Government and Politics of Belgium

Government Type

federal parliamentary democracy under a constitutional monarch

Administrative Divisions

10 provinces (French: provinces, singular - province; Dutch: provincies, singular - provincie) and 3 regions* (French: regions; Dutch: gewesten); Antwerpen, Brabant Wallon, Brussels* (Bruxelles), Flanders*, Hainaut, Liege, Limburg, Luxembourg, Namur, Oost-Vlaanderen, Vlaams-Brabant, Wallonia*, West-Vlaanderen

Legal System

civil law system influenced by English constitutional theory; judicial review of legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal and compulsory

Citizenship

citizenship by birth: no citizenship by descent only: at least one parent must be a citizen of Belgium dual citizenship recognized: yes residency requirement for naturalization: 5 years

Executive Branch

chief of state: King PHILIPPE (since 21 July 2013); Queen Consort MATHILDE; Heir Apparent Princess ELISABETH, daughter of the monarch head of government: Prime Minister Alexander DE CROO (since 1 October 2020) cabinet: Council of Ministers formally appointed by the monarch note: government coalition - Open VLD, MR, PS, sp.a (now Vooruit), CD&V, cdH (now Les Engagés), and Ecolo-Groen elections: none; the monarchy is hereditary; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the monarch and then approved by Parliament

Legislative Branch

bicameral Parliament consists of a Senate or Senaat in Dutch, Senat in French (71 seats; 40 members are directly elected by popular vote, 31 are indirectly elected; members serve four-year terms) and a Chamber of Deputies or Kamer van Volksvertegenwoordigers in Dutch, Chambre des Representants in French (150 seats; members are directly elected by popular vote on the basis of proportional representation to serve four-year terms) elections: Senate and Chamber of Deputies - last held 18 May 2003 (next to be held no later than May 2007) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - SP.A-Spirit 15.5%, VLD 15.4%, CD & V 12.7%, PS 12.8%, MR 12.1%, VB 9.4%, CDH 5.6%; seats by party - SP.A-Spirit 7, VLD 7, CD & V 6, PS 6, MR 5, VB 5, CDH 2, other 2 (note - there are also 31 indirectly elected senators); Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - VLD 15.4%, SP.A-Spirit 14.9%, CD & V 13.3%, PS 13.0%, VB 11.6%, MR 11.4%, CDH 5.5%, Ecolo 3.1%; seats by party - VLD 25, SP.A-Spirit 23, CD & V 21, PS 25, VB 18, MR 24, CDH 8, Ecolo 4, other 2 note: as a result of the 1993 constitutional revision that furthered devolution into a federal state, there are now three levels of government (federal, regional, and linguistic community) with a complex division of responsibilities; this reality leaves six governments each with its own legislative assembly

Judicial Branch

Supreme Court of Justice or Hof van Cassatie (in Dutch) or Cour de Cassation (in French) (judges are appointed for life by the government; candidacies have to be submitted by the High Justice Council)

Political Parties

Flemish parties: Christian Democrats and Flemish or CD & V [Jo VANDEURZEN]; Flemish Liberal Democrats or VLD [Bart SOMERS]; GROEN! (formerly AGALEV, Flemish Greens) [Vera DUA]; New Flemish Alliance or NVA [Bart DE WEVER]; Socialist Party.Alternative or SP.A [Johan Vande LANOTTE]; Spirit [Geert LAMBERT] (new party now associated with SP.A); Vlaams Belang (Flemish Interest) or VB [Frank VANHECKE] Francophone parties: Ecolo (Francophone Greens) [Jean-Michel JAVAUX, Evelyne HUYTEBROECK, Claude BROUIR]; Humanist and Democratic Center of CDH [Joelle MILQUET]; National Front or FN [Daniel FERET]; Reformist Movement or MR [Didier REYNDERS]; Socialist Party or PS [Elio DI RUPO]; other minor parties

Head of State

King ALBERT II

Head of Government

Prime Minister Yves LETERME

Cabinet

Council of Ministers are formally appointed by the monarch

Elections

the monarchy is hereditary and constitutional; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the monarch and then approved by parliament

Constitution

7 February 1831, last revised 14 July 1993; parliament approved a constitutional package creating a federal state

Independence

4 October 1830 a provisional government declared independence from the Netherlands; 21 July 1831 the ascension of King Leopold I to the throne

National Holiday

21 July (1831) ascension to the Throne of King Leopold I

International Organization Participation

ACCT, AfDB, AsDB, Australia Group, Benelux, BIS, CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, G- 9, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MONUC, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMIK, UNMOGIP, UNRWA, UNTSO, UPU, WADB (nonregional), WCL, WCO, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO, ZC

Diplomatic Representation in the U.S.

chief of mission: Ambassador Franciskus VAN DAELE chancery: 3330 Garfield Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 333-6900 FAX: [1] (202) 333-3079 consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Los Angeles, New York

U.S. Diplomatic Representation

chief of mission: Ambassador Tom C. KOROLOGOS embassy: Regentlaan 27 Boulevard du Regent, B-1000 Brussels mailing address: PSC 82, Box 002, APO AE 09710 telephone: [32] (2) 508-2111 FAX: [32] (2) 511-2725

Capital City

Brussels

Location

50 50 N, 4 20 E

Time Difference

UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)

History

may derive from the Old Dutch bruoc/broek, meaning "marsh" and sella/zele/sel signifying "home" to express the meaning "home in the marsh"

U.S. Embassy Brussels, Belgium 27 Boulevard du Régent (the Consular Section is at 25 Boulevard du Régent) B-1000 Brussels Telephone: 011-32-2-811-4000 (available 24/7) Consular Section Fax: 011-32-2-811-4546 General email: USCitizenBrussels@state.gov

Military Branches

Belgian Armed Forces: Land Operations Command, Naval Operations Command, Air Operations Command

Service Age and Obligation

18 years of age for male and female voluntary military service; conscription abolished in 1994