Flemish Brabant

Infobox Belgian Province
EnglishName = Flemish Brabant
LocalNameInLanguage1 = (Dutch: Vlaams-Brabant}
LocalNameInLanguage2 =
LocalNameInLanguage3 =






region = BE-VLG
capital = Leuven
governor = Lodewijk De Witte
area = 2106
population_as_of = 1 January 2005
population = 1,037,786
populationdensity = 493


officialsite = http://www.vlaamsbrabant.be/vlbrEn/homeEn.jsp?page=497

Flemish Brabant (Dutch: "Vlaams-Brabant", French: "Brabant flamand") is a province of Flanders, one of the three regions of Belgium. It borders on (clockwise from the North) the Belgian provinces of Antwerp, Limburg, Liège, Walloon Brabant, Hainaut and East Flanders. Flemish Brabant also completely surrounds the Brussels-Capital Region. Its capital is Leuven. It has an area of 2,106 km² which is divided into two administrative districts ("arrondissementen" in Dutch) containing 65 municipalities.

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).

It is a province with a rich cultural history and a great diversity of typical products, among them several of the world-famous Belgian beers.

The province is made up of two arrondissements. The Halle-Vilvoorde Arrondissement has Brussels in its middle. It is therefore mainly a residential area, but it also has large industrial zones. For example, it is home to Belgium's main airport. The other arrondissement is the Leuven Arrondissement, centered on Leuven.

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. The fact that Halle-Vilvoorde surrounds Brussels (which is officially bilingual but whose inhabitants mostly speak French) makes for an interesting mix of both languages.

The history of Brabant is at Duchy of Brabant; see also Duke of Brabant.

Politics

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. The current Governor is Lodewijk De Witte, he has been the Governor of Flemish Brabant since it was created in 1995 as a result of the splitting up of the Province of Brabant. 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 Permanent Deputation, however, he doesn't have the right to vote in the Permanent Deputation except in those cases where the Permanent Deputation exercises a judicial function.

Flemish Brabant is that 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 84 members elected for a term of office of 6 years. The last election was held on Sunday 8 October 2006. Currently, six political parties have seats in the Provincial Council: CD&V/N-VA (25 seats), Open Vld (17 seats), Vlaams Belang (15 seats), SP.A-Spirit (14 seats), Groen! (7 seats) and UF (6 seats). The majority in the Provincial Council is currently formed by CD&V/N-VA, Open Vld and SP.A-Spirit. These three parties together have a majority of 56 out of 84 seats.

The current President of the Provincial Council is Vic Laureys (CD&V/N-VA). He 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.

The Permanent Deputation is the executive organ responsible for the daily administration of the province. It consists of the Governor and six Deputies elected by the Provincial Council from among its midst. The Deputies are currently divided among the majority parties as follows: two for CD&V/N-VA, two for Open Vld and two for SP.A-Spirit. However, one of the two SP.A-Spirit mandates is a shared one, it will be held by a member of SP.A-Spirit for the first three years and from 2009 to 2012 it will be held by a member of CD&V/N-VA.

Municipalities

Flemish Brabant has 65 municipalities: 35 in the Arrondissement of Halle-Vilvoorde and 30 in Leuven.

External links

* [http://www.vlaamsbrabant.be/vlbrEn/homeEn.jsp?page=497 Official web site of the Flemish Brabant province]