Municipalities in Belgium

From 1961 to 1977

Lucien Harmegnies, Minister of the Interior in the government of Gaston Eyskens (1968–1972) decided to continue the process of territorial reorganization of Belgium. In 1971, the provisions of the Unity Law were extended and modified to apply to large agglomerations, which were initially excluded from its provisions. It was another Minister of the Interior, Joseph Michel, who managed the process. On 30 December 1975 the law regarding the merger of the municipalities was adopted. The merger became effective on 1 January 1977. The merger of 1977 further reduced the number of municipalities in Belgium from 2,359 to 596.