Flanders is the Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities,regions and language areas of Belgium. However,there are several overlapping definitions,including ones related to culture,language,politics,and history,and sometimes involving neighbouring countries. The demonym associated with Flanders is Fleming,while the corresponding adjective is Flemish. The official capital of Flanders is the City of Brussels,although the Brussels-Capital Region that includes it has an independent regional government. The powers of the government of Flanders consist,among others,of economic affairs in the Flemish Region and the community aspects of Flanders life in Brussels,such as Flemish culture and education.
Riemst is a small town and a municipality in the Belgian province of Limburg. Riemst is in the Flemish speaking area of Belgium.
The Flemish Movement is an umbrella term which encompasses various political groups in the Belgian region of Flanders and,less commonly,in French Flanders. Ideologically,it encompasses groups which have sought to promote Flemish culture and the Dutch language as well as those seeking greater political autonomy for Flanders within Belgium. It also encompassed nationalists who seek the secession of Flanders from Belgium,either through outright independence or unification with the Netherlands.
Frederika Marie Joseph (Frieda) Brepoels is a Belgian politician of N-VA,mayor of Bilzen and former Member of the European Parliament for Flanders.
The Belgian provincial,municipal and district elections of 2006 took place on Sunday 8 October 2006. The electors have elected the municipal councillors of 589 cities and towns as well as the ten provincial councils. The voters in the town of Antwerp have also been able to vote for the city's district councils. In seven Flemish municipalities with a special language statute and in the Walloon municipality of Comines-Warneton the aldermen and the members of the OCMW/CPAS council have also been directly elected.
Geert Albert Bourgeois is a Belgian politician of the New Flemish Alliance (N-VA),which he founded in 2001,who is currently serving as a Member of the European Parliament since 2019. He previously served as the Minister-President of Flanders from 2014 to 2019. Prior to this,he was a member of the federal Chamber of Representatives for the People's Union from 1995 to 2001,and then for the N-VA from 2001 to 2004. He has been involved in local and regional politics in Flanders since 1976.
Karim Van Overmeire is a Flemish politician,author,city planner and member of the New Flemish Alliance party.
Federal elections were held in Belgium on 10 June 2007. Voters went to the polls in order to elect new members for the Chamber of Representatives and Senate.
The Kingdom of Belgium has three official languages:Dutch (Flemish),French,and German.
The 2007–2008 Belgian government formation followed the general election of 10 June 2007,and comprised a period of negotiation in which the Flemish parties Flemish Liberal Democratic,Christian Democratic and Flemish (CD&V) and New Flemish Alliance (N-VA),and the French-speaking parties Reformist Movement (MR),Democratic Front of Francophones (FDF) and Humanist Democratic Centre (CdH) negotiated to form a government coalition. The negotiations were characterized by the disagreement between the Dutch- and French-speaking parties about the need for and nature of a constitutional reform. According to some,this political conflict could have led to a partition of Belgium.
The partition of Belgium is a hypothetical situation,which has been discussed by both Belgian and international media,envisioning a split of Belgium along linguistic divisions,with the Flemish Community (Flanders) and the French-speaking Community (Wallonia) becoming independent states. Alternatively,it is hypothesized that Flanders could join the Netherlands and Wallonia could join France or Luxembourg.
Bart Albert Liliane De Wever is a Belgian politician. Since 2004,De Wever has been the leader of the New Flemish Alliance (N-VA),a political party advocating for the independence of Flanders. He is also a member of the Chamber of Representatives. De Wever played a prominent role in the 2007 Belgian government formation and presided over his party's victory in the 2010 federal elections when N-VA became the largest party in both Flanders and in Belgium as a whole.
Federal elections were held in Belgium on 13 June 2010,during the midst of the 2007-11 Belgian political crisis. After the fall of the previous Leterme II Government over the withdrawal of Open Flemish Liberals and Democrats from the government the King dissolved the legislature and called new elections. The New Flemish Alliance,led by Bart De Wever,emerged as the plurality party with 27 seats,just one more than the francophone Socialist Party,led by Elio Di Rupo,which was the largest party in the Wallonia region and Brussels. It took a world record 541 days until a government was formed,resulting in a government led by Di Rupo.
Kim Geybels is a Belgian politician and a former member of the Belgian Senate for the N-VA and is a former chairman of the youth wing of the N-VA. Soon after her resignation she tried to retrieve her seat as Senator,claiming she was "forced" by the N-VA to resign. Early October 2010 all procedures,as started by Geybels,to retrieve her Senate seat had failed.
Jan Jambon is a Belgian politician of the New Flemish Alliance (N-VA) who has been serving as Minister-President of Flanders since 2019. He replaced Kris Peeters as a member of the Belgian Chamber of Representatives in 2007. The N-VA was,at that time,partnered with the Christian-Democratic and Flemish party. In June 2010 and May 2014 he was re-elected on an N-VA list.
The Belgian provincial,municipal and district elections of 2012 took place on 14 October. As with the previous 2006 elections,these are no longer organised by the Belgian federal state but instead by the respective regions:
Federal elections were held in Belgium on 25 May 2014. All 150 members of the Chamber of Representatives were elected,whereas the Senate was no longer directly elected following the 2011–2012 state reform. These were the first elections held under King Philippe's reign.
Federal elections were held in Belgium on 26 May 2019,alongside the country's European and regional elections. All 150 members of the Chamber of Representatives were elected from eleven multi-member constituencies.
The Belgian provincial,municipal and district elections of 2018 took place on Sunday 14 October 2018. They are organised by the respective regions:
The 2019 Belgian regional elections took place on Sunday 26 May,the same day as the 2019 European Parliament election as well as the Belgian federal election.
