Belgian federal government
Encyclopedia
The Cabinet of Belgium 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 and Democrats (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. 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.
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
. 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. 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.
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.
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.
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
federal government, consisting of ministers and secretaries of state
Secretary of State
Secretary of State or State Secretary is a commonly used title for a senior or mid-level post in governments around the world. The role varies between countries, and in some cases there are multiple Secretaries of State in the Government....
("junior", or deputy-ministers who do not sit in the Council of Ministers) drawn from the political parties
Political party
A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...
which form the governing coalition
Coalition government
A coalition government is a cabinet of a parliamentary government in which several political parties cooperate. The usual reason given for this arrangement is that no party on its own can achieve a majority in the parliament...
. 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
Public services
Public services is a term usually used to mean services provided by government to its citizens, either directly or by financing private provision of services. The term is associated with a social consensus that certain services should be available to all, regardless of income...
. As in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, 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
Christian Democratic and Flemish
The Christian Democratic and Flemish is a political party of Belgium, formerly called Christian People's Party...
(CD&V), the Walloon Christian Democrats
Humanist Democratic Centre
The Humanist Democratic Centre is a Francophone Christian democratic political party in Belgium. The cdH currently participates in the Government of the Brussels-Capital Region, the Government of the French Community and the Walloon Government.- History :...
(CdH), Flemish Liberals and Democrats (VLD), the Walloon Liberals (MR), and the Walloon Socialists
Socialist Party (francophone Belgium)
The Socialist Party is a Francophone social-democratic political party in Belgium. As of the 2010 elections, it is the second largest party in the Belgian Chamber of Representatives and the largest Francophone party...
(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
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 was sworn in as Prime Minister...
.
The Leterme I
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 was sworn in as Prime Minister...
held office until December 30, 2008 (see the accusation of political interference in the Justice: Fortisgate) and was replaced by Van Rompuy I
Van Rompuy I Government
The Van Rompuy I 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...
. The Leterme II government succeeded the Van Rompuy government on 24 November 2009, after Herman Van Rompuy
Herman Van Rompuy
Herman Achille Van Rompuy is the first long-term and full-time President of the European Council...
became the first President of the European Council
President of the European Council
The President of the European Council is a principal representative of the European Union on the world stage, and the person presiding over and driving forward the work of the European Council...
. On 22 April 2010, Leterme again offered the resignation of his cabinet to the king. 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.
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. This process is based largely on constitutional conventionConstitutional convention (political custom)
A constitutional convention is an informal and uncodified procedural agreement that is followed by the institutions of a state. In some states, notably those Commonwealth of Nations states that follow the Westminster system and whose political systems derive from British constitutional law, most...
rather than written law. The King is first consulted by the President of the Chamber of Representatives and the President of the Senate
Belgian Senate
The Belgian Senate is one of the two chambers of the bicameral Federal Parliament of Belgium, the other being the Chamber of Representatives. It is considered to be the "upper house" of the Federal Parliament.-History and future:...
. The King also meets a number of prominent politicians in order to discuss the election results. Following these meetings, an Informateur
Formateur
A formateur is a politician who is appointed by the head of state to lead the formation of a coalition government, after either a general election or the collapse of a previous government. The role of the formateur is especially important in the politics of Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg,...
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
Belgian Federal Parliament
The Belgian Federal Parliament is a bicameral parliament. It consists of the Chamber of Representatives and the Senate . It sits in the Palace of the Nation .- Chamber of Representatives :...
. 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. 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
Formateur
A formateur is a politician who is appointed by the head of state to lead the formation of a coalition government, after either a general election or the collapse of a previous government. The role of the formateur is especially important in the politics of Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg,...
. On July 5, 2007, King Albert II
Albert II of Belgium
Albert II is the current reigning King of the Belgians, a constitutional monarch. He is a member of the royal house "of Belgium"; formerly this house was named Saxe-Coburg-Gotha...
appointed Jean-Luc Dehaene
Jean-Luc Dehaene
-Early life and political career:He was born in Montpellier, France, when his parents were fleeing German troops. He got into politics through the Algemeen Christelijk Werknemersverbond , a trade union which was closely linked to the Christelijke Volkspartij .In 1981, he became Minister of Social...
as royal mediator to reach an agreement on a new State Reform.
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
Coalition government
A coalition government is a cabinet of a parliamentary government in which several political parties cooperate. The usual reason given for this arrangement is that no party on its own can achieve a majority in the parliament...
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.
In accordance with article 96 of the Belgian Constitution
Constitution of Belgium
The Constitution of Belgium dates back to 1831. Since then Belgium has been a parliamentary monarchy that applies the principles of ministerial responsibility for the government policy and the Trias Politica. The Constitution established Belgium as a centralised unitary state...
, 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.
See also
- Belgian federal parliamentBelgian Federal ParliamentThe Belgian Federal Parliament is a bicameral parliament. It consists of the Chamber of Representatives and the Senate . It sits in the Palace of the Nation .- Chamber of Representatives :...
- List of governments in Belgium
- 2007–2011 Belgian political crisis
- 2010 Belgian government formation2010 Belgian government formationFollowing the Belgian general election held on 13 June 2010, a process of cabinet formation started in Belgium. The election produced a very fragmented political landscape, with 11 parties elected to the Chamber of Representatives, none of which have more than 20 percent of the seats...
- 2010 Belgian government formation