Patricia Creutz-Vilvoye | |
|---|---|
| Creutz-Vilvoye in 2019 | |
| Speaker of the Parliament of the German-speaking Community | |
| Assumed office 1 July 2024 | |
| Preceded by | Charles Servaty |
| Member of the Parliament of the German-speaking Community | |
| Assumed office 2004 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 27 December 1964 |
| Political party | Christian Social |
Patricia Creutz-Vilvoye (born 27 December 1964) is a Belgian politician. She has served as the speaker of the Parliament of the German-speaking Community in Belgium since 2024.
Creutz-Vilvoye was born on 27 December 1964. She was first elected to the Parliament of the German-speaking Community in 2004. [1]
On 1 July 2024, [2] Creutz-Vilvoye was elected as the speaker of the Parliament of the German-speaking Community. Upon her selection,she became the first woman to hold the office. [3]
Belgium,officially the Kingdom of Belgium,is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north,Germany to the east,Luxembourg to the southeast,France to the south,and the North Sea to the west. It covers an area of 30,689 km2 (11,849 sq mi) and has a population of more than 11.7 million. With 383/km2 (990/sq mi),Belgium's population density ranks 22nd in the world and 6th in Europe. Belgium is part of an area known as the Low Countries,historically a somewhat larger region than the Benelux group of states,as it also included parts of northern France. The capital and largest metropolitan region is Brussels;other major cities are Antwerp,Ghent,Charleroi,Liège,Bruges,Namur,and Leuven.
The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union,it adopts European legislation,following a proposal by the European Commission. The Parliament is composed of 720 members (MEPs),after the June 2024 European elections,from a previous 705 MEPs. It represents the second-largest democratic electorate in the world,with an electorate of around 375 million eligible voters in 2024.
The politics of Belgium take place in the framework of a federal,representative democratic,constitutional monarchy. The King of the Belgians is the head of state,and the prime minister of Belgium is the head of government,in a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Federal legislative power is vested in both the government and the two chambers of parliament,the Senate and the Chamber of Representatives. The federation is made up of (language-based) communities and (territorial) regions. Philippe is the seventh and current King of the Belgians,having ascended the throne on 21 July 2013.
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The German-speaking Community,also known as East Belgium,is one of the three federal communities of Belgium,with an area of 854 km2 (330 sq mi) in the Liège Province of Wallonia,including nine of the eleven municipalities of Eupen-Malmedy. The primary language of the community is German,making this one of the three official languages in Belgium. Traditionally the community and the wider area around it forms an intersection of various local languages and/or dialects,namely Limburgish,Ripuarian and Moselle Franconian varieties. The community population numbers around 79,000 –about 7.0% of Liège Province and about 0.7% of the national total.
In Belgium,the French Community refers to one of the three constituent constitutional linguistic communities. Since 2011,the French Community has used the name Wallonia-Brussels Federation,which is controversial because its name in the Belgian Constitution has not changed and because it is seen as a political statement. The name "French Community" refers to Francophone Belgians,and not to French people residing in Belgium. As such,the French Community of Belgium is sometimes rendered in English as "the French-speaking Community of Belgium" for clarity,in analogy to the German-speaking Community of Belgium.
The Federal Parliament is the bicameral parliament of Belgium. It consists of the Chamber of Representatives and the Senate. It sits in the Palace of the Nation in the centre of the nation's capital,Brussels.
The Parliament of the German-speaking Community is the legislative assembly of the German-speaking Community of Belgium located in Eupen.
The Flemish Community is one of the three institutional communities of Belgium,established by the Belgian constitution and having legal responsibilities only within the precise geographical boundaries of the Dutch-language area and of the bilingual area of Brussels-Capital. Unlike in the French Community of Belgium,the competences of the Flemish Community have been unified with those of the Flemish Region and are exercised by one directly elected Flemish Parliament based in Brussels.
The Senate is one of the two chambers of the bicameral Federal Parliament of Belgium,the other being the Chamber of Representatives. It is considered to be the "upper house" of the Federal Parliament.
State reform,in the context of Belgium,is the ongoing process of seeking and finding constitutional and legal solutions to the problems and tensions in the different segments of the Belgian population,mostly between the Dutch-speakers of Flanders and the French-speakers of Wallonia. In general,Belgium has evolved from a unitary state to a federal state with communities,regions,and language areas.
An election of the delegation from Belgium to the European Parliament was held on Sunday,7 June 2009. The elections were on the same day as regional elections to the Flemish Parliament,Walloon Parliament,Brussels Parliament and the Parliament of the German-speaking Community.
Salome Zourabichvili is a French-born Georgian politician and former diplomat,currently serving as the fifth president of Georgia,in office since December 2018. She is the nation’s first female president. As a result of constitutional changes that came into effect in 2024,Zourabichvili is the last popularly elected president Georgia will see for the foreseeable future;under the new constitutional rules,heads of state are now to be elected indirectly by a parliamentary college of electors.
Regional elections were held in Belgium on 7 June 2009 to choose representatives in the regional parliaments of Flanders,Wallonia,Brussels and the German-speaking Community of Belgium. These elections were held on the same day as the European elections.
Halimah binti Yacob is a Singaporean politician and lawyer who held the office of the eighth president of Singapore from 2017 to 2023,making history as the first woman to serve in this role.
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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.
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