Speaker of the Flemish Parliament
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The speaker of the Flemish Parliament (Dutch: Voorzitter van het Vlaams Parlement) is the presiding member of the Flemish Parliament, which is the legislature of Flanders (Belgium). The speaker is elected at the beginning of each parliamentary year, on the fourth Monday in September. The speaker chairs the plenary sessions of the Flemish Parliament and acts as its official representative. The speaker determines whether a certain initiative is admissible and thus can be put to parliament at all. The Flemish ministers take the oath before the Speaker of the Flemish Parliament. Only the head of the Flemish government, the minister-president of Flanders, takes the oath before the King. The speaker also presides over the Bureau and the Extended Bureau of the Flemish Parliament and is assisted by four deputy speakers.
List of speakers of the Flemish Parliament
[edit]| No. | Name | Entered office | Left office | Legislative term(s) | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cultural Council for the Dutch Cultural Community (Cultuurraad voor de Nederlandse Cultuurgemeenschap) | ||||||
| 1. | Robert Vandekerckhove | 7 December 1971 | 9 May 1974 | Christian People's Party (CVP) | ||
| 2. | Jan Bascour | 9 May 1974 | 14 June 1977 | Party for Freedom and Progress (PVV) | ||
| 3. | Maurits Coppieters | 14 June 1977 | 24 April 1979 | People's Union (VU) | ||
| Flemish Council (Vlaamse Raad) | ||||||
| 4. | Rik Boel | 24 April 1979 | 22 December 1981 | Belgian Socialist Party (BSP) / Socialist Party (SP) | ||
| 5. | Jean Pede | 22 December 1981 | 3 December 1985 | Party for Freedom and Progress (PVV) | ||
| 6. | Frans Grootjans | 3 December 1985 | 13 December 1987 | Party for Freedom and Progress (PVV) | ||
| 7. | Jean Pede | 2 February 1988 | 18 October 1988 | Party for Freedom and Progress (PVV) | ||
| 8. | Louis Vanvelthoven | 18 October 1988 | 13 January 1994 | Socialist Party (SP) | ||
| 9. | Eddy Baldewijns | 13 January 1994 | 13 June 1995 | Socialist Party (SP) | ||
| Flemish Parliament (Vlaams Parlement) | ||||||
| 10. | Norbert De Batselier | 13 June 1995 | 12 July 2006 | 1995–1999 1999–2004 2004–2009 (partial) |
Socialist Party – Different (sp.a) | |
| 11. | Marleen Vanderpoorten | 13 July 2006 | 13 July 2009 | 2004–2009 (partial) | Flemish Liberals and Democrats (VLD) | |
| 12. | Jan Peumans | 13 July 2009 | 26 May 2019 | 2009–2014 2014–2019 |
New Flemish Alliance (N-VA) | |
| 13. | Kris Van Dijck | 18 June 2019 | 11 July 2019 | 2019–2024 | New Flemish Alliance (N-VA) | |
| 14. | Wilfried Vandaele | 13 July 2019 | 2 October 2019 | 2019–2024 | New Flemish Alliance (N-VA) | |
| 15. | Liesbeth Homans | 2 October 2019 | 31 December 2024 | 2019–2024 2024–2029 |
New Flemish Alliance (N-VA) | |
| 16. | Freya Van den Bossche | 1 January 2025 | incumbent | 2024–2029 | Vooruit | |