Breaking down the new Belgian federal government: Part 1

Getting a grip on Belgian politics can be tricky. Divisions between federal, regional and community governments, can baffle even for Belgians, so how is a lowly expat expect to understand it all?

A good place to start is to know the names of who is running the show. So for the next two week, The Bulletin offers a two-part series introducing new Prime Minister Charles Michel and his 13-person, four-party cabinet known as the “Swedish coalition” (thanks to the colours and symbols associated with participating parties: blue for the liberal parties MR and Open VLD, yellow for the Flemish nationalist NV-A, and the cross used by Christian Democrats CD&V).

The Cabinet

Position: Prime Minister
Name: Charles Michel
Age: 38
Party: MR (Liberal party; centre right; colour: blue)
Hometown: Namur, Wallonia
Qualifications: Only two years after finishing his law studies at the ULB and the University of Amsterdam, in 2000 Michel was appointed as the Walloon government’s Minister of Home Affairs. At only age 25, he became the youngest minister in the history of Belgium. He has also served as city council member and mayor of Wavre before joining the Verhofstadt III Government as Belgian Minister of Development Cooperation in 2007. Since then, Michel continued to serve subsequent federal governments and was elected as MR party chairman in 2011, ousting long-time rival Didier Reynders.
Special mentions: At age 38, on 11 October 2014, Michel became Belgium’s youngest Prime Minister to-date.

Position: Minister of the Interior - Deputy Prime Minister
Name: Jan Jambon
Age: 54
Party: NV-A (Conservative, Flemish Nationalist party; right; colour: yellow)
Hometown: Genk, Flanders
Qualifications: Jambon began his career working in HR management in the private sector for a number of companies, including IBM, SD Worx and Bank Card Company, before moving to the public sector. Already active in the Flemish People’s Movement (a Flemish nationalist thinktank), Jambon’s political career began in 2007 when he joined the Belgian Chamber of Representatives, taking Kris Peeter’s spot. He has also long been active in the local politics of his hometown of Brasschaat and became mayor of that town in 2013.
Special mentions: Jambon is married to the sister of Pieter Huybrechts, a representative of the extreme right party Vlaams Belang in the Flemish Parliament.

Position: Minister of Foreign Affairs - Deputy Prime Minister
Name: Didier Reynders
Age: 56
Party: MR (Liberal party; centre right; colour: blue)
Hometown: Liege, Wallonia
Qualifications: Reynders has served as a minister in the Belgian government since 1999. Until 2011 he held the post of Finance Minister before taking up the Foreign Affairs Minister position under Prime Minister Elio Di Rupo. Since 2004, he has been a Deputy Prime Minister, so not too much is new for Reynders on this new bill.

Position: Minister of Employment, Economy Consumer Affairs - Deputy Prime Minister
Name: Kris Peeters
Age: 52
Party: CD&V (Christian Democrats; centre right; colour: orange)
Hometown: Reet, Flanders
Qualifications: After working some 13 years for UNIZO, a trade union for self-employed people, Peeters joined the Flemish Government, rising to the rank of Flemish Minister-President in 2007, replacing Yves Leterme.
Special mentions: Peeters was first in line for the Prime Minister spot, but when fellow CD&V member Marianne Thyssen was designated as European Commissioner, the title when to Michel in order to to avoid CD&V from holding two top government spots.

Position: Minister of Development Cooperation, Digital Agenda, Telecom and Postal Services - Deputy Prime Minister
Name: Alexander De Croo
Age: 38
Party: Open VLD (Liberal Democrats; centre right; colour: blue)
Hometown: Vilvoorde, Flanders
Qualifications: Only one month older then Prime Minister Charles Michel, De Croo also holds an impressive political resumé for his age. After working in the private sector for several years, De Croo, son of prominent Belgian politician Herman De Croo, began his political career in 2009, when his name appeared for the first time on his party ballot in the European elections of that year. Also in 2009, despite having held no previous political office, De Croo was elected president of Open VLD. By 2012, he held the positions of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Pensions, where he remained until taking up his latest post.

Position: Minister of the Middle Class, SMEs, Self-employed and Agriculture
Name: Willy Borsus
Age: 52
Party: MR (Liberal party; centre right; colour: blue)
Hometown: Pessoux, Ciney, Wallonia
Qualifications: In what is one of the longest political careers of the new ministerial cabinet, Borsus threw his hat into the political arena back in 1988, when he become a member of the city council of Somme-Leuze. By 1994, he had become mayor of the town and began serving as council member for the province of Namur. Since 2000, he has continue in various posts in the Walloon and Francophone Community governments.
Special mention: Borsus wins the award for most unlikely combination of agencies in a ministerial title.