Federal Government of Belgium: Difference between revisions
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The former Cabinet, the [[Verhofstadt III]] Cabinet, consisted of members of the [[Christian Democratic and Flemish|Flemish Christian Democrats]] (CD&V), the [[Humanist Democratic Centre|Walloon Christian Democrats]] (CdH), [[Vlaamse Liberalen en Democraten|Flemish Liberals]] (VLD), the [[Mouvement Réformateur|Walloon Liberals]] (MR), and the [[Socialist Party (francophone Belgium)|Walloon Socialists]] (PS) and took the oath of office in the hands of the Belgian King on December 21, 2007. It was an interim government due to the difficult [[2007 Belgian government formation]] and held office until March 20, 2008 when it was replaced by [[Leterme I Government|Leterme I]]. |
The former Cabinet, the [[Verhofstadt III]] Cabinet, consisted of members of the [[Christian Democratic and Flemish|Flemish Christian Democrats]] (CD&V), the [[Humanist Democratic Centre|Walloon Christian Democrats]] (CdH), [[Vlaamse Liberalen en Democraten|Flemish Liberals]] (VLD), the [[Mouvement Réformateur|Walloon Liberals]] (MR), and the [[Socialist Party (francophone Belgium)|Walloon Socialists]] (PS) and took the oath of office in the hands of the Belgian King on December 21, 2007. It was an interim government due to the difficult [[2007 Belgian government formation]] and held office until March 20, 2008 when it was replaced by [[Leterme I Government|Leterme I]]. |
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The [[Leterme I Government|Leterme I]] held office until December 30, 2008 (see the accusation of political interference in the Justice: [[Fortis_(finance)#The_Appeal_and_its_consequences|Fortisgate]]) and was replaced by [[Van Rompuy I Government|Van Rompuy I]]. The [[Leterme II]] government succeeded the Van Rompuy government on 24 November 2009, after [[Herman Van Rompuy]] became the first [[President of the European Council]]. On 22 April 2010, Leterme again offered the resignation of his cabinet to the king.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.france24.com/en/20100422-belgium-leterme-resigns-vld-liberals-democrats-quit-ruling-coalition|title=Prime Minister Leterme resigns after liberals quit government |date=22 April 2010|publisher=France24|accessdate=22 April 2010}}</ref> As of |
The [[Leterme I Government|Leterme I]] held office until December 30, 2008 (see the accusation of political interference in the Justice: [[Fortis_(finance)#The_Appeal_and_its_consequences|Fortisgate]]) and was replaced by [[Van Rompuy I Government|Van Rompuy I]]. The [[Leterme II]] government succeeded the Van Rompuy government on 24 November 2009, after [[Herman Van Rompuy]] became the first [[President of the European Council]]. On 22 April 2010, Leterme again offered the resignation of his cabinet to the king.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.france24.com/en/20100422-belgium-leterme-resigns-vld-liberals-democrats-quit-ruling-coalition|title=Prime Minister Leterme resigns after liberals quit government |date=22 April 2010|publisher=France24|accessdate=22 April 2010}}</ref> As of August 2011, due to the inability of the political parties to agree on the formation of a new government, the Leterme Cabinet remains in office in a caretaker role. |
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==Primary Cabinet members== |
==Primary Cabinet members== |
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Revision as of 18:41, 9 August 2011
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 Belgium portal |
The Cabinet of Belgium (officially called the Belgian Federal Cabinet) is the executive branch of the Belgian federal government, consisting of ministers and secretaries of state ("junior", or deputy-ministers who do not sit in the Council of Ministers) drawn from the political parties which form the governing coalition. Formally, the ministers are appointed by the King. The Cabinet is chaired by the Prime Minister of Belgium, and the Ministers head executive departments of the government. They have no seat in Parliament. Some federal ministers do not have seats in the Parliament.
The number of ministers is limited to 15, equally divided between French-speaking and Dutch-speaking ministers, according to Art. 99 of the Constitution. Although the Prime Minister is officially exempt from this quota, a francophone hasn't held this post since 1979. Cabinet meetings are conducted through simultaneous interpreters.
The Prime Minister and his ministers administer the government and the various public services. As in the United Kingdom, ministers must defend their policies and performance in person before the Chamber.
At the federal level, executive power is wielded by the Cabinet. The Prime Minister is President of the Cabinet. Each minister heads a governmental department. The Cabinet reflects the weight of political parties that constitute the current governing coalition for the Chamber. No single party or party family across linguistic lines holds an absolute majority of seats in Parliament.
The former Cabinet, the Verhofstadt III Cabinet, consisted of members of the Flemish Christian Democrats (CD&V), the Walloon Christian Democrats (CdH), Flemish Liberals (VLD), the Walloon Liberals (MR), and the Walloon Socialists (PS) and took the oath of office in the hands of the Belgian King on December 21, 2007. It was an interim government due to the difficult 2007 Belgian government formation and held office until March 20, 2008 when it was replaced by Leterme I.
The Leterme I held office until December 30, 2008 (see the accusation of political interference in the Justice: Fortisgate) and was replaced by Van Rompuy I. The Leterme II government succeeded the Van Rompuy government on 24 November 2009, after Herman Van Rompuy became the first President of the European Council. On 22 April 2010, Leterme again offered the resignation of his cabinet to the king.[1] As of August 2011, due to the inability of the political parties to agree on the formation of a new government, the Leterme Cabinet remains in office in a caretaker role.
Primary Cabinet members
| Portfolio | Minister | Took office | Left office | Party | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prime Minister | |||||||||
| Prime Minister (from 22 April 2022 until 14 July 2022 also acting Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Affairs (replacing Sophie Wilmès)) | 1 October 2020 | Incumbent | Open Vld | ||||||
| Deputy Prime Ministers | |||||||||
| Minister of Economy and Employment | 1 October 2020 | Incumbent | PS | ||||||
| Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Affairs, Foreign Trade and Federal Cultural Institutions (absent from 22 April 2022 until 14 July 2022, replaced by colleagues De Croo, Clarinval and Michel) | 1 October 2020 | 14 July 2022 | MR | ||||||
| Minister of the Small Businesses, Self-Employed, SMEs and Agriculture, Institutional Reforms and Democratic Renewal (from 22 April 2022 until 14 July 2022 also acting Minister of Foreign Trade and Deputy Prime Minister for the MR (replacing Sophie Wilmès)) | 22 April 2022 | Incumbent | MR | ||||||
| Minister of Mobility | 1 October 2020 | Incumbent | Ecolo | ||||||
| Minister of Finance, in charge of the Coordination of the Fight against Fraud | 1 October 2020 | Incumbent | CD&V | ||||||
| Minister of Social Affairs and Public Health (from 19 October 2022 until 16 December 2022 also acting Minister of Development Cooperation and Urban Policy (replacing Meryame Kitir)) | 1 October 2020 | Incumbent | Vooruit | ||||||
| Minister of Civil Service, Public Enterprises, Telecommunication and Postal Services | 1 October 2020 | Incumbent | Groen | ||||||
| Minister of Justice and the North Sea | 1 October 2020 | 20 October 2023 | Open Vld | ||||||
| Minister of Justice and the North Sea | 22 October 2023 | Incumbent | Open Vld | ||||||
| Ministers | |||||||||
| Minister of the Small Businesses, Self-Employed, SMEs and Agriculture, Institutional Reforms and Democratic Renewal | 1 October 2020 | 21 April 2022 | MR | ||||||
| Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Affairs, Foreign Trade and Federal Cultural Institutions | 15 July 2022 | Incumbent | MR | ||||||
| Minister of Pensions and Social Integration, in charge of Persons with Disabilities, Combating Poverty and Beliris | 1 October 2020 | Incumbent | PS | ||||||
| Minister of Defence | 1 October 2020 | Incumbent | PS | ||||||
| Minister of Climate, Environment, Sustainable Development and Green Deal | 1 October 2020 | Incumbent | Ecolo | ||||||
| Minister of the Interior, Institutional Reforms and Democratic Renewal | 1 October 2020 | Incumbent | CD&V | ||||||
| Minister of Development Cooperation and Urban Policy (absent from 19 October 2022 until 16 December 2022, replaced by colleague Vandenbroucke) | 1 October 2020 | 16 December 2022 | Vooruit | ||||||
| Minister of Development Cooperation and Urban Policy | 17 December 2022 | Incumbent | Vooruit | ||||||
| Minister of Energy | 1 October 2020 | Incumbent | Groen | ||||||
| Secretaries of State | |||||||||
| Secretary of State for Recovery and Strategic Investments, in charge of Science Policy Deputy to the Minister of the Economy and Employment | 1 October 2020 | Incumbent | PS | ||||||
| Secretary of State for Digitization, in charge of Administrative Simplification, Privacy and Buildings Administration (from 22 April 2022 until 14 July 2022 also acting Secretary of State for Federal Cultural Institutions (replacing Sophie Wilmès)) Deputy to the Prime Minister | 1 October 2020 | Incumbent | MR | ||||||
| Secretary of State for Gender Equality, Equal Opportunities and Diversity Deputy to the Minister of Mobility | 1 October 2020 | 26 April 2023 | Ecolo | ||||||
| Secretary of State for Gender Equality, Equal Opportunities and Diversity Deputy to the Minister of Mobility | 2 May 2023 | Incumbent | Ecolo | ||||||
| Secretary of State for Asylum and Migration, in charge of the National Lottery Deputy to the Minister of the Interior, Institutional Reforms and Democratic Renewal | 1 October 2020 | 27 June 2022 | CD&V | ||||||
| Secretary of State for Asylum and Migration, in charge of the National Lottery Deputy to the Minister of the Interior, Institutional Reforms and Democratic Renewal | 28 June 2022 | Incumbent | CD&V | ||||||
| Secretary of State for Budget and Consumer Protection Deputy to the Minister of Justice and the North Sea | 1 October 2020 | 18 November 2022 | Open Vld | ||||||
| Secretary of State for Budget and Consumer Protection Deputy to the Minister of Justice and the North Sea | 18 November 2022 | Incumbent | Open Vld | ||||||
Changes in composition
- On 21 April 2022, Sophie Wilmès took a temporary leave of absence for personal reasons. Officially she remains in office as both Minister and Deputy Prime Minister, however, in reality all her duties have been taken over by other members of the cabinet from 22 April 2022. Prime minister Alexander De Croo is the acting Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of European Affairs, David Clarinval took over her duties as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Trade, and finally Mathieu Michel took over the portfolio of Federal Cultural Institutions.[2] On 14 July 2022 Wilmès resigned definitively as a member of the De Croo government, with all her portfolios allocated to newcomer Hadja Lahbib, although David Clarinval kept the position of Deputy Prime Minister for the MR.[3]
- On 27 June 2022, Secretary of State for Asylum and Migration Sammy Mahdi was replaced by Nicole de Moor, as Mahdi had been elected the new party president of CD&V.[4]
- After a first revision of the budget after errors and a new proposal containing different errors, Secretary of State for Budget Eva De Bleeker offered her resignation on 18 November 2022 and was immediately replaced by Alexia Bertrand. Bertrand is a member of the French speaking liberals of MR, but was invited to become a party member as well for the Flemish speaking liberals of Open Vld, allowing her to take up the position.[5]
- Vooruit announced on 17 December 2022 that Minister of Development Cooperation and Urban Policy Meryame Kitir, who had been on sick leave already for nearly two months at that point, would not be returning and is now officially replaced by Caroline Gennez.[6]
- On 23 April 2023, Secretary of State for Gender Equality, Equal Opportunities and Diversity Sarah Schlitz resigned following a week of criticism mainly centered around the use of a personal logo in governmental projects (thus promoting herself with tax money which is forbidden), lying about having requested the logo to be used and on top of that one of her staff members compared the New Flemish Alliance with Nazism.[7] Schlitz' party Ecolo appointed Marie-Colline Leroy as her successor and she was sworn in on 2 May 2023.[8]
- Minister of Justice Vincent Van Quickenborne resigned on 20 October 2023, a few days after the 2023 Brussels shooting, as it turned out an error had been made as Tunisia had asked already in 2022 to transfer the perpetrator but the dossier had not been processed.[9]. Two days later, Open Vld appointed Paul Van Tigchelt to replace him [10] causing former party president Gwendolyn Rutten to announce her immediate retirement from national politics.[11]
Formation
After the elections, the Prime Minister of the former government (which still serves as a temporary government until the new government is formed) offers his resignation to the King, and the formation process for a new government starts.[12] This process is based largely on constitutional convention rather than written law. The King is first consulted by the President of the Chamber of Representatives and the President of the Senate. The King also meets a number of prominent politicians in order to discuss the election results. Following these meetings, an Informateur is appointed.
The Informateur has the task of exploring the various possibilities for the new Federal Government and examining which parties can form a majority in the Federal Parliament.[12] He also meets with prominent people in the socio-economic field to learn their views on the policy that the new Federal Government should conduct. The Informateur then reports to the King and advises him about the appointment of the Formateur.[12] However, the King can also appoint a second Informateur or appoint a royal mediator. The task of a royal mediator is to reach an agreement on contentious issues, resolve remaining obstacles to the formation of a Federal Government and prepare the ground for a Formateur. On July 5, 2007, King Albert II appointed Jean-Luc Dehaene as royal mediator to reach an agreement on a new State Reform.[13]
The Formateur is appointed by the King on the basis of the informateur's report. The task of the Formateur is to form a new government coalition and lead the negotiations about the government agreement and the composition of the government. If these negotiations succeeds, the Formateur presents a new Federal Government to the King. Usually, the Formateur also becomes the Prime Minister.[12]
In accordance with article 96 of the Belgian Constitution, the King appoints and dismisses his ministers. However, in accordance with article 88 of the Belgian Constitution, the King cannot act alone and all of his acts must be countersigned by a minister. In practice, the outgoing Prime Minister countersigns the Royal Order appointing the new Prime Minister. Subsequently, the new Prime Minister countersigns the Royal Order accepting the resignation of the outgoing Prime Minister and the Royal Orders appointing the other members of the new Federal Government.
The appointed ministers take the oath of office before the King. After they have taken the oath, the new Council of Ministers meets to draw up the declaration of government, in which the Federal Government sets out the main lines of the government agreement and outlines the government agenda. The Prime Minister reads the declaration of government to the Chamber of Representatives, which then holds a debate on the declaration of government. Following this debate, a vote of Confidence takes place. If the Prime Minister obtains the confidence of the majority, he can begin implementing the government agreement.
Notes
- ^ "Prime Minister Leterme resigns after liberals quit government". France24. 22 April 2010. Retrieved 22 April 2010.
- ^ vrtnws.be (21 April 2022). "Sophie Wilmès (MR) stopt voorlopig als minister door ziekte man, premier De Croo neemt Buitenlandse Zaken over" [Sophie Wilmès (MR) temporarily quits as Minister due to husband's illness, Prime Minister De Croo takes over Foreign Affairs].
- ^ "Sophie Wilmès (MR) stopt definitief als minister van Buitenlandse Zaken door ziekte echtgenoot". VRT (in Dutch). 2022-07-14.
- ^ vrtnws.be (27 June 2022). "CD&V verrast met nieuwe staatssecretaris voor Asiel en Migratie: wie is Nicole de Moor?" [CD&V surprises with choice for new Secretary of State for Asylum and Migration: who is Nicole de Moor?].
- ^ vrtnws.be (18 November 2022). "Staatssecretaris Eva De Bleeker (Open VLD) neemt ontslag na nieuwe fouten in begroting, opvolger Alexia Bertrand stapt over van MR naar Open VLD" [Secretary of State Eva De Bleeker (Open VLD) resigns after new errors in budget, successor Alexia Bertrand comes over from MR to Open VLD].
- ^ vrtnws.be (17 December 2022). "Caroline Gennez (Vooruit) vervangt Meryame Kitir als minister van Ontwikkelingssamenwerking" [Caroline Gennez (Vooruit) replaces Meryame Kitir as minister of Development Cooperation].
- ^ vrtnws.be (26 April 2023). ""The situation is untenable": State Secretary Sarah Schlitz (Ecolo) resigns after fuss over use of personal logo" ["De situatie is onhoudbaar": Staatssecretaris Sarah Schlitz (Ecolo) neemt ontslag na heisa over gebruik persoonlijk logo] (in Dutch).
- ^ vrtnws.be (2 May 2023). "Marie-Colline Leroy (Ecolo) legt eed af als staatssecretaris voor Gelijke Kansen" [Marie-Colline Leroy (Ecolo) sworn in as State Secretary of Equal Opportunities] (in Dutch).
- ^ vrtnws.be (20 October 2023). "Minister van Justitie Vincent Van Quickenborne neemt ontslag in nasleep van aanslag in Brussel" [Minister of Justice Vincent Van Quickenborne resigns in aftermath of attack in Brussels] (in Dutch).
- ^ vrtnws.be (22 October 2023). "Voormalig OCAD-topman Paul Van Tigchelt wordt de nieuwe minister van Justitie" [Former Threat Analysis Coordinating Body-head Paul Van Tigchelt becomes new Minister of Justice] (in Dutch).
- ^ vrtnws.be (22 October 2023). "Oud-partijvoorzitter Gwendolyn Rutten (Open VLD) stopt met nationale politiek: "Respectloze behandeling door partijtop"" [Former party president Gwendolyn Rutten (Open VLD) stops with national politics: "Respectless treatment by head of party"] (in Dutch).
- ^ a b c d Template:Nl icon De vorming van een regering, belgium.be
- ^ "Jean-Luc Dehaene stapt in de ring als bemiddelaar" (in Dutch). De Standaard. 2007-07-05. Retrieved 2010-06-18.
See also