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{{Short description|National government of Belgium}}
{{ Infobox executive government
 | background_color = #24135f
 | government_name = Federal Government of Belgium
 | border = federal
 | nativename = {{langx|nl|Federale regering}}<br>{{langx|fr|Gouvernement fédéral}}<br>{{langx|de|Föderalregierung}}
 | image = State Coat of Arms of Belgium.svg
 | image_size = 
 | image2 = Belgium.be_logo.svg
 | image_size2 = 150
 | caption = [[Coat of arms of Belgium]]<br>Logo used by the government
 | date_established = {{start date and age|1918}}
 | state = [[Kingdom of Belgium]]
 | address = [[Rue de la Loi]]/Wetstraat 16, [[Brussels]]
 | leader_title = [[Prime Minister of Belgium|Prime Minister]]
 | appointed = [[King of the Belgians]]
 | budget = 
 | main_organ = [[Cabinet of Belgium]]
 | ministries = [[Council_of_Ministers_(Belgium)#List_Council_of_Belgium|15]]
 | responsible = [[Belgian Federal Parliament]]
 | url = {{URL|https://www.belgium.be/}}
 }}
{{Politics of Belgium}}

The '''Federal Government of Belgium''' ({{langx|nl|Federale regering}}, {{langx|fr|Gouvernement fédéral}}, {{langx|de|Föderalregierung}}) exercises [[Executive (government)|executive power]] in the [[Kingdom of Belgium]]. It consists of [[Political minister|minister]]s and [[secretary of state]] ("junior", or deputy-ministers who do not sit in the Council of Ministers) drawn from the [[political party|political parties]] which form the governing [[coalition government|coalition]].<ref>[https://www.belgium.be/en/about_belgium/government/federal_authorities/federal_government The federal government]</ref> The federal government is led by the [[prime minister of Belgium]], and ministers lead ministries of the government. Ministers together form the [[Council of Ministers (Belgium)|Council of Ministers]], which is the supreme executive organ of the government (equivalent to a [[Cabinet (government)|cabinet]]).

Formally, executive power is vested in the [[Monarchy of Belgium|king]], who formally appoints the ministers. However, under the [[Constitution of Belgium]], the king is not politically responsible for exercising his powers, but must exercise it through the ministers. The king's acts are not valid unless countersigned by a minister, and the countersigning minister assumes political responsibility for the act. Thus, in practice, the ministers do the actual day-to-day work of governing.<ref>[https://www.belgium.be/en/about_belgium/government/federal_authorities/king/role_monarchy The role of the monarchy]</ref>

==Function and composition==
{{Unreferenced section|date=May 2024}}
At the federal level, executive power is wielded by the federal government, whilst the prime minister is the [[head of government|head of the government]]. Each minister heads a ministry, and secretaries of state, who are deputy to a minister, help run these ministries. The government 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. Under current practice, no party family can win enough seats to govern alone, let alone win a majority.

The number of ministers is limited to 15, equally divided between French-speaking and Dutch-speaking ministers, according to Article 99 of the Constitution. Although the prime minister is officially exempt from this quota, no francophones held the post from 1979 to 2011. Some of the ministers are also deputy prime ministers; but in addition to taking the position of acting prime minister, they are also the link between the government and their political parties. A deputy prime minister is the voice of their political party within the federal government, and is also the voice of the federal government within their political party. Government meetings are conducted through simultaneous interpreters.

The prime minister and his ministers administer the government and the various '''Federal Public Services''' ({{langx|fr|Service public fédéral}}, {{langx|nl|Federale Overheidsdienst}}; roughly equivalent to [[Ministry (government department)|ministries]] in other countries' administrative organization). As in the [[United Kingdom]], ministers must defend their policies and performance in person before the Chamber.

An important de facto body is the "inner cabinet" (''kernkabinet''; ''conseil des ministres restreint'' or ''kern''), consisting of the prime minister and the deputy prime ministers. They meet to make the most important political decisions.

==Formation==
After the elections, the prime minister of the former government offers his resignation to the king, and the formation process for a new government starts. The incumbent government remains in office in a caretaker role until the new government is sworn in.<ref name="belgium.be">{{in lang|nl}} [http://www.belgium.be/nl/over_belgie/overheid/federale_overheid/federale_regering/regeringsvorming/ De vorming van een regering], belgium.be</ref> This process is based largely on [[Constitutional convention (political custom)|constitutional convention]] rather than written law. The king is first consulted by the President of the [[Belgian Chamber of Representatives|Chamber of Representatives]] and the President of the [[Belgian Senate|Senate]]. The King also meets a number of prominent politicians in order to discuss the election results. Following these meetings, an [[Formateur|Informateur]] is appointed.

The Informateur has the task of exploring the various possibilities for the new Federal Government and assessing which parties can form a majority in the [[Belgian Federal Parliament|Federal Parliament]].<ref name="belgium.be" /> 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.<ref name="belgium.be" /> 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 5 July 2007 King [[Albert II of Belgium|Albert II]] appointed [[Jean-Luc Dehaene]] as royal mediator to reach an agreement on a new State Reform.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.standaard.be/Artikel/Detail.aspx?artikelId=031EFBT9|title= Jean-Luc Dehaene stapt in de ring als bemiddelaar|publisher=[[De Standaard]]|date=2007-07-05|access-date=2010-06-18|language=nl}}</ref>

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 [[Coalition government|government coalition]] and lead the negotiations about the government agreement and the composition of the government. If these negotiations succeed, the Formateur presents a new Federal Government to the king. Usually, the Formateur also becomes the [[Prime Minister of Belgium|Prime Minister]].<ref name="belgium.be" />

In accordance with article 96 of the [[Constitution of Belgium|Belgian Constitution]], the king appoints and dismisses his ministers. However, since all royal acts require the countersignature of a minister, the outgoing prime minister countersigns the [[Royal order (Belgium)|royal order]] appointing the new prime minister, who then countersigns the royal order accepting the resignation of his predecessor. The prime minister then countersigns 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 [[Motion of Confidence|vote of Confidence]] takes place. If the prime minister obtains the confidence of the majority, he can begin implementing the government agreement.

==Recent political developments==
Catholics and later Christian Democrats have led most of the governments in Belgian history. However, from 1999 until 2007, liberal [[Guy Verhofstadt]] led two "purple" governments of liberals and socialists, the first of which also included greens. Afterwards, after [[2007–08 Belgian government formation|difficult negotiations]] and an interim third Verhofstadt government, a government was eventually formed in 2008 led by Christian democrat [[Yves Leterme]]. New [[Belgian federal election, 2010|elections were called in 2010]] after liberal [[Open Vld]] quit the government. After a [[2010–11 Belgian government formation|record-breaking government formation]], the [[Di Rupo Government]] was formed; [[Elio Di Rupo]] was the first francophone to hold the post of prime minister since [[Paul Vanden Boeynants]] left office in 1979. The formation of the Di Rupo Government ended the [[2007–11 Belgian political crisis|period of political instability between 2007 and 2011]]. During the [[Belgian federal election, 2014|2014 elections]], there was political consensus to not repeat this, and the [[Michel I Government|Michel Government]] was relatively quickly formed, notably excluding socialists and including the Flemish nationalist [[N-VA]].

In May [[2019 Belgian federal election|2019 federal elections]] in the Flemish-speaking northern region of Flanders far-right [[Vlaams Belang]] party made major gains. In the French-speaking southern area of Wallonia the Socialists were strong. The moderate Flemish nationalist party the N-VA remained the largest party in parliament.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.dw.com/en/no-coalition-in-sight-after-fractured-belgium-election/a-48894848|title=No coalition in sight after fractured Belgium election &#124; DW &#124; 27.05.2019|website=[[Deutsche Welle]] }}</ref> Belgium’s first female prime minister [[Sophie Wilmès]] led the caretaker government since October 2019. The parties finally agreed on federal government 16 months after the elections and The Flemish Liberal party politician [[Alexander De Croo]] became new prime minister in October 2020.<ref>{{Cite web|url = https://www.neweurope.eu/article/belgium-agrees-on-federal-government-de-croo-to-become-pm/|title = Belgium agrees on federal government, de Croo to become PM|date = October 2020|access-date = 2021-03-04|archive-date = 2021-01-11|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210111053156/https://www.neweurope.eu/article/belgium-agrees-on-federal-government-de-croo-to-become-pm/|url-status = dead}}</ref>

==Incumbent government==
The current [[De Croo Government]], a seven-party cabinet since October 2020, consists of 14 Ministers in a coalition of the Flemish [[Open Vlaamse Liberalen en Democraten|Open Vld]], [[Socialistische Partij Anders|sp.a]], [[Christen-Democratisch en Vlaams|CD&V]] and [[Groen (political party)|Groen]], and the Walloon [[Mouvement Réformateur]], [[Parti Socialiste (Belgium)|Parti Socialiste]] and [[Ecolo]].
{{Belgian federal government}}

==See also==
* [[Belgian federal parliament]]
* [[Belgian order of precedence]]
* [[Consultative Committee (Belgium)]]
* [[List of governments in Belgium]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== Further reading ==
* {{Cite journal |last1= Diermeier | first1= Daniel |last2= Eraslan | first2= Hülya |last3= Merlo | first3= Antonio | title = Bicameralism and government formation | journal = [[Quarterly Journal of Political Science]] | volume = 2 | issue = 3 | pages = 227–252 | publisher = Now Publishing Inc. | doi = 10.1561/100.00005004 | date = August 2007 | hdl= 10419/117965 | hdl-access = free }}

== External links ==
* {{Commons category inline|Federal Government of Belgium}}
* {{official website}}
{{Governments of Belgium}}
{{Belgium topics}}
{{Europe topic|Cabinet of |title=National cabinets of Europe}}
{{FPS Belgium}}
{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Belgian Federal Government}}
[[Category:Government of Belgium| ]]
[[Category:Belgian governments|*]]
[[Category:1831 establishments in Belgium]]
[[Category:European governments]]
[[Category:Federal departments and agencies of Belgium|Chancellery]]