De Croo Government

Last updated

De Croo Government
Flag of Belgium.svg
98th Cabinet of Belgium
Incumbent
Alexander De Croo on 5 January 2024 (cropped).jpg
Date formed1 October 2020
People and organisations
Head of state Philippe of Belgium
Head of government Alexander De Croo
No. of ministers15
Member parties
Status in legislature Majority (coalition)
87 / 150 (58%)


Opposition parties
History
Election 2019 Belgian federal election
Legislature term20192024
Predecessor Wilmès II
Distribution of seats in the Chamber of Representatives. Regering De Croo zetelverdeling.png
Distribution of seats in the Chamber of Representatives.

The De Croo Government is the incumbent Federal Government of Belgium, led by Prime Minister Alexander De Croo since 1 October 2020. It has acted in a caretaker capacity since the resignation of Prime Minister Alexander De Croo on 10 June 2024 following the 2024 Belgian federal election.

Contents

History

The creation of the De Croo Government occurred on 1 October 2020, 494 days after the 2019 Belgian federal election of May 2019 as the 2019–20 Belgian government formation had been again a difficult process. The government replaced the minority Wilmès II Government, which was a temporary government instated to handle the consequences of the coronavirus outbreak. The De Croo Government is a so-called Vivaldi coalition, named after composer Antonio Vivaldi due to his work The Four Seasons which corresponds to the four different political views present in this coalition: the liberals (Open Vld and MR), the socialists (Vooruit and PS), the greens (Groen and Ecolo) and the Christian democrats of CD&V.

Most notably this government doesn't have a majority in the Flemish language group, as the two largest political parties in Flanders (and simultaneously in all of Belgium) are part of the opposition: N-VA and Vlaams Belang. Other opposition parties are the Francophone parties Les Engagés and DéFI and the nationwide PVDA-PTB. [1]

Following the 2024 Belgian federal and regional elections, De Croo announced his resignation as prime minister. [2]

Composition

The Constitution requires an equal number of Dutch- and French-speaking ministers (regardless of the Prime Minister) and with all parties requiring some positions, the number of members in the Government has increased considerably, from 12 to 14 ministers with an additional 5 extra Secretaries of State for a total of 7 extra members in the Government compared to the previous Wilmès II Government.

With several new parties coming in to the government and many existing parties replacing their ministers, only three ministers remain which were already present in the Wilmès II Government: Prime Minister Alexander De Croo (who was Minister of Development Cooperation, Finance and fighting Fiscal Fraud), the previous Prime Minister Sophie Wilmès who now becomes Minister of Foreign Affairs and David Clarinval who moves from Minister of Budget, Civil Service, National Lottery and Scientific Policy to Minister of the Middle Class, SMEs, Self-employed, Agriculture, and Institutional Affairs. A large number of government members were relatively unknown at the time of their appointment, as several parties decided to opt for new faces instead of familiar ones. One notable returnee is Frank Vandenbroucke who, after a nine-year break from politics, returns to become Minister of Health and Social Affairs, and has held multiple positions in the period 1994–2009, including Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Social Affairs, Labor, and Pensions.

PortfolioMinisterTookofficeLeftofficeParty
Prime Minister
Prime Minister
(from 22 April until 14 July 2022 also acting Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Affairs, replacing Sophie Wilmès)
1 October 2020Incumbent  Open Vld
Deputy Prime Ministers
Minister of Economy and Employment1 October 2020Incumbent  PS
Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Affairs, Foreign Trade and Federal Cultural Institutions
(absent from 22 April until 14 July 2022, replaced by colleagues De Croo, Clarinval and Michel)
1 October 202014 July 2022  MR
Minister of the Small Businesses, Self-Employed, SMEs and Agriculture, Institutional Reforms and Democratic Renewal
(from 22 April until 14 July 2022 also acting Minister of Foreign Trade and Deputy Prime Minister for the MR, replacing Sophie Wilmès)
22 April 2022Incumbent  MR
Minister of Mobility1 October 2020Incumbent  Ecolo
Minister of Finance, in charge of the Coordination of the Fight against Fraud1 October 2020Incumbent  CD&V
Minister of Social Affairs and Public Health
(from 19 October until 16 December 2022 also acting Minister of Development Cooperation and Urban Policy, replacing Meryame Kitir)
1 October 2020Incumbent  Vooruit
Minister of Civil Service, Public Enterprises, Telecommunication and Postal Services1 October 2020Incumbent  Groen
Minister of Justice and the North Sea1 October 202020 October 2023  Open Vld
Minister of Justice and the North Sea22 October 2023Incumbent  Open Vld
Ministers
Minister of the Small Businesses, Self-Employed, SMEs and Agriculture, Institutional Reforms and Democratic Renewal1 October 202021 April 2022  MR
Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Affairs, Foreign Trade and Federal Cultural Institutions15 July 20221 December 2024  MR
Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Affairs, Foreign Trade and Federal Cultural Institutions2 December 2024Incumbent  MR
Minister of Pensions and Social Integration, in charge of Persons with Disabilities, Combating Poverty and Beliris1 October 2020Incumbent  PS
Minister of Defence 1 October 2020Incumbent  PS
Minister of Climate, Environment, Sustainable Development and Green Deal1 October 2020Incumbent  Ecolo
Minister of the Interior, Institutional Reforms and Democratic Renewal1 October 2020Incumbent  CD&V
Minister of Development Cooperation and Urban Policy
(absent from 19 October until 16 December 2022, replaced by colleague Vandenbroucke)
1 October 202016 December 2022  Vooruit
Minister of Development Cooperation and Urban Policy17 December 20221 October 2024  Vooruit
Minister of Development Cooperation and Urban Policy1 October 2024Incumbent  Vooruit
Minister of Energy 1 October 2020Incumbent  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 2020Incumbent  PS
Secretary of State for Digitization, in charge of Administrative Simplification, Privacy and Buildings Administration
9from 22 April until 14 July 2022 also acting Secretary of State for Federal Cultural Institutions, replacing Sophie Wilmès)
Deputy to the Prime Minister
1 October 2020Incumbent  MR
Secretary of State for Gender Equality, Equal Opportunities and Diversity
Deputy to the Minister of Mobility
1 October 202026 April 2023  Ecolo
Secretary of State for Gender Equality, Equal Opportunities and Diversity
Deputy to the Minister of Mobility
2 May 2023Incumbent  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 202027 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 2022Incumbent  CD&V
Secretary of State for Budget and Consumer Protection
Deputy to the Minister of Justice and the North Sea
1 October 202018 November 2022  Open Vld
Secretary of State for Budget and Consumer Protection
Deputy to the Minister of Justice and the North Sea
18 November 2022Incumbent  Open Vld

Changes in composition

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References

  1. VRT NWS (30 September 2020). "7 partijen hebben een inhoudelijk akkoord om samen te regeren: dit weten we daar al over" [7 parties have an internal agreement to govern: this is what we know already]. vrtnws.be (in Flemish). Retrieved 30 September 2020.
  2. "Belgium's PM De Croo resigns after election defeat – DW – 06/10/2024". dw.com. Retrieved 12 June 2024.
  3. "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]. vrt nws. 21 April 2022.
  4. "Sophie Wilmès (MR) stopt definitief als minister van Buitenlandse Zaken door ziekte echtgenoot". VRT (in Dutch). 14 July 2022.
  5. "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?]. vrt nws. 27 June 2022.
  6. "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]. vrt nws. 18 November 2022.
  7. "Caroline Gennez (Vooruit) vervangt Meryame Kitir als minister van Ontwikkelingssamenwerking" [Caroline Gennez (Vooruit) replaces Meryame Kitir as minister of Development Cooperation]. vrt nws. 17 December 2022.
  8. ""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]. vrt nws (in Dutch). 26 April 2023.
  9. "Marie-Colline Leroy (Ecolo) legt eed af als staatssecretaris voor Gelijke Kansen" [Marie-Colline Leroy (Ecolo) sworn in as State Secretary of Equal Opportunities]. vrt nws (in Dutch). 2 May 2023.
  10. "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]. vrt nws (in Dutch). 20 October 2023.
  11. "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]. vrt nws (in Dutch). 22 October 2023.
  12. "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"]. vrt nws (in Dutch). 22 October 2023.
  13. "Frank Vandenbroucke reprend le portefeuille de Caroline Gennez, partie au gouvernement flamand" [Frank Vandenbroucke takes over the portfolio of Caroline Gennez, who left for the Flemish government]. RTBF Actus (in French). 1 October 2024.
  14. "Surprise aux Affaires étrangères: Bernard Quintin pour succéder à Hadja Lahbib" [Surprise at Foreign Affairs: Bernard Quintin to succeed Hadja Lahbib]. RTBF Actus (in French). 30 November 2024.
  15. "Bernard Quintin a prêté serment comme ministre des Affaires étrangères ce lundi" [Bernard Quintin to be sworn in as Minister of Foreign Affairs on Monday before the King]. RTBF Actus (in French). 30 November 2024.