The Crown Council of Belgium

Belgium

Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...

 is composed of the King of the Belgians

Monarchy of Belgium

Monarchy in Belgium is constitutional and popular in nature. The hereditary monarch, at present Albert II, is the head of state and is officially called King of the Belgians .-Origins:...

, the Ministers and the Ministers of State. The King chairs the Crown Council. During a session of the Crown Council, the Ministers of State can do nothing but advise the King, as the authority to make political decisions is vested in the King and the Federal Government

Belgian federal government

The Cabinet of Belgium is the executive branch of the Belgian federal government, consisting of ministers and secretaries of state drawn from the political parties which form the governing coalition. Formally, the ministers are appointed by the King...

, in accordance with the Belgian Constitution

Constitution of Belgium

The Constitution of Belgium dates back to 1831. Since then Belgium has been a parliamentary monarchy that applies the principles of ministerial responsibility for the government policy and the Trias Politica. The Constitution established Belgium as a centralised unitary state...

.

To date, the Crown Council has met on only five occasions:

• July 16, 1870: The start of the Franco-Prussian War
  Franco-Prussian War
  The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the 1870 War was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia. Prussia was aided by the North German Confederation, of which it was a member, and the South German states of Baden, Württemberg and...
  
   (Leopold II of Belgium
  Leopold II of Belgium
  Leopold II was the second king of the Belgians. Born in Brussels the second son of Leopold I and Louise-Marie of Orléans, he succeeded his father to the throne on 17 December 1865 and remained king until his death.Leopold is chiefly remembered as the founder and sole owner of the Congo Free...
  
  )
• August 2 and 3, 1914: The German
  Germany
  Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
  
   ultimatum to Belgium at the beginning of World War I
  World War I
  World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
  
   (Albert I of Belgium
  Albert I of Belgium
  Albert I reigned as King of the Belgians from 1909 until 1934.-Early life:Born Albert Léopold Clément Marie Meinrad in Brussels, he was the fifth child and second son of Prince Philippe, Count of Flanders, and his wife, Princess Marie of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen...
  
  )
• May 2, 1919: The Treaty of Versailles
  Treaty of Versailles
  The Treaty of Versailles was one of the peace treaties at the end of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June 1919, exactly five years after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The other Central Powers on the German side of...
  
   (Albert I of Belgium
  Albert I of Belgium
  Albert I reigned as King of the Belgians from 1909 until 1934.-Early life:Born Albert Léopold Clément Marie Meinrad in Brussels, he was the fifth child and second son of Prince Philippe, Count of Flanders, and his wife, Princess Marie of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen...
  
  )
• March 23, 1950: The Royal Question (Leopold III of Belgium
  Leopold III of Belgium
  Leopold III reigned as King of the Belgians from 1934 until 1951, when he abdicated in favour of the Heir Apparent,...
  
  )
• February 18, 1960: The independence of Belgian Congo
  Belgian Congo
  The Belgian Congo was the formal title of present-day Democratic Republic of the Congo between King Leopold II's formal relinquishment of his personal control over the state to Belgium on 15 November 1908, and Congolese independence on 30 June 1960.-Congo Free State, 1884–1908:Until the latter...
  
   (Baudouin I of Belgium)

Living Ministers of State

• Jean Defraigne
  Jean Defraigne
  Jean Pierre Marie Olivier Germain Defraigne is a Belgian liberal politician and minister for the Liberal Reformist Party ....
  
  
• Willy Claes
  Willy Claes
  Willem Werner Hubert "Willy" Claes was the eighth Secretary General of NATO and a Belgian politician. He was a member of the Flemish Socialist Party....
  
  
• Guy Spitaels
  Guy Spitaels
  Guy G. A. Gh. Spitaels is a Belgian politician of the Socialist Party. He graduated in 1957 in political and social sciences at the Universite Catholique de Louvain ....
  
  
• Antoinette Spaak
  Antoinette Spaak
  Antoinette M. Spaak, born in Brussels on 27 June 1928, is a Belgian politician.Daughter of former Prime Minister of Belgium Paul-Henri Spaak, granddaughter of the first female member of the Belgian Senate Marie Janson, and great-niece of Prime Minister Paul-Émile Janson, Spaak was born into a...
  
  
• Wilfried Martens
  Wilfried Martens
  Wilfried Martens is a Belgian politician. He was born in Sleidinge . Martens was the 44th Prime Minister of Belgium from 3 April 1979 to 6 April 1981 and 17 December 1981 to 7 March 1992....
  
  
• Leo Tindemans
• Philippe Busquin
  Philippe Busquin
  Philippe Busquin is a Belgian politician. He was Member of the European Parliament from 2004 to 2009 for the French Community of Belgium with the Parti Socialiste, part of the Socialist Group and sat on the European Parliament's Committee on Industry, Research and Energy. Busquin was the chairman...
  
  
• Paula D'Hondt
• Gilbert Temmerman
• Andries Kinsbergen
  Andries Kinsbergen
  Andries Kinsbergen is a Belgian lawyer and liberal politician. He was governor of the Belgian province Antwerp from 1 January 1967 until 1 October 1993.-Education:...
  
  
• Charles-Ferdinand Nothomb
  Charles-Ferdinand Nothomb
  Baron Charles-Ferdinand N.M.P. Nothomb is a French speaking Belgian politician.He is a member of the Humanist Democratic Centre . He served as Belgian Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1980 until 1981...
  
  
• Guy Verhofstadt
  Guy Verhofstadt
  Guy Verhofstadt is a Belgian politician who was the 47th Prime Minister of Belgium from 1999 to 2008. He is currently a Member of the European Parliament and leader of the Group of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe.- Early career :...
  
  
• Philippe Moureaux
  Philippe Moureaux
  Philippe Moureaux is a Belgian politician, senator, mayor of Sint-Jans-Molenbeek, and professor of economic history at the Université Libre de Bruxelles....
  
  
• Louis Tobback
  Louis Tobback
  Louis Marie Joseph Tobback is a Belgian politician. Tobback is a Flemish social democrat and member of the political party SP.A. He is currently the mayor of Leuven. He graduated in Romance philology at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel....
  
  
• Annemie Neyts
• Magda Aelvoet
  Magda Aelvoet
  Magdalena Godelieve Hilda "Magda" Aelvoet is a Belgian, Flemish politician. She is a former president of the Greens in the European Parliament....
  
  

• Louis Michel
  Louis Michel
  Louis H. O. Ch. Michel is a Belgian politician. He served in the government of Belgium as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1999 to 2004 and was European Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid from 2004 to 2009. Since 2009, he has been a Member of the European Parliament...
  
  
• José Daras
  José Daras
  José Daras is a Belgian politician and a member of Ecolo. He was elected as a member of the Belgian Senate in 2007.-Notes:...
  
  
• Gérard Deprez
  Gérard Deprez
  Gérard M.J. Deprez is a Belgian politician andex-Member of the European Parliament for the French Community of Belgiumwith the MR/MCC/PRL,part of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe and sits on...
  
  
• Herman De Croo
  Herman De Croo
  Herman Francies Joseph De Croo is a Belgian liberal politician. He is a member of the Open VLD. He is the father of current Open VLD chairman Alexander De Croo....
  
  
• Philippe Maystadt
  Philippe Maystadt
  Philippe M.P.J. Maystadt is a Belgian politician who served as Minister for Economic Affairs, Minister of Finance, and Deputy Prime Minister. He is the current President of the European Investment Bank . He was appointed to this office on 1 January 2000.Philippe Maystadt was born in Verviers in...
  
  
• Robert Urbain
• François-Xavier de Donnea
  François-Xavier de Donnéa
  François Xavier Gustave Marie Joseph Corneille Hubert, Knight de Donnea de Hamoir is a Belgian politician and a former mayor of the City of Brussels and Minister-President of the Brussels-Capital Region....
  
  
• Antoine Duquesne
  Antoine Duquesne
  Antoine Duquesne was a Belgian politician and Member of the European Parliament for the French Community of Belgium with the MR/MCC/PRL, Member of the Bureau of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe and sits on the European Parliament's Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home...
  
  
• Mark Eyskens
  Mark Eyskens
  Marc Maria Frans, Viscount Eyskens , known as Mark Eyskens , is a Belgian economist and politician in the Christian People's Party , now called Christian Democratic and Flemish, and briefly served as Prime Minister of Belgium in 1981.-Background:He was born in Leuven, the son of Gaston Eyskens, and...
  
  
• Jean-Luc Dehaene
  Jean-Luc Dehaene
  -Early life and political career:He was born in Montpellier, France, when his parents were fleeing German troops. He got into politics through the Algemeen Christelijk Werknemersverbond , a trade union which was closely linked to the Christelijke Volkspartij .In 1981, he became Minister of Social...
  
  
• Elio Di Rupo
  Elio Di Rupo
  Elio Di Rupo is a Belgian social-democratic politician and the Party Leader of the Socialist Party .-Biography:...
  
  
• Freddy Willockx
  Freddy Willockx
  Frederik A.A. Willockx is a Belgian socialist politician, member of the Flemish Different Socialist Party.Freddy Willockx was first elected to the Belgian Chamber of Representatives in 1979 and served until 1994...
  
  
• Raymond Langendries
  Raymond Langendries
  Raymond A. Langendries is a Belgian politician and Member of the European Parliament for the French Community of Belgium with the Centre Démocrate Humaniste, part of the European People's Party and sits on the European Parliament's Committee on Employment and Social Affairs.He is a substitute for...
  
  
• Miet Smet
  Miet Smet
  Miet Smet is a Belgian politician for the Christian Democratic and Flemish party .Miet Smet was the founder and first president of the Christian People's Party political women's organisation, Vrouw en Maatschappij .She was elected to the Belgian Chamber of People's Representatives in 1978...
  
  
• Patrick Dewael
  Patrick Dewael
  Patrick Yvonne Hugo Dewael, in Lier, Belgium is a liberal Belgian politician. He is a member of the Flemish Liberals and Democrats, or Vlaamse Liberalen en Democraten . He is the nephew of the late liberal minister Herman Vanderpoorten and the cousin of Marleen Vanderpoorten, who also served as...
  
  
• Roger Lallemand
  Roger Lallemand
  Roger Lallemand is a Walloon-Belgian lawyer and socialist politician.-Education:He graduated as a licentiate in Romance philology and obtained a doctorate in law at the Universite Libre de Bruxelles.-Career:...
  
  
• Jos Geysels
  Jos Geysels
  Josephus "Jos" Elisabeth A. M. Geysels is a former Belgian politician, and former Representative in the Belgian Chamber for the ecologist party Agalev for which he was party chairman...
  
  
• Karel De Gucht
  Karel De Gucht
  Karel Lodewijk Georgette Emmerence De Gucht is a Belgian politician who has been the European Commissioner for Trade since 2010...
  
  

• Daniel Ducarme
  Daniel Ducarme
  Daniel Ducarme was a Belgian politician and former Minister-President of the Brussels-Capital Region.-Background and political affiliation:...
  
  
• Jacky Morael
• Luc Coene
  Luc Coene
  Luc Coene is a Belgian economist and Governor of the National Bank of Belgium .-Education:Luc Coene graduated in economics at Ghent University and obtained a postgraduate diploma in European economic integration at the College of Europe .-Career:He started his career at the NBB in July 1973,...
  
  
• Herman Van Rompuy
  Herman Van Rompuy
  Herman Achille Van Rompuy is the first long-term and full-time President of the European Council...
  
  
• Jaak Gabriëls
  Jaak Gabriëls
  Petrus Josephus Jacobus "Jaak" Gabriëls is a Belgian politician and member of the Flemish Liberals and Democrats . He graduated in 1965 at the Catholic University of Leuven as Master of Philosophy and Arts. He started his political career as a Provincial Councillor for Limburg from 1974 to 1977...
  
  
• Charles Picqué
  Charles Picqué
  Charles Picqué is a Belgian, French-speaking politician. He is currently serving his second term as Minister-President of the Brussels Capital-Region....
  
  
• Philippe Monfils
  Philippe Monfils
  Philippe Monfils is a Belgian politician and a member of the MR. He was elected as a member of the Belgian Senate in 2007.-Notes:...
  
  
• Etienne Davignon
  Étienne Davignon
  Étienne Francois Jacques Davignon, Viscount Davignon is a Belgian politician, businessman, and former vice-president of the European Commission.-Career:...
  
  
• Steve Stevaert
  Steve Stevaert
  Steve Stevaert is a Belgian politician of the Flemish Socialist Party: the SP.A....
  
  
• Johan Vande Lanotte
  Johan Vande Lanotte
  Johan Cyrille Corneel Vande Lanotte is a Belgian politician. He is a member of the SP.A, and became its party president on 15 October 2005...
  
  
• Jos Chabert
• Armand De Decker
  Armand De Decker
  Armand De Decker, born in Uccle, 8 October 1948, is a Belgian politician and member of the French-speaking liberal party Mouvement Réformateur .De Decker studied law at the Université Libre de Bruxelles and practised law.-Political career:...
  
  
• Frank Vandenbroucke
• Melchior Wathelet
  Melchior Wathelet
  Melchior H.M.J.F.C. Wathelet is a Belgian politician and member of the Humanist Democratic Centre. He has degrees in law and in economics and is a Master of Laws . He's also a professor at the Catholic University of Louvain and the Université de Liège...
  
  
• André Flahaut
  André Flahaut
  André M.J.Gh. Flahaut is a Belgian politician. He was born on 18 August 1955 in Walhain, then in the province of Brabant and now in the province of Walloon Brabant. Flahaut studied political sciences and public administration at the Université Libre de Bruxelles.He joined the Socialist Party in...
  
  
• Karel Poma
  Karel Poma
  Karel Emiel Hubert, Baron Poma is a Belgian liberal and politician for the PVV. He is a son of Carolus Poma, who was a lieutenant of the Antwerp fire brigade, and subsequently council member and mayor of the town Wilrijk. He is married to Juliana Walgraeve, and together they have two children; a...
  
  

None of the living Ministers of State has ever participated in a Crown Council.