The Flemish Government ( ) is the executive branch of the

Flemish Community 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 ...

and the

Flemish Region The Flemish Region (, ), usually simply referred to as Flanders ( ), is one of the three communities, regions and language areas of Belgium, regions of Belgium—alongside the Wallonia, Walloon Region and the Brussels, Brussels-Capital Region. ...

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

. It consists of a government cabinet, headed by the Minister-President and accountable to the

Flemish Parliament The Flemish Parliament (Dutch language, Dutch: , formerly called Flemish Council or ''Vlaamse Raad'') constitutes the legislature, legislative power in Flanders for matters which fall within the competence of Flanders, both as a geographic reg ...

, and the public administration (civil service) divided into 13 policy areas, each with an executive department and multiple agencies. The Flemish Government cabinet consists of up to a maximum of eleven ministers, chosen by the

. At least one minister must come from

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

. The ministers are drawn from the political parties which, in practice, form the governing coalition. The Government is chaired by the Flemish Minister-President. Ministers head executive departments of the government administration. Ministers must defend their policies and performance in person before the Flemish Parliament. The Flemish Government must receive and keep the confidence of the Flemish Parliament. Until 1993 the Flemish Government was called the Flemish Executive (''Vlaamse Executieve'').

Cabinet composition

Diependaele (2024-current)

Jambon Jambons (from French 'ham'; , ) are square pastry, pastries filled with cheese and chunks of ham. They are a ubiquitous Delicatessen, deli item in Ireland and parts of the UK. The product emerged during the 1990s as part of a broader movement to ...
(2019–2024)

Homans (2019)

Bourgeois The bourgeoisie ( , ) are a class of business owners, merchants and wealthy people, in general, which emerged in the Late Middle Ages, originally as a "middle class" between the peasantry and Aristocracy (class), aristocracy. They are tradition ...
(2014–2019)

Peeters II (2009–2014)

Following the 7 June 2009 election,

CD&V Christian Democratic and Flemish (, ; CD&V) is a Flemish Christian-democratic political party in Belgium. The party has historical ties to both trade unionism ( ACV) and trade associations ( UNIZO) and the Farmer's League. Until 2001, the party w ...

(31 seats),

N-VA The New Flemish Alliance ( ; N-VA) is a Flemish nationalist, conservative political party in Belgium. The party was established in 2001 by the right-leaning faction of the centrist-nationalist People's Union (VU). The N-VA is a regionalist an ...

(16 seats) and SP.A (19 seats) parties formed a coalition. Coalitiezetels-PeetersII

Leterme I/Peeters I (2004–2009)

Following the 2004 election, (29 seats)/ (6 seats), / (25 seats) and (19 seats) parties formed a coalition. * From 19 July 2004 to 26 June 2007, the

Minister-President of Flanders The minister-president of Flanders () is the Head of government, head of the Flemish Government, which is the executive branch of the Flemish Region and Flemish Community.See the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. The incumbent o ...

was

Yves Leterme Yves Camille Désiré Leterme (; born 6 October 1960) is a Belgian politician, a leader of the Christian Democratic and Flemish party (CD&V). He was the prime minister of Belgium from March 2008 to December 2008, and later from November 2009 ...

(

), leading a coalition of

, VLD-

Vivant Vivant is a small social-liberal political party in Belgium founded by millionaire Roland Duchâtelet. In the regional elections in June 2004, the party formed a strategic alliance with the Flemish Liberals and Democrats (VLD). Both parties a ...

, and SP.A- Vl.Pro. * On 26 June 2007, in the aftermath of the 2007 Belgian general elections, Yves Leterme and Inge Vervotte resigned as minister-president and minister in the Flemish Government to take their seats in the

Belgian Parliament The Federal Parliament (; ; ) is the bicameral parliament of Belgium. It consists of the Chamber of Representatives (lower house) and the Senate (upper house). It sits in the Palace of the Nation in the centre of the nation's capital, Brussels. ...

. On 28 June Kris Peeters was sworn in as new minister-president, taking over the responsibilities of Leterme, and Vanackere and Crevits replaced Vervotte and Peeters as Flemish ministers. * On 10 October 2007

Fientje Moerman Joséphine Rebecca Marie Julienne Bertha "Fientje" Moerman (born 19 October 1958) is a Belgian liberal politician and currently a judge on the Constitutional Court of Belgium. Education In 1981, Fientje Moerman obtained a master's degree in l ...

resigned due to the fallout of a hiring scandal; she was replaced as vice-minister-president by Dirk Van Mechelen and as minister by Patricia Ceysens. * On 22 September 2008

Geert Bourgeois Geert Albert Bourgeois (; born 6 July 1951) is a Belgium, 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 Mi ...

(

) was forced to resign due to pressure by the SP.A-Vl.Pro and Open VLD coalition partners because of his party's no confidence vote in the federal government of Leterme and their lack of trust in further negotiations by the Regions regarding the state reform. His portfolios of Administrative Affairs, Foreign Policy, Media and Tourism were taken over by minister-president Peeters. * On 30 December 2008 Steven Vanackere resigned to become federal Minister of Civil Service and Public Enterprises. He was replaced in the Flemish Government by Veerle Heeren. The composition at the end of the legislature:

Dewael I (1999–2003)/Somers I (2003–2004)

After the regional elections of 1999, a coalition of VLD, SP, Agalev and the VU was formed with

Patrick Dewael Patrick Yvonne Hugo Dewael (; born 13 October 1955) is a liberal Belgian politician. A member of the Flemish Liberals and Democrats (''Vlaamse Liberalen en Democraten'', VLD), he served as Minister-President of Flanders from 1999 to 2003. He i ...

(VLD) as Minister-President. After the federal elections of June 2003, Patrick Dewael resigned as Minister-President and went to the federal political level. He was succeeded by

Bart Somers Bartolomeus Jozef Lodewijk Rosalia "Bart" Somers (born 12 May 1964 in Mechelen) is a Belgian, Flemish politician. He is currently the mayor of Mechelen. In 2017, Bart Somers was awarded 2016 World Mayor Prize as recognition for his outstandin ...

as Flemish Minister-President until the end of term in 2004. Due to changes in political parties, the coalition was different: * Volksunie (VU) fell apart. Instead, Spirit entered the coalition * the SP was renamed to SP.a * Agalev was renamed to Groen!

Van den Brande IV (1995–1999)

After the regional elections of 1995 (which were the first direct elections for the Flemish Parliament), a coalition of CVP and SP was formed.

List of Flemish Minister-Presidents

Administration

The ''Flemish administration'' (Dutch: ''Vlaamse overheid'') denotes the Flemish

civil service The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil service personnel hired rather than elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leadership. A civil service offic ...

. With the 2006 reform program ''Better Administrative Policy'' (Dutch: '' Beter Bestuurlijk Beleid''), the Flemish civil service is designed to make the Flemish public administration more efficient and transparent. The tasks of the Flemish public administration are now organised in 13 policy areas. Each policy area comprises a department and a number of (semi-) independent government agencies. Only those with their own article are mentioned below. The 11 policy areas are: # Public Governance and the Chancellery (KB) # Foreign Affairs (iV) #* Liaison Agency Flanders-Europe (vleva) #*

Flanders Investment and Trade Flanders Investment and Trade (FIT) was founded by the Flemish government in 2005, by the fusion of 'Export Flanders' and 'Service of Investment in Flanders'. FIT helps Flemish companies expand their business abroad and assists foreign companies ...

(FIT) # Finance and Budget (FB) # Education and Training (OV) # Economy, Science and Innovation (EWI) #* Agency for Innovation by Science and Technology (IWT) #*

Participatiemaatschappij Vlaanderen The Participatiemaatschappij Vlaanderen (PMV) is an independent organization owned by the Flemish government which supports economic investment initiatives in Flanders. History The PMV was established on 31 July 1995 as a specialised subdivision ...

(PMV) #*

National Botanic Garden of Belgium Meise Botanic Garden (; ), until 2014 called the National Botanic Garden of Belgium (; ), is a botanical garden located in the grounds of Bouchout Castle in Meise, Flemish Brabant, just north of Brussels. It is one of the world's largest botan ...

# Culture, Youth, Sport and Media (CJSM) #* Agency for the Promotion of Physical Development, Sport and the Outdoor Recreation (Bloso) #* Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp (KMSKA) # Welfare, Public Health and Family (WVG) #* Care Inspectorate # Agriculture and Fisheries (LV) # Work and Social Economy (WSE) # Mobility and Public Works (MOW) #* Flemish Transport Company "De Lijn" # Environment (OMG) #* Flemish Energy Agency (VEA) #* Immovable Heritage Several other institutes, such as the Flemish Opera and the Flemish Institute for Technological Research (VITO), were not incorporated into the above structure. Every year, the Minister-President presents the current state of affairs in Flanders and the Government's plans for next year during the September Declaration on the fourth Monday in September.

Budget

The below figures use the 2018 budget as example, which had €44.7 billion in expenses and €42.3 billion in revenue. The revenue comes from the following sources: * 56% – Special financing law: the so-called "shared taxes" and "merged taxes" which the federal government raises through income taxes and VAT and partially transfers to the communities and regions based on a complex formula * 34% – Fiscal autonomy ** 18% – ''Opcentiemen'': additional "

centime Centime (from ) is French language, French for "Cent (currency), cent", and is used in English as the name of the fraction currency in several Francophone countries (including Switzerland, Algeria, Belgium, Morocco and France). In France, the ...

s" to the federal income tax (the height of which can be set by the Flemish Government) ** 16% – Regional taxes (taxes under the proper authority of the Flemish Government), such as the traffic tax and

inheritance tax International tax law distinguishes between an estate tax and an inheritance tax. An inheritance tax is a tax paid by a person who inherits money or property of a person who has died, whereas an estate tax is a levy on the estate (money and pro ...

* 10% – Other revenues The expenses are as follows per policy area:

Projects

The Flemish Government owns the rights to ''Flanders Today'', an English-speaking online and print newspaper focused on current affairs in Flanders and Brussels. The project was launched in 2007 by Geert Bourgeois – then Minister of Foreign Affairs and Tourism -, for three main reasons: * Facilitating the integration of expats living in the region by informing them of the region's current events. * Informing international journalists about the region, as most foreign correspondents based in Brussels get their news from the French-speaking press because the majority cannot read Dutch. ''Flanders Today'' would act as a counterweight to that side of every story. * Informing

diplomats A diplomat (from ; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state, intergovernmental, or nongovernmental institution to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or international organizations. The main functions of diplomats a ...

, investors, potential tourists and others outside of Belgium's borders about the region. In May 2017, the Flemish Government announced it would not be rebidding the Flanders Today project. Both the print and the online version of the paper are to be shut down in October 2017.

References

External links

Flemish government
(Dutch: ''Vlaamse overheid''), in English
Flemish government
(Dutch: ''Vlaamse overheid''), in Dutch
Flemish Parliament
(Dutch: ''Vlaams Parlement'')
Flemish Government
(Dutch: ''Vlaamse Regering'') {{Authority control 1981 establishments in Belgium Politics of Flanders Government of Belgium