minister-president of Flanders *

, former party leader, former chairwoman of the

and former party leader of the ELDR Party. *

Karel Poma Karel Emiel Hubert, Baron Poma (14 March 1920 – 27 December 2014) was a Belgian liberal and politician for the PVV. He was a son of Carolus Poma, who was a lieutenant of the Antwerp fire brigade, and subsequently council member (1946–195 ...

, former minister and member of parliament *

, former minister-president of Flanders and former party leader *

Bart Tommelein Bart Joris Tommelein (born 4 May 1962) is a Belgian politician of Open Vld who was minister in the Bourgeois Government and is the incumbent mayor of Ostend. Career Bart Tommelein was born in Ostend on 4 May 1962. He started in the People's Un ...

, Flemish Deputy Minister-President and Flemish Minister of Budget, Finance and Energy *

Jef Valkeniers Jozef Maria Zacharias (Jef) Valkeniers (Schepdaal, Belgium - 29 December 1932) is a physician-neuropsychiatrist and a Flemish politician. Biography Jef Valkeniers was born in 1932 as the seventh child in a large brewer family. He grew up in Schep ...

, doctor and politician *

Dirk Van Mechelen Dirk Louis Maria Van Mechelen (born 27 August 1957) was the Flemish minister of Finance and Budget and Town and Country Planning. He is a member of the Open Flemish Liberals and Democrats. Education He obtained a degree in history from the Katho ...

, former Flemish Minister of Finance and Budget and Town and Country Planning *

, former minister of economy, also responsible for the simplification of the administration * Guy Vanhengel, Brussels Minister of Finance and Budget *

, former party leader and former prime minister *

Marc Verwilghen Marc Ernest Elisabeth Robert Juliette Verwilghen, born 21 September 1952 in Dendermonde, is a Belgian politician. Verwilghen studied law at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel and the University of Ghent and is the holder of an honorary doctorate fr ...

, former minister of the Economy, Trade, Science and Energy

Notable former members

* Boudewijn Bouckaert, a former VLD board member who left the party subsequently to Dedecker's exclusion, believing the party turned "left-liberal". He and Dedecker are founders of a new political party, List Dedecker, later renamed Libertarian, Direct, Democratic. *

, left the VLD to found his own political party

. * Jean-Marie Dedecker, was excluded from the VLD after several conflicts with the top of the party. He asked for an economic policy more in favour of free markets and limited government and believed that the party was too closely aligned with the Socialists. He founded the List Dedecker party, later Libertarian, Direct, Democratic. *

Leo Govaerts Leo or Léo may refer to: Acronyms * Law enforcement officer * Law enforcement organisation * ''Louisville Eccentric Observer'', a free weekly newspaper in Louisville, Kentucky * Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity Arts an ...

, left the VLD to found his own political party Veilig Blauw (''Safe Blue''). *

Ward Beysen Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a priso ...