Privy Council (Belgium)
The Privy Council ( Dutch : Kroonraad , French : Conseil de la Couronne ) is a council in Belgium that is composed of the king , the ministers of the federal government and the ministers of state . It has a purely advisory role for the king and the government and only meets in special crises. It has not been called up since 1960.
history
Neither the Privy Council nor the title of Minister of State have a legal basis, but emerged from tradition. The Privy Council has its origins in similar institutions in France during the Ancien Régime . It was customary there for the French king to consult with his advisors before making certain decisions.
The Belgian Privy Council has only convened on five occasions since the state was founded in 1830. There are five extraordinary crisis situations:
- July 16, 1870: Outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War
- August 2, 1914: Ultimatum of the German Empire to Belgium
- May 4, 1919: Investigation of the Treaty of Versailles
- March 23, 1950: Problem with King Leopold III. (so-called king question )
- February 18, 1960: independence of the Belgian Congo
Today's meaning
The Privy Council has not been convened since 1960. In the eyes of some politicians it is an archaic and undemocratic institution, so that some have proposed its abolition. It is noteworthy that during the state crisis in 2007 , King Albert II did not convene the Privy Council due to the difficulties in forming a government, but several experienced ministers of state ( Jean-Luc Dehaene , Wilfried Martens , Philippe Moureaux , Willy Claes , Gérard Deprez , Jos Geysels , Philippe Busquin , Charles-Ferdinand Nothomb , José Daras , Raymond Langendries , François-Xavier de Donnea , Herman De Croo , Louis Michel , Herman Van Rompuy , Armand De Decker , Guy Verhofstadt ) to receive their opinions and suggestions.
Even the title of Minister of State is now only regarded as a mere honorary title and is awarded at regular intervals to politicians who have done the country special service. The appointment is made by royal decree on the proposal of the government.
Current composition
If the Privy Council were to meet today, it would be composed as follows:
King (Chair): King Philippe
Ministers : Prime Minister Sophie Wilmès and the ministers of the Wilmès II government
Minister of State :
- Willy Claes
- Antoinette Spaak
- Philippe Busquin
- Paula D'Hondt
- Andries Kinsbergen
- Charles-Ferdinand Nothomb
- Guy Verhofstadt
- Philippe Moureaux
- Louis Tobback
- Annemie Neyts-Uyttebroeck
- Magda Aelvoet
- Louis Michel
- José Daras
- Gerard Deprez
- Herman De Croo
- Philippe Maystadt
- Robert Urbain
- François-Xavier de Donnea
- Mark Eyskens
- Elio Di Rupo
- Freddy Willockx
- Raymond Langendries
- Rent Smet
- Patrick Dewael
- Roger Lallemand
- Jos Geysels
- Karel De Gucht
- Jacky Morael
- Luc Coene
- Herman Van Rompuy
- Jaak Gabriëls
- Charles Picqué
- Philippe Monfils
- Étienne Davignon
- Johan Vande Lanotte
- Frank Vandenbroucke
- Melchior Wathelet
- André Flahaut
- Yves Leterme
- Jacques van Ypersele de Strihou
Individual evidence
- ↑ Cl. Roossens, “Les ministres d'Etat”, Administration publique , 1978-1979, pp . 190–197.
- ↑ See the proposal for a revision of the constitution by a member of the Vlaams Belang in 2002: Parl. Doc., Chamber , Sess. 2001-2002, No. 1814/1, available on the website (PDF; 73 kB) of the Chamber of Deputies.
- ↑ As of May 2020.