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Flemish Brabant is a province of Flanders, one of the three regions of Belgium. It borders on the Belgian provinces of Antwerp, Limburg, Liège, Walloon Brabant, Hainaut and East Flanders. Flemish Brabant also surrounds the Brussels-Capital Region. Its capital is Leuven. It has an area of 2,118 km2 (818 sq mi) which is divided into two administrative districts containing 65 municipalities. As of January 2019, Flemish Brabant has a population of 1,146,175.
The country of Belgium is divided into three regions. Two of these regions, Flanders and Wallonia, are each subdivided into five provinces. The third region, Brussels, is not divided into provinces, as it was originally only a small part of a province itself.
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 Dutch language as well as those who have sought greater political autonomy for Flanders within Belgium. It also encompasses nationalists who have sought the secession of Flanders from Belgium, either through outright independence or unification with the Netherlands.
Flanders is both a cultural community and an economic region within the Belgian state, and has significant autonomy.
Flemish political parties operate in the whole Flemish Community, which covers the unilingual Flemish Region and the bilingual Brussels-Capital Region. In the latter, they compete with French-speaking parties that all also operate in Wallonia. There are very few parties that operate on a national level in Belgium. Flanders generally tends to vote for right-wing, conservative parties, whereas in French-speaking Belgium the socialist party is usually the most successful one.
The Flemish Government is the executive branch of the Flemish Community and the Flemish Region of Belgium. It consists of a government cabinet, headed by the Minister-President and accountable to the Flemish Parliament, and the public administration divided into 13 policy areas, each with an executive department and multiple agencies.
ROSSEM or Radicale Omvormers en Sociale Strijders voor een Eerlijker Maatschappij is a Belgian libertarian political party founded in 1991 by the Flemish businessman and writer Jean-Pierre Van Rossem. 'Radicale Omvormers en Sociale Strijders voor een Eerlijker Maatschappij" can loosely be translated as "radical reformists and social fighters for a fairer society". There was an active French-speaking section in the Arrondissement of Nivelles with the acronym ROSSUM.
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.
Lodewijk "Lode" De Witte is the former governor of the Belgian province of Flemish Brabant.
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.
Matthias Diependaele is a Belgian politician affiliated to the N-VA who is the current Minister for Finance, Budget, Housing and Immovable Heritage in the Flemish Government. He previously served as a member of the Flemish Parliament between 2009 and 2019.
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.
Theo Francken is a Belgian politician who has been a member of the Chamber of Representatives since 2010. He is a member of the New Flemish Alliance (N-VA), a conservative Flemish nationalist party.
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:
Katleen Bury is a Belgian-Flemish politician and lawyer who has been a member of the Chamber of Representatives for the Vlaams Belang party since 2019.
Franz Vansteenkiste was a Belgian politician and lawyer.
Valerie Van Peel is a Belgian politician, journalist and television presenter who is a member of the Member of the Chamber of Representatives for the New Flemish Alliance party.
Allessia Claes is a Belgian politician and a member of the New Flemish Alliance.
Manuela Van Werde is a Belgian actress, television presenter and politician from Flanders.
Lode Claes was a Belgian economist author, journalist and politician who was active within the Flemish nationalist movement.
References
- ↑ "We hebben drie nieuwe gouverneurs: Carina van Cauter, Jos Lantmeeters en Jan Spooren benoemd door Vlaamse regering". 17 July 2020.
- ↑ "Jan Spooren | Nieuw-Vlaamse Alliantie (N-VA)" (in Dutch). N-va.be. Retrieved 2021-09-26.
- ↑ "Jan Spooren (N-VA) is de nieuwe gouverneur van Vlaams-Brabant: "Blij met deze zware, maar belangrijke job" | Tervuren | hln.be".
- ↑ Jan Spooren (N-VA) (2021-09-22). "Alle artikels van Jan Spooren (N-VA) op". Knack.be. Retrieved 2021-09-26.