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Encyclopedia > Belgian Federal Parliament
Politics - Politics portal
Belgium

This article is part of the series:
Politics and government of
Belgium
Politics, sometimes defined as the art and science of government[1], is a process by which collective decisions are made within groups. ... Image File history File links Belgium_coa. ... The Kingdom of Belgium is a sovereign, independent state. ...

See also: History of Belgium

edit Belgian royal family Successive Belgian kings are 1831-1865: Léopold I (34) 1865-1909: Léopold II (44) 1909-1934: Albert I (25) 1934-1951: Léopold III (16) 1944-1950: Charles, reigned as Prince Regent 1951-1993: Baudouin I (42) Since 1993: Albert II (12) None of these... Albert II, King of the Belgians (Albert Félix Humbert Théodore Chrétien Eugène Marie de Belgique), (born June 6, 1934), is a European constitutional monarch and the current King of the Belgians. ... The executive branch of the Belgian federal government consists of ministers and secretaries of state (junior ministers or smaller departments) drawn from the political parties which form the government coalition. ... This is a list of Prime Ministers of Belgium, known regionally as: Premier Ministre in French, Eerste Minister in Dutch, and Premierminister in German. ... Guy Verhofstadt Guy Verhofstadt  Pronunciation (born April 11, 1953) is the current Prime Minister of Belgium. ... The Belgian senate (Dutch: de Senaat, French: le Sénat) is one of the two chambers of the Belgian Federal Parliament. ... The Belgian Chamber of Representatives (Dutch: de Kamer van Volksvertegenwoordigers, French: la Chambre des Représentants) is one of the two chambers of the Belgian Federal Parliament. ... Belgium has a multi-party political system, with numerous parties in which no one party often has a chance of gaining power alone, and parties must work with each other to form coalition governments. ... Elections in Belgium gives information on election and election results in Belgium. ... The May 18, 2003 Belgian general elections were the first Belgian elections to be held under a new electoral code. ... On June 13, 2004, regional elections were held in Belgium, to choose representatives in the regional councils of Flanders, Wallonia, and Brussels, as well as in the German Community Council. ... The European Union or EU is a supranational and intergovernmental union of 25 European states. ... Image File history File links European_flag. ... The Concert of Europe sanctioned the creation of Belgium in 1830 on the condition that the country remain strictly neutral. ... The History of Belgium before the last 175 years is entwined into that of other European countries, notably that of the Netherlands and of Luxembourg. ...

The Belgian Federal Parliament is a bicameral parliament. It consists of the Chamber of Representatives (Dutch: Kamer van Volksvertegenwoordigers, French: la Chambre des Représentants) and the Senate (Dutch: de Senaat, French: le Sénat). The bicameral legislature of the United States is housed in a capitol building with two wings. ... The Belgian Chamber of Representatives (Dutch: de Kamer van Volksvertegenwoordigers, French: la Chambre des Représentants) is one of the two chambers of the Belgian Federal Parliament. ... The Belgian senate (Dutch: de Senaat, French: le Sénat) is one of the two chambers of the Belgian Federal Parliament. ...

Contents


The Chamber of Representatives

Main article: Belgian Chamber of Representatives. The Belgian Chamber of Representatives (Dutch: de Kamer van Volksvertegenwoordigers, French: la Chambre des Représentants) is one of the two chambers of the Belgian Federal Parliament. ...


Eligibility requirements for the Chamber are a minimum age of 21, citizenship, and residency in Belgium. This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ...


The number of seats in the Chamber is constitutionally set at 150 elected from 11 electoral districts. The districts are divided along linguistic lines: 5 Flemish (79 seats), 5 Walloon (49 seats), and the bilingual district of Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde (22 seats). The districts are the provinces, except for the districts of Leuven (part of Flemish Brabant) and Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde. Each district is given a number of seats proportional to its population (not number of voters) ranging from 4 for Luxembourg to 24 for Antwerp. All districts have an electoral threshold of 5%, except for Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde, Walloon Brabant and Leuven; all districts are monolingual, except for Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde which encompasses both the 19 bilingual municipalities from the Brussels-Capital region as some 35 Dutch-speaking municipalities in Flemish Brabant, incl. 6 with linguistic facilities for French-speakers. Flanders (Flemish, Fleming) (Dutch: Vlaanderen (Vlaams, Vlaming)) has two main designations: a geographical region in the north of Belgium, corresponding to the Flemish region, a constituent part of the federal Belgian state. ... Wallonia (French: Wallonie, German: Wallonien, Walloon: Walonreye, Dutch: Wallonië) or the Walloon Region (French: Région Wallonne, Dutch: Waals Gewest) is the predominantly French-speaking region that constitutes one of the three federal regions of Belgium, with its capital at Namur. ... The term bilingualism (from bi meaning two and lingua meaning language) can refer to rather different phenomena. ... Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde (often abbreviated as BHV) is a contentious Belgian electoral district in the center of the country that encompasses both the officially bilingual Brussels-Capital region as well as an officially unilingual Dutch-speaking area, Halle-Vilvoorde, around it. ... Flemish Brabant is a province of Flanders, one of the three regions of Belgium. ... Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde (often abbreviated as BHV) is a contentious Belgian electoral district in the center of the country that encompasses both the officially bilingual Brussels-Capital region as well as an officially unilingual Dutch-speaking area, Halle-Vilvoorde, around it. ... Antwerp is the northernmost province of Flanders and of Belgium. ... Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde (often abbreviated as BHV) is a contentious Belgian electoral district in the center of the country that encompasses both the officially bilingual Brussels-Capital region as well as an officially unilingual Dutch-speaking area, Halle-Vilvoorde, around it. ... Walloon Brabant is a province of Wallonia and of Belgium. ... // Location Leuven (help· info) is the capital of the Belgian province of Flemish Brabant. ... Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde (often abbreviated as BHV) is a contentious Belgian electoral district in the center of the country that encompasses both the officially bilingual Brussels-Capital region as well as an officially unilingual Dutch-speaking area, Halle-Vilvoorde, around it. ... The Brussels-Capital Region (French: R gion de Bruxelles-Capitale, Dutch: Brussels Hoofdstedelijk Gewest, German: Region Br ssel-Hauptstadt) or Brussels Region (French: R gion Bruxelloise, Dutch: Brusselse Gewest) is one of the three regions of Belgium. ... Flemish Brabant is a province of Flanders, one of the three regions of Belgium. ... The municipalities with linguistic facilities or municipalities with facilities (Dutch: faciliteitengemeenten, French: communes à facilités) are Belgian municipalities with special law provisions to protect rights of their (historic) linguistic minorities. ...


The major parties in the Lower House are the Vlaamse Liberalen en Democraten and the Parti Socialiste, each with 25 seats; the Mouvement Réformateur with 24 seats; the alliance between the Socialistische Partij - Anders and SPIRIT with 23 seats; the Christen-Democratisch en Vlaams with 21 seats; and the far right Vlaams Blok. The Vlaamse Liberalen en Democraten or VLD (Flemish Liberals and Democrats) is a Flemish liberal party, created in 1992 from the former PVV and a few other politicians from other parties. ... The Parti Socialiste or PS of Belgium is a French-speaking social democratic political party. ... The Mouvement Réformateur (MR) is a Belgian French-speaking liberal party, favoring a united Belgium. ... Socialist Party - Different or Social Progressive Alternative (Dutch: Socialistische Partij - Anders or Sociaal Progressief Alternatief (sp. ... Categories: Politics stubs | Liberal related stubs | Liberal parties | Belgian political parties-Flanders ... Christen-Democratisch en Vlaams (CD&V) (Christian Democratic and Flemish) is a political party in Belgium, formerly called Christelijke Volkspartij (CVP) (Christian Peoples Party). ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into far right. ... Note that Flemish Block turned themselves into Flemish Interest (Vlaams Belang) since their condamnation in 2004 The Flemish Block (Dutch: Vlaams Blok) was a Flemish far-right nationalist political party which rejects the state of Belgium, calling for political independence for the Flemish half of the country. ...


The francophone Green Party has four seats, while the moderate Flemish nationalist N-VA and the francophone far right both have one deputy. The President of the Lower House is Herman De Croo (VLD). Ecolo (standing for Ecologistes Confédérés pour lorganisation de luttes originales) is a French-speaking Belgian green political party (Wallonia and Brussels). ... The Nieuw-Vlaamse Alliantie (New-Flemish Alliance) is a Belgian political party, founded in the autumn of 2001. ... Herman De Croo is the current sitting president of the Belgian Chamber of Representatives, the lower house of the Belgian Federal Parliament. ...


The Chamber of Representatives holds its plenary meetings in the Palace of the Nation, Brussels.


Senate

Main article: Belgian Senate. The Belgian senate (Dutch: de Senaat, French: le Sénat) is one of the two chambers of the Belgian Federal Parliament. ...


The Senate consists of 71 seats. For electoral purposes Senators are divided into four categories: directly elected; appointed by the community assemblies; co-opted Senators; and Senators of Law ("Senatoren van rechtswege", in Dutch, "sénateurs de droit" in French). For the election of the 25 Flemish and 15 francophone directly elected Senators, the country is divided into three electoral districts. Of the Senators representing the communities, 10 are elected by the Flemish Council, 10 by the French Council, and 1 by the German-language Council.


The third category, the co-opted Senators, consists of 10 representatives elected by the first two groups of Senators. Eligibility requirements for the Senate are identical to those for the Chamber.


The final category, that of Senators by Right, consists of those members of the Royal Family that are direct children of the reigning King and eligible to the throne. In theory they can vote, but since the Royal Family is supposed to be politically neutral,in practice they do no vote in the Senate and are not considered when the quorum is counted.


In the past, until 1991, Senators by Right could only be men, since women couldn't be heir to the throne before that day. At this time, however, this is no longer true; and at this time, Princess Astrid, Prince Filip, and Prince Laurent exercise their constitutional right for a seat in the Senate. an unwritten law states that Senators of Law should not participate in Senate votes, even though they officially have the right to do so.


The Princes and Princesses of the royal line are full members of the Senate: Prince Philippe, Princess Astrid and Prince Laurent sit in the Senate. The term prince (the female form is princess), from the Latin root princeps, when used for a member of the highest aristocracy, has several fundamentally different meanings - one generic, and several types of titles. ... Princess is the feminine form of prince (Latin princeps, meaning principal citizen). ... The Duke of Brabant His Royal Highness Prince Philippe, Duke of Brabant (Philippe Léopold Louis Marie Wettin), styled HRH The Duke of Brabant (born 15 April 1960), is the eldest son and heir apparent of Albert II, King of the Belgians. ... Her Imperial and Royal Highness Princess Astrid, Archduchess of Austria-Este (Astrid Josephine-Charlotte Fabrizia Elisabeth Paola Maria), styled HRH Princess Astrid, was born on June 5, 1962, in Brussels, Belgium, to King Albert II and Queen Paola of Belgium. ... Prince Laurent of Belgium (Laurent Benoît Baudouin Marie Wettin) was born on October 19, 1963, in Brussels, Belgium, to King Albert II and Queen Paola of the Belgians (the then Prince and Princess of Liège). ...


The President of the Senate is Anne-Marie Lizin (Parti Socialiste). Anne-Marie Lizin (born January 5, 1949 in Huy) is a Belgian politician from the Socialist Party. ...


The Senate holds its plenary meetings in the Palace of the Nation, Brussels.


See also

The Kingdom of Belgium is a sovereign, independent state. ... Belgium has a multi-party political system, with numerous parties in which no one party often has a chance of gaining power alone, and parties must work with each other to form coalition governments. ... The Council of the Region of Brussels-Capital, or Brussels Regional Parliament (French: Conseil de la Région de Bruxelles-Capitale or Parlement Bruxellois, Dutch: Brussels Hoofdstedelijk Parlement or Brusselse Hoofdstedelijke Raad), is the Parliament of the Brussels-Capital Region, one of the three regions of Belgium. ... The Flemish Parliament (Dutch: Vlaams Parlement, and 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 a cultural and linguistic community of Belgium. ... The Commission communautaire française (or COCOF, or, in English, the French Community Commission) is the local representative of the French-speaking authorities in the Brussels-Capital Region, one of the three regions of Belgium. ... The Council of the German Speaking Community (Parlament der Deutschsprachigen Gemeinschaft or PDG) is the parliament of the German-speaking community of Belgium. ... The Vlaamse Gemeenschapscommissie (or VGC, or, in English, the Flemish Community Commission) is the local representative of the Flemish authorities in the Brussels-Capital Region, one of the three regions of Belgium. ... The Walloon Parliament, or Walloon Regional Parliament (French: Parlement wallon or Parlement régional wallon; formerly Walloon Regional Council or Conseil régional wallon), is the parliament of Wallonia, the southern region of Belgium. ...

External links

  • Chamber of Representatives
  • Senate

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