The Leterme I Government was the

federal government A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government (federalism). In a federation, the self-governin ...

of Belgium from 20 March 2008 to 22 December 2008. It took office when the Flemish Christian democrat

Yves Leterme Yves Camille Désiré Leterme (; born 6 October 1960 in Wervik) is a Belgian politician, a leader of the Christian Democratic and Flemish party (CD&V). He was the prime minister of Belgium, from November 2009 to December 2011. Leterme was the ...

(

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 wa ...

) was sworn in as Prime Minister. It followed the

Belgian general election of 2007 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. Eligible voters were Belgian citizens 18 years and older. There was a legal electo ...

and comprised five parties: the Dutch-speaking Christian Democratic and Flemish (CD&V), the Dutch-speaking Open Flemish Liberals and Democrats (Open VLD), the French-speaking liberal Reformist Movement (MR), the French-speaking Socialist Party (PS) and the French-speaking Humanist Democratic Centre (CDH). The government received the confidence of the Chamber of Representatives on 22 March 2008, with 97 votes in favour, 48 against, and one abstaining. It was succeeded by a government led by CD&V member Herman Van Rompuy on 30 December 2008.

Composition

The Leterme I Government comprised 15 ministers and seven secretaries of state. Its final composition was as follows:

Changes

*On 19 April 2008, (PS) resigned as Secretary of State for the Fight against Poverty after a scandal when it became clear a judicial investigation related to his time as an alderman in

Namur Namur (; ; nl, Namen ; wa, Nameur) is a city and municipality in Wallonia, Belgium. It is both the capital of the province of Namur and of Wallonia, hosting the Parliament of Wallonia, the Government of Wallonia and its administration. Namu ...

was being conducted. He was succeeded on 20 April by . *On 19 December 2008,

Jo Vandeurzen Johan Maria Gerardus Vandeurzen (born 2 June 1958) is a Belgian politician, member of ''Christen-Democratisch en Vlaams'' (CD&V), a centrist Flemish Christian Democratic party. Vandeurzen holds a Master of Laws degree from the Catholic Univers ...

resigned as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Justice and Institutional Reforms in the wake of accusations that he and

Leterme Yves Camille Désiré Leterme (; born 6 October 1960 in Wervik) is a Belgian politician, a leader of the Christian Democratic and Flemish party (CD&V). He was the prime minister of Belgium, from November 2009 to December 2011. Leterme was t ...

improperly tried to influence the judgement of the court of appeal regarding the sale of

Fortis Fortis may refer to: Business * Fortis AG, a Swiss watch company * Fortis Films, an American film and television production company founded by actress and producer Sandra Bullock * Fortis Healthcare, a chain of hospitals in India * Fortis Inc ...

. Later that day

offered the resignation of his entire government.

Government crises

In the late hours of 14 July 2008, after months of negotiations regarding constitutional reform and the status of the Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde electoral district failed, and the deadline of 15 July 2008 neared without the hope of a result,

offered the resignation of his cabinet to the king. After a series of consultations, King Albert II decided to reject Prime Minister

's resignation on 17 July. The royal palace said that the King had asked two senior French-speaking politicians,

François-Xavier de Donnéa François-Xavier is a French masculine given name. Notable people with the name include: * François-Xavier Archambault (1841–1893), a lawyer and political figure in Quebec * François-Xavier Audouin (1765–1837), a French clergyman and politic ...

( MR) and Raymond Langendries ( CDH), and the Minister-President of the German-speaking Community, Karl-Heinz Lambertz ( SP), to establish how to start talks about institutional reform. They were expected to report back to the king by the end of the month. However, on 31 July 2008, they reported that they needed more time for the negotiations. On 19 December 2008,

offered the resignation of his government to King Albert after a crisis surrounding the sale of Fortis to

BNP Paribas BNP Paribas is a French international banking group, founded in 2000 from the merger between Banque Nationale de Paris (BNP, "National Bank of Paris") and Paribas, formerly known as the Banque de Paris et des Pays-Bas. The full name of the grou ...

erupted.

, and Didier Reynders were accused of violating the separation of powers by trying to influence the

court of appeal A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much of t ...

and of exerting improper influence by the First Chairman of the Court of Cassation. Three days later the resignation was accepted by the king.

References

{{Belgian governments Belgian governments 2008 establishments in Belgium 2008 disestablishments in Belgium Cabinets established in 2008 Cabinets disestablished in 2008

Composition

Changes

Government crises

See also

References