Politics of Wallonia
Encyclopedia
The Politics of Wallonia concern the government
of Wallonia, that is the southern Region
of Belgium
.
The capital
is Namur
, where are the seats of the Government of Wallonia, the Parliament of Wallonia and the Public Service of Wallonia.
Since 23 April 1993, Belgium
has been a federal
state, divided into three geographical regions and three linguistic communities. The Walloon Region is one of the three regions, almost totally French-speaking
. The other two geographical regions are the Flemish Region
, a mainly Dutch-speaking
region in the north and west, and the Brussels-Capital, bilingual French-Dutch administering the city of Brussels
. Some governmental competencies are exercised by the linguistic communities, of which the French community of Belgium is the largest in Wallonia, while the German-speaking community of Belgium's responsibilities are for an area within Wallonia.
The Parliament of Wallonia is a unicameral legislature of 75 members elected to serve five-year terms. It is based in the former Hospice Saint-Gilles at Namur
.
The Government of Wallonia is responsible to the Parliament. Excepting cultural and education matters, which are controlled by the linguistic communities, the Walloon Region's competences include local administration, housing, transport, training, employment, health and social policy. The region administers a number of companies, including those responsible for the provision of water and public transport.
The constitutional system of Belgium grants the Walloon Region its own legislative and executive powers in the fields for which it is competent:
The directly elected Walloon Parliament
was created in June 1995, replacing the Conseil régional wallon (Regional Council of Wallonia). This first sat on 15 October 1980 and was composed of members of the Belgian Chamber of People's Representatives
and the Belgian Senate
elected from Wallonia.
The composition of the parliament for the 2004-2009 legislature was as follows:
The president of the parliament was José Happart (PS), the Vice-Presidents were Véronique Cornet (MR), Michel Lebrun (CDh) and Charles Janssens (PS).
The composition of the parliament for the 2009-2014 legislature is as follows:
The president of the parliament is Emily Hoyos.
The new coalition government is gathering the PS, the CDH and Ecolo and has the same minister-president.
The 75 members of the parliament, together with 19 French-speaking members elected by the Parliament of the Brussels-Capital Region, form the Parliament of the French Community
. Since 1999 elections have been held together with those for the European Parliament
.
The Walloon Government is the executive body of the Walloon Region.
The Government of the French Community
and the Government of the German-speaking Community are the executive bodies of respectively the French and German-speaking Communities.
Government
Government refers to the legislators, administrators, and arbitrators in the administrative bureaucracy who control a state at a given time, and to the system of government by which they are organized...
of Wallonia, that is the southern Region
Region
Region is most commonly found as a term used in terrestrial and astrophysics sciences also an area, notably among the different sub-disciplines of geography, studied by regional geographers. Regions consist of subregions that contain clusters of like areas that are distinctive by their uniformity...
of Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
.
The capital
Capital City
Capital City was a television show produced by Euston Films which focused on the lives of investment bankers in London living and working on the corporate trading floor for the fictional international bank Shane-Longman....
is Namur
Namur (city)
Namur is a city and municipality in Wallonia, in southern Belgium. It is both the capital of the province of Namur and of Wallonia....
, where are the seats of the Government of Wallonia, the Parliament of Wallonia and the Public Service of Wallonia.
Structures
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
has been a federal
Federation
A federation , also known as a federal state, is a type of sovereign state characterized by a union of partially self-governing states or regions united by a central government...
state, divided into three geographical regions and three linguistic communities. The Walloon Region is one of the three regions, almost totally French-speaking
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
. The other two geographical regions are the Flemish Region
Flemish Region
The Flemish Region is one of the three official regions of the Kingdom of Belgium—alongside the Walloon Region and the Brussels-Capital Region. Colloquially, it is usually simply referred to as Flanders, of which it is the institutional iteration within the context of the Belgian political system...
, a mainly Dutch-speaking
Dutch language
Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...
region in the north and west, and the Brussels-Capital, bilingual French-Dutch administering the city of Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
. Some governmental competencies are exercised by the linguistic communities, of which the French community of Belgium is the largest in Wallonia, while the German-speaking community of Belgium's responsibilities are for an area within Wallonia.
The Parliament of Wallonia is a unicameral legislature of 75 members elected to serve five-year terms. It is based in the former Hospice Saint-Gilles at Namur
Namur (city)
Namur is a city and municipality in Wallonia, in southern Belgium. It is both the capital of the province of Namur and of Wallonia....
.
The Government of Wallonia is responsible to the Parliament. Excepting cultural and education matters, which are controlled by the linguistic communities, the Walloon Region's competences include local administration, housing, transport, training, employment, health and social policy. The region administers a number of companies, including those responsible for the provision of water and public transport.
The constitutional system of Belgium grants the Walloon Region its own legislative and executive powers in the fields for which it is competent:
- agriculture and rural renewal
- development of the territory and town planning
- economy and foreign trade
- employment and vocational training
- the environment, water and nature conservation
- housing
- local authorities, subsidized works and sports infrastructures
- scientific research, new technologies and energy
- international relations
- health and social affairs
- tourism and heritage
- regional transport, mobility and public works.
Parliament
Walloon Parliament
The Walloon Parliament , formerly the Walloon Regional Council , is the Parliament of the Walloon Region, commonly called Wallonia, one of the self-governing Regions of Belgium with Flanders and the Brussels-Capital Region...
was created in June 1995, replacing the Conseil régional wallon (Regional Council of Wallonia). This first sat on 15 October 1980 and was composed of members of the Belgian Chamber of People's Representatives
Belgian Chamber of People's Representatives
The Belgian Chamber of Representatives is one of the two chambers in the bicameral Federal Parliament of Belgium, the other being the Senate...
and the Belgian Senate
Belgian Senate
The Belgian Senate is one of the two chambers of the bicameral Federal Parliament of Belgium, the other being the Chamber of Representatives. It is considered to be the "upper house" of the Federal Parliament.-History and future:...
elected from Wallonia.
The composition of the parliament for the 2004-2009 legislature was as follows:
- Parti SocialisteSocialist Party (francophone Belgium)The Socialist Party is a Francophone social-democratic political party in Belgium. As of the 2010 elections, it is the second largest party in the Belgian Chamber of Representatives and the largest Francophone party...
(PS) : 34 - Mouvement réformateurReformist MovementThe Reformist Movement is a French-speaking liberal political party in Belgium. The party was in coalition as part of the Leterme II Government, and was also part of the governing coalition in the Walloon Region and Brussels-Capital Region until the 2004 regional elections...
(MR) : 20 - Centre démocrate humanisteHumanist Democratic CentreThe Humanist Democratic Centre is a Francophone Christian democratic political party in Belgium. The cdH currently participates in the Government of the Brussels-Capital Region, the Government of the French Community and the Walloon Government.- History :...
(CDh) : 14 - Front nationalNational Front (Belgium)The National Front is a francophone Belgian far-right political party. The party's ideology advocates a strong unitary Belgian nationalism and is strongly against immigration.The party's acting leader is Patrick Cocriamont....
(FN) : 4 - EcoloEcoloEcolo is a French-speaking Belgian green political party in Wallonia, Brussels and the German-speaking Community of Belgium...
: 3
The president of the parliament was José Happart (PS), the Vice-Presidents were Véronique Cornet (MR), Michel Lebrun (CDh) and Charles Janssens (PS).
The composition of the parliament for the 2009-2014 legislature is as follows:
- Parti SocialisteSocialist Party (francophone Belgium)The Socialist Party is a Francophone social-democratic political party in Belgium. As of the 2010 elections, it is the second largest party in the Belgian Chamber of Representatives and the largest Francophone party...
(PS) : 29 - Mouvement réformateurReformist MovementThe Reformist Movement is a French-speaking liberal political party in Belgium. The party was in coalition as part of the Leterme II Government, and was also part of the governing coalition in the Walloon Region and Brussels-Capital Region until the 2004 regional elections...
(MR) : 19 - EcoloEcoloEcolo is a French-speaking Belgian green political party in Wallonia, Brussels and the German-speaking Community of Belgium...
: 14 - Centre démocrate humanisteHumanist Democratic CentreThe Humanist Democratic Centre is a Francophone Christian democratic political party in Belgium. The cdH currently participates in the Government of the Brussels-Capital Region, the Government of the French Community and the Walloon Government.- History :...
(CDh) : 13
The president of the parliament is Emily Hoyos.
The new coalition government is gathering the PS, the CDH and Ecolo and has the same minister-president.
The 75 members of the parliament, together with 19 French-speaking members elected by the Parliament of the Brussels-Capital Region, form the Parliament of the French Community
Parliament of the French Community
The Parliament of the French Community is the legislative assembly of the French Community of Belgium based in the Quartier Royal....
. Since 1999 elections have been held together with those for the European Parliament
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
.
Government
The Government of the French Community
Government of the French Community
The Cabinet of the French Community of Belgium is the executive branch of the French Community of Belgium, and it sits in Brussels. It consists of a number of ministers chosen by the Parliament of the French Community and is headed by a Minister-President....
and the Government of the German-speaking Community are the executive bodies of respectively the French and German-speaking Communities.
See also
- Science and technology in WalloniaScience and technology in WalloniaScience and technology in Wallonia, the southern region of Belgium , is well developed with the presence of several universities and research institutes.-Technology institutes:Wallonia is home to several science and technology organizations....
- Politics of BelgiumPolitics of BelgiumPolitics of Belgium takes place in a framework of a federal, parliamentary, representative democratic, constitutional monarchy, whereby the King of the Belgians is the Head of State and the Prime Minister of Belgium is the head of government in a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by...
, Politics of FlandersPolitics of FlandersFlanders is both a cultural community and an economic region within the Belgian state, and has significant autonomy.Historically, the contemporary Flemish community grew out of the Catholic southern part of the medieval XVII provinces of the Low Countries. The contemporary Belgian Flanders area...
, Politics of Brussels