Prime Minister of Belgium

Politics of Belgium
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The prime minister of Belgium (

Although Leaders of Government (French: Chefs de Cabinet) had been appointed since the independence of the country, until 1918 the king of the Belgians often presided over the Council of Ministers, so the modern era of the "Premiership" started after World War I with Léon Delacroix. The political importance of the Crown has decreased over time, whereas the position of prime minister has gradually become more important.

Since the independence of Belgium in 1830, governments have been designated with the name of the minister who formed the government as formateur, but that position did not have a specific status. Originally, from 1831 the king of the Belgians presided over the Council of Ministers, but when he was absent, the presidency was taken by the chef de cabinet (head of Cabinet), usually the oldest or most influential minister. This position gradually became more prominent, and the minister with this title then soon acquired the competency to present the king with the proposed allocation of the various ministerial departments among the ministers.

With the expansion of voting rights after World War I, more political parties started to win seats in parliament—especially the Belgian Socialist Party—and this made it impossible to achieve an absolute majority in parliament. Since then, coalition governments have been necessary, which has made the task of forming a government by the appointed formateur more difficult. Consequently, the formateur increasingly gained greater respect, and much prestige. Thus the formateur became prominent as a position of leadership. As the ministers of the government now represented various political parties, there was a need for someone to coordinate the proceedings of the various ministers. The prime minister was now asserted as the actual head of government, and this is how the office of prime minister came into existence.

Gradually, the head of Cabinet replaced the king more often during the first half of the twentieth century, and as such gained importance within government. As the Constitution requires the king to exercise his powers through the ministers, the prime minister became reckoned as the country's most important political figure and de facto chief executive. Nevertheless, given his newly acquired prominence, as a member of the Cabinet the head of Cabinet continued to lead a ministerial department.

The title of Prime Minister or Premier was used for the first time in 1918 in official documents and it is at this time that the position was assigned to its own cabinet. Only in 1970 the title was incorporated in the Belgian Constitution with the first state reform.

Function

Besides coordinating government policies, the prime minister is responsible for the proper execution of the

See also

• List of Belgian monarchs
• List of prime ministers of Belgium
• List of Belgian prime ministers by political affiliation
• List of Belgian prime ministers by time in office
• Lifespan timeline of prime ministers of Belgium
• Minister-President of the Brussels Capital-Region
• Minister-President of Flanders
• Minister-President of the French Community
• Minister-President of the German-speaking Community
• Minister-President of Wallonia
• History of Belgium
• Royal Question

References