Politics and government of the Brussels-Capital Region

The government of the Brussels-Capital Region is the political administration of the Brussels Capital Region of Belgium.[1][2] An election is held every five years. The government is headed by a Minister-President (currently Rudi Vervoort), four ministers and three state secretaries.

Politics and government
of Brussels
Government
Parliament
Parties
Municipalities
Issues

Additionally, there is a Governor of the Brussels Capital Region, who is appointed by the cabinet and has the responsibility to enforce laws concerned with public order in the Brussels-Capital Region. The governor's powers are relatively limited.

The Brussels capital region is divided into 19 municipalities. Each municipality has its own government, responsible for the handling of local level duties, such as law enforcement and the upkeep of schools and roads within its borders.[3] Municipal administration is also conducted by a mayor, a council, and an executive.[3]

Parliament
The Brussels Parliament building
Main article: Parliament of the Brussels-Capital Region

The Parliament of the Brussels-Capital Region is also known as the Brussels Regional Parliament. It is the main decision-making body for the Brussels-Capital Region. Constitutionally, the parliament is made up of 72 French-speaking members and 17 Dutch-speaking members.

Current composition

Elections of the 89 Brussels regional deputies take place every five years. Following the 2014 regional election, the composition of the Brussels Parliament is as follows:

Party Members
•Parti Socialiste 21
 Mouvement Réformateur 18
•Fédéralistes Démocrates Francophones 12
•Centre Démocrate Humaniste 9
 Ecolo 8
Workers' Party of Belgium 4
French language group total: 72
•Open Vlaamse Liberalen en Democraten 5
•Socialistische Partij Anders 3
Groen 3
 Nieuw-Vlaamse Alliantie 3
•Christen-Democratisch en Vlaams 2
 Vlaams Belang 1
Dutch language group total: 17
Total 89

A dot means: participating in the Brussels government.

Functions

The Brussels Parliament role mainly consists in controlling the government of the Brussels-Capital Region, approving the budget and creating and passing legislation in regional matters, known as ordinances, which are legally binding. One of its first tasks after the Parliament is renewed is appointing five ministers and three regional secretaries of state, who together form the cabinet of the Brussels-Capital Region.

The 89 members of the Brussels Parliament are divided into two language groups: 72 belong to the French-speaking group and 17 members belong to the Dutch-speaking group. The members of the French-speaking group also make up the Parlement francophone bruxellois (in English: French-speaking Brussels Parliament), which was formerly known as the Assembly of the French Community Commission, while the members of the Dutch-speaking group make up the Council of the Flemish Community Commission. The Parlement francophone bruxellois and the Council of the Flemish Community Commission together form the United Assembly of the Common Community Commission. The Community Commissions are to a certain extent responsible for Community competencies within the Brussels-Capital Region.

19 of the 72 French-speaking members of the Brussels Parliament are also members of the Parliament of the French Community of Belgium. People voting for a Flemish party have to vote separately for 6 directly-elected members of the Flemish Parliament.

Due to the multiple capacities of single members, there are members of the Brussels Parliament who are at the same member of the Parliament of the French Community of Belgium and of the Belgian Senate as "community senators" for the French Community. However, there are certain restrictions in place in order to prevent one person from combining too many mandates. For instance, it is impossible to be a member of the Belgian Chamber of Representatives and of one of the Regional Parliaments at the same time.

Cabinet

The cabinet of the Brussels-Capital region comprises eight members, headed by a Minister-President. There are four ministers in the cabinet, two of which must be French-speaking and two Flemish. Of the three more junior Secretaries of State, at least one must be Flemish. The Minister-President is in practice always a francophone, so the cabinet of the Region has 5 French-speaking and 3 Dutch-speaking members.

Composition 2019–present
Government of the Brussels-Capital Region - Vervoort III
PartyNameFunction
PS Rudi VervoortMinister-President; Minister of Urban Renewal, Spatial Development, Safety & Prevention, Tourism, the image of Brussels and bicultural issues of regional importance, Student Affairs and Paying Passenger Transport
Groen Elke Van den BrandtMinister of Mobility, Public Works and Road Safety
Ecolo Alain MaronMinister of Environment & Climate, Social Integration, Health, Energy, Water, Cleanliness and the Port of Brussels
Open Vld Sven GatzMinister of Finance, Budget, Civil Service, Promotion of Multilingualism, Tourism, Statistics, Urbanism, Heritage, the image of Brussels and bicultural issues of regional importance
DéFI Bernard ClerfaytMinister of Employment, Professional Education, Local Authorities, Digitization, Animal Welfare and Child Benefits
PS Nawal Ben HamouSecretary of State for Equal Opportunities and Housing
one.brussels-sp.a Pascal SmetSecretary of State for Urbanism, European and International Affairs, Foreign Trade, Fire Fighting and Emergency Medical Assistance
Ecolo Barbara TrachteSecretary of State for Economic Transition and Research

Composition 2014–2019
Government of the Brussels-Capital Region - Vervoort II
PartyNameFunction
PS Rudi VervoortMinister-President; Minister of Local Authorities, Spatial Planning, Monuments and Landscapes, Student Affairs, Civil Service, Scientific Research and Public Proverty
Open Vld Guy VanhengelMinister of Finance, Budget, Development Aid and Foreign Relations
DéFI Didier GosuinMinister of Employment, Economy, Fire Department and Urgent Medical Care
sp.a Pascal SmetMinister of Public Works and Transport
CDH Céline FremaultMinister of Housing, Environment and Energy
PS Fadila LaananSecretary of State for Collection and Processing of Waste, Scientific Research, Sports Infrastructure and Civil Service
DéFI Cécile JodogneSecretary of State for Foreign Trade, Fire Department and Urgent Medical Care
CD&V Bianca DebaetsSecretary of State for Development Aid, Road Traffic Safety, IT and Digital Transition, Equal Opportunities and Animal Welfare

Composition 2013–2014
Government of the Brussels-Capital Region - Vervoort I
PartyNameFunction
PS Rudi VervoortMinister-President; Minister of Local Authorities, Spatial Planning, Monuments and Landscapes, Development Aid and Statistics
VLD Guy VanhengelMinister of Finance, Budget and Foreign Relations
CD&V Brigitte GrouwelsMinister of Public Works, Transport, the Port of Brussels, and IT
Ecolo Evelyne HuytebroeckMinister of Environment, Energy, Water Jurisdiction and City Rejuvenation
CDH Céline FremaultMinister of Employment, Economy, Foreign Trade and Scientific Research
Groen Bruno De LilleSecretary of State for Mobility, Equal Opportunities and the Civil Service
PS Rachid MadraneSecretary of State for Town Planning, Collection and Processing of Waste and Environmental Maintenance
Ecolo Christos DoulkeridisSecretary of State for Housing/Habitation, Fire Department and Urgent Medical Care

Composition 2009–2013
Government of the Brussels-Capital Region - Picqué IV
PartyNameFunction
PS Charles PicquéMinister-President; Minister of Local Authorities, Spatial Planning, Monuments and Landscapes, Development Aid and Statistics
VLD Guy VanhengelMinister of Finance, Budget and Foreign Relations
CD&V Brigitte GrouwelsMinister of Public Works, Transport, the Port of Brussels, and IT
Ecolo Evelyne HuytebroeckMinister of Environment, Energy, Water Jurisdiction and City Rejuvenation
CDH Benoit CerexheMinister of Employment, Economy, Foreign Trade and Scientific Research
Groen Bruno De LilleSecretary of State for Mobility, Equal Opportunities and the Civil Service
PS Emir KirSecretary of State for Public Sanitation and Monument Conservation
Ecolo Christos DoulkeridisSecretary of State for Housing/Habitation, Fire Department and Urgent Medical Care

Composition 2004–2009

After the elections of 2004, the French-speaking parties  PS,  Ecolo and  CDH formed a coalition with the Dutch-speaking parties  Open VLD,  CD&V en  SP.A.

Cabinet of the Brussels-Capital Region - Picqué III
PartyNameFunction
PS Charles PicquéMinister-President; Minister of Local Power, Urban Planning, Monuments and Landscapes, Urban Renovation, Housing/Habitation, Public Cleansing, Foreign Trade and Development Aid
Open VLD Guy VanhengelMinister of Finance, Budget, Foreign Relations and regional IT
cdH Benoît CerexheMinister of Employment, Economy, Scientific Research, Fire Department and Urgent Medical Care
Ecolo Evelyne HuytebroeckMinister of Environment, Energy et Water Jurisdiction
sp.a Pascal SmetMinister of Mobility and Public Works
PS Françoise DupuisSecretary of State for Housing/Habitation and Urbanism
PS Emir KirSecretary of State for Public Cleansing, Monuments and Landscapes
CD&V Brigitte GrouwelsSecretary of State for Public Service and the Port of Brussels

List of governments
Minister-PresidentTime in officeParty
Charles Picqué (1st term) 12 July 1989 – 22 June 1995 PS
Charles Picqué (2nd term) 22 June 1995 – 15 July 1999 PS
Jacques Simonet (1st term) 15 July 1999 – 18 October 2000 PRL
François-Xavier de Donnéa 18 October 2000 – 6 June 2003 PRL/MR
Daniel Ducarme 6 June 2003 – 18 February 2004 MR
Jacques Simonet (2nd term) 18 February – 19 July 2004 MR
Charles Picqué (3rd term) 19 July 2004 – 19 July 2009 PS
Charles Picqué (4th term) 19 July 2009 – 7 May 2013 PS
Rudi Vervoort (1st term) 7 May 2013 – 20 July 2014 PS
Rudi Vervoort (2nd term) 20 July 2014 – 17 July 2019 PS
Rudi Vervoort (3rd term) 17 July 2019 – present PS

See also

References
  1. "The Belgian Constitution (English version)" (PDF). Belgian House of Representatives. January 2009. Retrieved 2009-06-05. Article 3: Belgium comprises three Regions: the Flemish Region, the Walloon Region and the Brussels Region. Article 4: Belgium comprises four linguistic regions: the Dutch-speaking region, the French speaking region, the bilingual region of Brussels-Capital and the German-speaking region.
  2. "Brussels-Capital Region: Creation". Centre d'Informatique pour la Région Bruxelloise (Brussels Regional Informatics Center). 2009. Retrieved 2009-06-05. Since 18 June 1989, the date of the first regional elections, the Brussels-Capital Region has been an autonomous region comparable to the Flemish and Walloon Regions. (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.)
  3. "Managing across levels of government" (PDF). OECD. 1997. pp. 107, 110. Retrieved 2009-04-05.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.