De Croo Government

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De Croo Government
Flag of Belgium.svg
98th Cabinet of Belgium (since 1830)
Incumbent
Informal meeting of ministers responsible for development (FAC). Arrivals Alexander De Croo (36766610160) (cropped2).jpg
Date formed1 October 2020
People and organisations
Head of statePhilippe of Belgium
Head of governmentAlexander De Croo
No. of ministers15
Member parties
  • Open Vld (Flemish)
  • MR (Francophone)
  • Forward (Flemish)
  • PS (Francophone)
  • CD&V (Flemish)
  • Ecolo (Francophone)
  • Groen (Flemish)
Status in legislature
  • Majority coalition
  • 87 / 150
Opposition parties
History
Election(s)2019 Belgian federal election
Legislature term(s)2019–2024
PredecessorWilmès II
Distribution of seats in the Chamber of Representatives.

The De Croo Government is the incumbent Federal Government of Belgium, led by Prime Minister Alexander De Croo since 1 October 2020.

History[]

The creation of the De Croo Government occurred on 1 October 2020, 494 days after the 2019 Belgian federal election of May 2019 as the 2019–20 Belgian government formation had been again a difficult process. The government replaced the minority Wilmès II Government, which was a temporary government instated to handle the consequences of the coronavirus outbreak. The De Croo Government is a so-called Vivaldi coalition, named after composer Antonio Vivaldi due to his work The Four Seasons which corresponds to the four different political views present in this coalition: the liberals (Open Vld and MR), the socialists (Vooruit and PS), the greens (Groen and Ecolo) and the Christian democrats of CD&V.

Most notably this government doesn't have a majority in the Flemish language group, as the two largest political parties in Flanders (and simultaneously in all of Belgium) are part of the opposition: N-VA and Vlaams Belang. Other opposition parties are the Francophone parties cdH and DéFI and the nationwide PVDA-PTB.[1]

Composition[]

The Constitution requires an equal number of Dutch- and French-speaking ministers (regardless of the Prime Minister) and with all parties requiring some positions, the number of members in the Government has increased considerably, from 12 to 14 ministers with an additional 5 extra Secretaries of State for a total of 7 extra members in the Government compared to the previous Wilmès II Government.

With several new parties coming in to the government and many existing parties replacing their ministers, only three ministers remain which were already present in the Wilmès II Government: Prime Minister Alexander De Croo (who was Minister of Development Cooperation, Finance and fighting Fiscal Fraud), the previous Prime Minister Sophie Wilmès who now becomes Minister of Foreign Affairs and David Clarinval who moves from Minister of Budget, Civil Service, National Lottery and Scientific Policy to Minister of the Middle Class, SMEs, Self-employed, Agriculture, and Institutional Affairs. A large number of government members were relatively unknown at the time of their appointment, as several parties decided to opt for new faces instead of familiar ones. One notable returnee is Frank Vandenbroucke who, after a nine-year break from politics, returns to become Minister of Health and Social Affairs, and has held multiple positions in the period 1994–2009, including Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Social Affairs, Labor, and Pensions.

Portfolio Minister Took office Left office Party
Prime Minister
Prime MinisterAlexander De Croo1 October 2020Incumbent Open Vld
Deputy Prime Ministers
Minister of Economy and EmploymentPierre-Yves Dermagne1 October 2020Incumbent PS
Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Affairs, Foreign Trade and Federal Cultural InstitutionsSophie Wilmès (deputised by David Clarinval)1 October 2020Incumbent MR
Minister of MobilityGeorges Gilkinet1 October 2020Incumbent Ecolo
Minister of Finance, in charge of the Coordination of the Fight against FraudVincent Van Peteghem1 October 2020Incumbent CD&V
Minister of Social Affairs and Public HealthFrank Vandenbroucke1 October 2020Incumbent Vooruit
Minister of Civil Service, Public Enterprises, Telecommunication and Postal ServicesPetra De Sutter1 October 2020Incumbent Groen
Minister of Justice and the North SeaVincent Van Quickenborne1 October 2020Incumbent Open Vld
Ministers
Minister of the Small Businesses, Self-Employed, SMEs and Agriculture, Institutional Reforms and Democratic RenewalDavid Clarinval1 October 2020Incumbent MR
Minister of Pensions and Social Integration, in charge of Persons with Disabilities, Combating Poverty and BelirisKarine Lalieux1 October 2020Incumbent PS
Minister of DefenceLudivine Dedonder1 October 2020Incumbent PS
Minister of Climate, Environment, Sustainable Development and Green DealZakia Khattabi1 October 2020Incumbent Ecolo
Minister of the Interior, Institutional Reforms and Democratic RenewalAnnelies Verlinden1 October 2020Incumbent CD&V
Minister of Development Cooperation and Urban PolicyMeryame Kitir1 October 2020Incumbent Vooruit
Minister of EnergyTinne Van der Straeten1 October 2020Incumbent Groen
Secretaries of State
Secretary of State for Recovery and Strategic Investments, in charge of Science Policy
Deputy to the Minister of the Economy and Employment		 [fr]1 October 2020Incumbent PS
Secretary of State for Digitization, in charge of Administrative Simplification, Privacy and Buildings Administration
Deputy to the Prime Minister		 [fr]1 October 2020Incumbent MR
Secretary of State for Gender Equality, Equal Opportunities and Diversity
Deputy to the Minister of Mobility		Sarah Schlitz1 October 2020Incumbent Ecolo
Secretary of State for Asylum and Migration, in charge of the National Lottery
Deputy to the Minister of the Interior, Institutional Reforms and Democratic Renewal		Sammy Mahdi1 October 2020Incumbent CD&V
Secretary of State for Budget and Consumer Protection
Deputy to the Minister of Justice and the North Sea		 [nl]1 October 2020Incumbent Open Vld


References[]

  1. ^ VRT NWS (2020-09-30). "7 partijen hebben een inhoudelijk akkoord om samen te regeren: dit weten we daar al over" [7 parties have an internal agreement to govern: this is what we know already]. vrtnws.be (in Dutch). Retrieved 2020-09-30.
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