| Flemish Government | |
|---|---|
| Vlaamse Regering | |
Emblem of the Flemish administration (Dutch: Vlaamse overheid) | |
| Overview | |
| Established | 22 December 1981; 43 years ago (1981-12-22) |
| Polity | Flanders (Community &Region) |
| Leader | Minister-President |
| Appointed by | Flemish Parliament |
| Responsible to | Flemish Parliament |
| Annual budget | € 44.7 billion (2018) |
| Headquarters | Place des Martyrs / Martelaarsplein 1000City of Brussels, Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium |
| Website | www.flanders.be |
TheFlemish Government (Dutch:Vlaamse regering[ˌvlaːmsərəˈɣeːrɪŋ]ⓘ) is the executive branch of theFlemish Community and theFlemish Region ofBelgium. It consists of a government cabinet, headed by theMinister-President and accountable to theFlemish Parliament, and the public administration (civil service) divided into 13 policy areas, each with an executive department and multiple agencies.
The Flemish Government cabinet consists of up to a maximum of eleven ministers, chosen by theFlemish Parliament. At least one minister must come fromBrussels. The ministers are drawn from the political parties which, in practice, form thegoverning coalition. The Government is chaired by theFlemish Minister-President. Ministers head executive departments of the government administration. Ministers must defend their policies and performance in person before the Flemish Parliament. The Flemish Government must receive and keep the confidence of the Flemish Parliament.Until 1993 the Flemish Government was called theFlemish Executive (Vlaamse Executieve).

The coalition replaced theJambon Government following the2024 Belgian federal election and again consisted of three parties, together having a narrow majority of 65 seats out of 124 seats total. The N-VA (31 seats) and CD&V (16 seats) were already part of the outgoing coalition, with Vooruit (18 seats) now replacing theOpen Vld.
Flemish Government - Diependaele 2024-current | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Name | Function | |
| N-VA | Matthias Diependaele | Minister-President of the Flemish Government and Flemish Minister for Economy, Innovation en Industry, External Affairs, Digitalisation, and Facility Management | |
| N-VA | Ben Weyts | Vice minister-president of the Flemish Government and Flemish Minister for Budget and Finance,Vlaamse Rand, Real Estate Heritage, and Animal Welfare | |
| Vooruit | Melissa Depraetere | Vice minister-president of the Flemish Government and Flemish Minister for Housing, Energy and Climate, Tourism, and Youth | |
| CD&V | Hilde Crevits | Vice minister-president of the Flemish Government and Flemish Minister of the Interior, Urban and Rural Policy, Society, Integration and Inclusion, Administration, Social Economy, and Marine Fishing | |
| N-VA | Zuhal Demir | Flemish Minister for Education, Justice, and Employment | |
| N-VA | Annick De Ridder | Flemish Minister for Mobility, Public Works, Ports, and Sport | |
| N-VA | Cieltje Van Achter | Flemish Minister forBrussels, and Media | |
| Vooruit | Caroline Gennez | Flemish minister for Welfare and Poverty Alleviation, Culture, and Equal Opportunities | |
| CD&V | Jo Brouns | Flemish Minister for Agriculture and Environment | |

Flemish Government - Jambon 2019-current | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Name | Function | |
| N-VA | Jan Jambon | Minister-President of the Flemish Government and Flemish Minister for Culture, Foreign Policy and Development Cooperation | |
| CD&V | Hilde Crevits(until 17 May 2022) | Vice minister-president of the Flemish Government and Flemish Minister for Economy, Employment, Social Economy, Innovation and Agriculture | |
| CD&V | Hilde Crevits(from 18 May 2022) | Vice minister-president of the Flemish Government and Flemish Minister for Welfare, Health and Family | |
| Open Vld | Bart Somers(until 6 November 2023) | Vice minister-president of the Flemish Government and Flemish Minister for the Interior, Administrative Affairs, Integration, and Equal Opportunities | |
| Open Vld | Gwendolyn Rutten(from 7 November 2023 until 2 August 2024) | Vice minister-president of the Flemish Government and Flemish Minister for the Interior, Administrative Affairs, Integration, and Equal Opportunities | |
| N-VA | Ben Weyts | Vice minister-president of the Flemish Government and Flemish Minister for Education, Animal Welfare,Brussels Periphery and Sport | |
| N-VA | Zuhal Demir | Flemish Minister for Justice and Enforcement, Environment, Energy and Tourism | |
| CD&V | Wouter Beke(until 12 May 2022) | Flemish Minister for Welfare, Health, Family and Poverty Reduction | |
| CD&V | Jo Brouns(from 18 May 2022) | Flemish Minister for Economy, Employment, Social Economy, Innovation and Agriculture | |
| N-VA | Matthias Diependaele | Flemish Minister for Finance, Budget, Housing and Immovable Heritage | |
| Open Vld | Lydia Peeters(until 2 August 2024) | Flemish Minister for Mobility and Public Works | |
| Open Vld | Lydia Peeters(from 3 August 2024) | Vice minister-president of the Flemish Government and Flemish Minister for the Interior, Administrative Affairs, Integration, Equal Opportunities, Mobility and Public Works | |
| CD&V | Benjamin Dalle | Flemish Minister forBrussels, Media, Youth and Poverty Reduction (Poverty Reduction from 18 May 2022) | |

| Flemish Government - Homans 2019 (Jul-Oct) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Name | Function | |
| N-VA | Liesbeth Homans | Minister-President of the Flemish Government and Flemish Minister for Public Governance, Civic Integration, Housing, Equal Opportunities and Poverty Reduction | |
| CD&V | Hilde Crevits | Vice minister-president of the Flemish Government and Flemish Minister for Education | |
| Open Vld | Sven Gatz(until 18 July 2019) | Vice minister-president of the Flemish Government and Flemish Minister for Media, Culture, Youth and Brussels | |
| Open Vld | Lydia Peeters(from 18 July 2019) | Vice minister-president of the Flemish Government and Flemish Minister for Finance, Budget, Energy, Media, Culture and Youth | |
| N-VA | Ben Weyts | Vice minister-president of the Flemish Government and Flemish Minister for Mobility and Public Works, theBrussels Periphery, Tourism, Animal Welfare, Foreign Policy and Immovable Heritage | |
| CD&V | Jo Vandeurzen | Flemish Minister for Welfare, Public Health and Family | |
| Open Vld | Lydia Peeters(until 18 July 2019) | Flemish Minister for Finance, Budget and Energy | |
| Open Vld | Sven Gatz(from 18 July 2019) | Flemish Minister for Brussels | |
| N-VA | Philippe Muyters | Flemish Minister for Work, Economy, Innovation, Scientific Policy and Sport | |
| CD&V | Koen Van den Heuvel | Flemish Minister for Town and Country Planning, Environment and Nature | |

| Flemish Government - Bourgeois 2014–2019 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Name | Function | |
| N-VA | Geert Bourgeois | Minister-President of the Flemish Government and Flemish Minister for Foreign Policy and Immovable Heritage | |
| CD&V | Hilde Crevits | Vice minister-president of the Flemish Government and Flemish Minister for Education | |
| Open Vld | Annemie Turtelboom(until 29 April 2016) | Vice minister-president of the Flemish Government and Flemish Minister for Finance, Budget and Energy | |
| Open Vld | Bart Tommelein(from 29 April 2016 until 30 November 2018) | Vice minister-president of the Flemish Government and Flemish Minister for Finance, Budget and Energy | |
| Open Vld | Lydia Peeters(from 30 November 2018) | Flemish Minister for Finance, Budget and Energy | |
| N-VA | Liesbeth Homans | Vice minister-president of the Flemish Government and Flemish Minister for Public Governance, Civic Integration, Housing, Equal Opportunities and Poverty Reduction | |
| CD&V | Jo Vandeurzen | Flemish Minister for Welfare, Public Health and Family | |
| Open Vld | Sven Gatz(until 30 November 2018) | Flemish Minister for Media, Culture, Youth and Brussels | |
| Open Vld | Sven Gatz(from 30 November 2018) | Vice minister-president of the Flemish Government and Flemish Minister for Media, Culture, Youth and Brussels | |
| N-VA | Ben Weyts | Flemish Minister for Mobility and Public Works, theBrussels Periphery, Tourism and Animal Welfare | |
| CD&V | Joke Schauvliege(until 5 February 2019) | Flemish Minister for Town and Country Planning, Environment and Nature | |
| CD&V | Koen Van den Heuvel(from 6 February 2019) | Flemish Minister for Town and Country Planning, Environment and Nature | |
| N-VA | Philippe Muyters | Flemish Minister for Work, Economy, Innovation, Scientific Policy and Sport | |
Following the7 June 2009 election, CD&V (31 seats), N-VA (16 seats) and SP.A (19 seats) parties formed a coalition.

| Flemish Government - Peeters II 2009–2014 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Name | Function | |
| CD&V | Kris Peeters | Minister-President of the Flemish Government and Flemish Minister for Economy, Foreign Policy, Agriculture and Rural Policy | |
| SP.A | Ingrid Lieten | Vice minister-president of the Flemish Government and Flemish Minister for Innovation, Public Investment, Media and Poverty Reduction | |
| N-VA | Geert Bourgeois | Vice minister-president of the Flemish Government and Flemish Minister for Public Governance, Local and Provincial Government, Civic Integration, Tourism and theBrussels Periphery | |
| CD&V | Jo Vandeurzen | Flemish Minister for Welfare, Public Health and Family | |
| CD&V | Hilde Crevits | Flemish Minister for Mobility and Public Works | |
| SP.A | Freya Van den Bossche | Flemish Minister for Energy, Housing, Cities and Social Economy | |
| N-VA | Philippe Muyters | Flemish Minister for Finance, Budget, Work, Town and Country Planning and Sport | |
| CD&V | Joke Schauvliege | Flemish Minister for Environment, Nature and Culture | |
| SP.A | Pascal Smet | Flemish Minister for Education, Youth, Equal Opportunities and Brussels Affairs | |


Following the2004 election, CD&V (29 seats)/ N-VA (6 seats), sp.a/ Sociaal-Liberale Partij (25 seats) and Open Vld (19 seats) parties formed a coalition.
The composition at the end of the legislature:
| Peeters I Flemish Government (2007-2009) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Name | Function | |
| CD&V | Kris Peeters | Minister-President; Minister for Institutional Reform, Ports, Agriculture, Sea Fisheries and Rural Policy | |
| SP.A | Frank Vandenbroucke | Vice-Minister-President; Minister for Work, Education and Training | |
| VLD | Dirk van Mechelen | Vice-Minister-President; Minister for Finance and Budget and Town and Country Planning | |
| SP.A | Bert Anciaux | Minister for Culture, Youth, Sport and Brussels Affairs | |
| VLD | Marino Keulen | Minister for Home Affairs, Urban Policy, Housing and Civic Integration | |
| SP.A | Kathleen Van Brempt | Minister for Mobility, Social Economy and Equal Opportunities | |
| CD&V | Hilde Crevits | Minister for Public Works, Energy, the Environment and Nature | |
| VLD | Patricia Ceysens | Minister for Economy, Enterprise, Science, Innovation and Foreign Trade | |
| CD&V | Veerle Heeren | Minister for Welfare, Public Health and Family | |


After theregional elections of 1999, a coalition ofVLD,SP,Agalev and theVU was formed withPatrick Dewael (VLD) as Minister-President.
After thefederal elections of June 2003, Patrick Dewael resigned as Minister-President and went to the federal political level. He was succeeded byBart Somers as Flemish Minister-President until the end of term in 2004. Due to changes in political parties, the coalition was different:

After theregional elections of 1995 (which were the first direct elections for the Flemish Parliament), a coalition ofCVP andSP was formed.
| Minister | Name | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minister-President, Foreign Policy, European Affairs, Science and Technology | Luc Van den Brande | CVP | |
| Vice-Minister-President, Education and Public Administration | Luc Van den Bossche | SP | |
| Environment and Labour | Theo Kelchtermans | CVP | |
| Finance, Budget and Health Policy | Wivina Demeester | CVP | |
| Public Works, Transport and Spatial Planning | Eddy Baldewijns | SP | |
| Economy, SME, Agriculture and Media | Eric Van Rompuy | CVP | |
| Home Affairs, Urban Policy and Housing | Leo Peeters | SP | |
| Culture, Family Policy and Welfare | Luc Martens | CVP | |
| Brussels Affairs and Equal en Equal Opportunities Policy | Anne Van Asbroeck | SP |
| Name | Period | Party | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rika De Backer | 1974 – 1981 | CVP | Only ofFlemish Community |
| Gaston Geens | 22 December 1981 – 21 January 1992 | CVP | |
| Luc Van den Brande | 21 February 1992 – 1999 | CVP | |
| Patrick Dewael | 13 July 1999 – 5 June 2003 | VLD | |
| Bart Somers | 11 June 2003 – 20 July 2004 | VLD | |
| Yves Leterme | 20 July 2004 – 28 June 2007 | CD&V | |
| Kris Peeters | 28 June 2007 – 25 July 2014 | CD&V | |
| Geert Bourgeois | 25 July 2014 – 2 July 2019 | N-VA | |
| Liesbeth Homans | 2 July 2019 – 2 October 2019 | N-VA | |
| Jan Jambon | 2 October 2019 – present | N-VA |
TheFlemish administration (Dutch:Vlaamse overheid) denotes the Flemishcivil service. With the 2006 reform programBetter Administrative Policy (Dutch:Beter Bestuurlijk Beleid), the Flemish civil service is designed to make the Flemish public administration more efficient and transparent.
The tasks of the Flemish public administration are now organised in 13 policy areas. Each policy area comprises a department and a number of (semi-) independent government agencies. Only those with their own article are mentioned below.
The 11 policy areas are:
Several other institutes, such as theFlemish Opera and the Flemish Institute for Technological Research (VITO), were not incorporated into the above structure.
Every year, the Minister-President presents the current state of affairs in Flanders and the Government's plans for next year during theSeptember Declaration on the fourth Monday in September.
The below figures use the 2018 budget as example, which had €44.7 billion in expenses and €42.3 billion in revenue.[1]
The revenue comes from the following sources:
The expenses are as follows per policy area:
| €13.2 billion | Education and Training | Mostly wages of education personnel |
| €12.1 billion | Welfare, Public Health and Family | E.g.child benefits |
| €3.96 billion | Chancellery and Governance | Mostly funds for local governments (provinces, cities and other municipalities) |
| €3.69 billion | Work and Social Economy | Mostlyservice vouchers |
| €3.67 billion | Mobility and Public Works | Mostly the public transportation companyDe Lijn and road infrastructure and road safety |
| €2.52 billion | Finances and Budget | Mostly financial incentives for private property |
| €2.04 billion | Spatial | E.g. management ofimmovable heritage and sustainable energy |
| €1.66 billion | Economy, Science and Innovation | Supporting entrepreneurship, scientific research and innovation |
| €1.29 billion | Culture, Youth, Sports and Media | Mostly the public broadcasterVRT and sports |
| €0.19 billion | Agriculture and Fisheries | Mostly the Agriculture Investment Fund |
| €0.17 billion | international Flanders | Tourism, international entrepreneurship,development aid and international relations |
| €0.13 billion | Higher Entities | Operating costs of the ministerial cabinets and theFlemish Parliament |
The Flemish Government owns the rights toFlanders Today, an English-speaking online and print newspaper focused on current affairs in Flanders and Brussels. The project was launched in 2007 by Geert Bourgeois – then Minister of Foreign Affairs and Tourism -, for three main reasons:[2]
In May 2017, the Flemish Government announced it would not berebidding the Flanders Today project. Both the print and the online version of the paper are to be shut down in October 2017.[3]