Flemish Brabant (Provincie Vlaams-Brabant)
Flemish Brabant was created in 1995 by the splitting of the former province of Brabant into three parts: two new provinces, Flemish Brabant and Walloon Brabant; and the Brussels-Capital Region, which no longer belongs to any province. The split was made to accommodate the eventual division of Belgium in three regions (Flanders, Wallonia and the Brussels-Capital Region).
The province is made up of two arrondissements. The Halle-Vilvoorde Arrondissement has Brussels in its middle and is therefore mainly a residential area, even though it also has large industrial zones and contains Belgium's main airport. The other arrondissement is the Leuven Arrondissement, centered on Leuven. The province's products include Belgian beers.
The official language in Flemish Brabant is Dutch (as it is in the whole of Flanders), but a few municipalities are to a certain extent allowed to use French to communicate with their citizens; these are called the municipalities with language facilities. Other such special municipalities can be found along the border between Flanders and Wallonia, and between Wallonia and the German-speaking area of Belgium. Halle-Vilvoorde mostly surrounds Brussels, which is officially bilingual but whose inhabitants mostly speak French.
The Governor is the representative or "commissioner" of the Federal and the Flemish Government in Flemish Brabant. He is appointed by the Flemish Government, on the unanimous advice of the Federal Council of Ministers. From the creation of Flemish Brabant in 1995 as a result of the division of the Province of Brabant into Flemish and French speaking provinces until his retirement in 2020, the Governor was Lodewijk De Witte. He was succeeded by Jan Spooren.
The Governor is responsible for supervising the local authorities, ensuring that laws and decrees are observed, maintaining public order and security, and coordinating the response to a disaster which has occurred in his province. He also presides over the Deputation, however, he doesn't have the right to vote in the Deputation except in those cases where the Deputation exercises a judicial function.
Flemish Brabant is the only province that has a Deputy Governor as well. The Deputy Governor is appointed by the Flemish Government on the unanimous advice of the Federal Council of Ministers and must have a considerable knowledge of both the Dutch and the French language. He is responsible for ensuring that the language legislation is observed in the peripheral municipalities of Flemish Brabant.
The Provincial Council of Flemish Brabant consists of 72 members (84 members until 2012) elected for a term of office of 6 years. The last election was held on Sunday 14 October 2012. Seven political parties have seats in the Provincial Council: The current President of the Provincial Council is An Hermans (CD&V). She is assisted by a Bureau which consists of two Vice-Presidents, four Secretaries, three Quaestors and the floor leaders of the fractions in the Provincial Council.
* New Flemish Alliance (N-VA): 19 seats
* Christen-Democratisch en Vlaams (CD&V): 15 seats
Map - Flemish Brabant (Provincie Vlaams-Brabant)
Map
Country - Belgium
Flag of Belgium |
Belgium is a sovereign state and a federal constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system. Its institutional organization is complex and is structured on both regional and linguistic grounds. It is divided into three highly autonomous regions: the Flemish Region (Flanders) in the north, the Walloon Region (Wallonia) in the south, and the Brussels-Capital Region. Brussels is the smallest and most densely populated region, as well as the richest region in terms of GDP per capita. Belgium is also home to two main linguistic communities: the Flemish Community, which constitutes about 60 percent of the population, and the French Community, which constitutes about 40 percent of the population. A small German-speaking Community, numbering around one percent, exists in the East Cantons. The Brussels-Capital Region is officially bilingual in French and Dutch, although French is the dominant language.
Currency / Language
ISO | Currency | Symbol | Significant figures |
---|---|---|---|
EUR | Euro | € | 2 |
ISO | Language |
---|---|
NL | Dutch language |
FR | French language |
DE | German language |