The Parliament of Wallonia (french: Parlement de Wallonie) (Walloon Parliament (french: Parlement wallon) in the decrees) is the legislative body of

Wallonia Wallonia (; french: Wallonie ), or ; nl, Wallonië ; wa, Waloneye or officially the Walloon Region (french: link=no, Région wallonne),; nl, link=no, Waals gewest; wa, link=no, Redjon walone is one of the three regions of Belgium—alo ...

, one of the three self-governing regions 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 ...

(the other two being

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, ...

and the

Brussels-Capital Region 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 parliament building, the former Hospice Saint-Gilles, is situated in

Namur Namur (; ; nl, Namen ; wa, Nameur) is a city and municipality in Wallonia, Belgium. It is both the capital of the province of Namur and of Wallonia, hosting the Parliament of Wallonia, the Government of Wallonia and its administration. Namu ...

, the capital of

, at the symbolic confluence of the

Meuse The Meuse ( , , , ; wa, Moûze ) or Maas ( , ; li, Maos or ) is a major European river, rising in France and flowing through Belgium and the Netherlands before draining into the North Sea from the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta. It has a t ...

and the Sambre, the two main rivers of the most inhabited parts of Wallonia, the ''

Sillon industriel The ''Sillon industriel'' (, "industrial furrow") is the former industrial backbone of Belgium. It runs across the region of Wallonia, passing from Dour, the region of Borinage, in the west, to Verviers in the east, passing along the way through ...

''. On the other side of the Meuse, facing the Parliament, is the ''

Élysette The Élysette () is the executive seat of the Government of Wallonia. It houses the office of the Minister-President of Wallonia, and is located in Namur, Namur province, Belgium. History Built in 1877 by master-tanner Xavier Thibault, it ...

'', the seat of the

Government of Wallonia The Walloon Government (french: Gouvernement wallon) or Government of Wallonia (french: Gouvernement de Wallonie) is the executive branch of Wallonia, and it is part of one of the six main governments of Belgium. It sits in Namur, where the Parli ...

History and names

A 1974 law on the temporary creation of regions installed a Walloon Regional Council (alongside a Flemish Regional Council), which were both abolished in 1977. At the creation of the first (permanent) regional assemblies in 1980 ( second state reform), the body was also called "Walloon Regional Council" (''Conseil régional wallon''). Its members were the national representatives and senators elected in the Walloon Region, who thus by law held two offices simultaneously. The fourth state reform (1993), transformed Belgium into a federal state and changed the "Walloon Regional Council" (''Conseil régional wallon'') into the "Council of the Walloon Region" (''Conseil de la Région wallonne''), which was directly elected for the first time on 21 May 1995. Shortly before these elections, in April 1995, the Council adopted a resolution to use the terms "Walloon Parliament" (''Parlement wallon'') and "Walloon

deputies A legislator (also known as a deputy or lawmaker) is a person who writes and passes laws, especially someone who is a member of a legislature. Legislators are often elected by the people of the state. Legislatures may be supra-national (for ex ...

" (''députés wallons''). A 2005 constitutional amendment revised the official terminology for all community and regional councils into community and regional parliaments, changing the "Council of the Walloon Region" into the "Walloon Parliament" (''Parlement wallon''). In 2015, the Parliament opted to use the term "Parliament of Wallonia" (''Parlement de Wallonie'') instead of "Walloon Parliament". Namur Zitadelle & Parlament Walloniens 2

Namur Zitadelle & Parlament Walloniens 2

Composition

All members of the Parliament of Wallonia are also members of the

Parliament of the French Community The Parliament of the French Community (french: Parlement de la Communauté française or PCF) is the legislative assembly of the French Community of Belgium based in the Quartier Royal. It consists of all 75 members of the Walloon Parliament exce ...

, except for German-speaking members (currently and ) who represent the German-speaking population and are advisory members of the

Parliament of the German-speaking Community The Parliament of the German-speaking Community (german: Parlament der Deutschsprachigen Gemeinschaft or PDG) is the legislative assembly of the German-speaking Community of Belgium located in Eupen. The most important tasks of the Parliament of ...

. The parliament exercises several functions: * It discusses and passes

decrees A decree is a legal proclamation, usually issued by a head of state (such as the president of a republic or a monarch), according to certain procedures (usually established in a constitution). It has the force of law. The particular term used for ...

, and they can take initiatives to draw them up. After this, decrees are sanctioned and promulgated by the Walloon Government. * It controls the Walloon Government. Control is exercised via the vote. * It ratifies the international treaties linked to its powers.

Compositions

2019–2024 (current)

2014–2019

This is the composition of the Walloon Parliament following the 2014 regional election.

2009–2014

This is the composition of the Walloon Parliament following the 2009 regional election. The PS, Ecolo and CDH formed together a

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...

2004–2009

This was the composition of the Walloon Parliament following the 2004 regional election. The PS and CDH formed together a

1999–2004

This was the composition of the Walloon Parliament following the 1999 regional election. The PS, Ecolo and PRL formed together a

1995–1999 1999–2004 2004–2009 2009–2014 2014–2019 2019–present

Constituencies

The Walloon Parliament is the only Belgian parliament which still uses arrondissement-based constituencies. The federal Chamber of Representatives and the

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 ...

both merged theirs into larger province-based constituencies. A January 2018 law merged both Luxembourg constituencies and reformed the Hainaut constituencies (* = boundaries changed), following a successful challenge by

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 ...

to the

Constitutional Court A constitutional court is a high court that deals primarily with constitutional law. Its main authority is to rule on whether laws that are challenged are in fact unconstitutional, i.e. whether they conflict with constitutionally established ...

that constituencies with too few seats are unrepresentative.

External links

Official Webpage
{{Governments of Belgium 1980 establishments in Belgium Politics of Wallonia Namur (city) Walloon