View source for Prime Minister of Belgium

{{Short description|Head of government of Belgium}}
{{For|a list|List of prime ministers of Belgium}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2025}}
{{Infobox official post
| post = Prime Minister
| body = the Kingdom of Belgium
| native_name = {{small|{{native name|nl|Eerste Minister van België}}<br />{{native name|fr|Premier Ministre de Belgique}}<br />{{native name|de|Premierminister von Belgien}}}}
| insignia = State Coat of Arms of Belgium.svg
| insigniasize = 
| insigniacaption = [[Coat of arms of Belgium|Coat of arms]]
| insigniaalt = 
| flag = Government Ensign of Belgium.svg
| flagsize = 
| flagalt = 
| flagborder = 
| flagcaption = State ensign
| image = 2025 Bart De Wever (cropped).jpg
| imagesize = 
| alt = 
| imagecaption = 
| incumbent = [[Bart De Wever]]
| acting = 
| incumbentsince = 3 February 2025
| department = [[Cabinet of Belgium|Executive branch of the <br>Belgian Federal Government]]
| style = Mr Prime Minister {{small|(informal)}}<br>[[Excellency|His Excellency]]<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20120927014351/http://www.un.int/protocol/documents/Hspmfm.pdf Heads of State, Heads of Government, Ministers for Foreign Affairs], Protocol and Liaison Service, [[United Nations]]. Retrieved 16 May 2020.</ref> {{small|(diplomatic)}}
| type = 
| status = 
| abbreviation = 
| member_of = {{ubl|[[Cabinet of Belgium|Belgian Federal Cabinet]]|[[European Council]]}}
| reports_to = 
| residence = ''Le Lambermont'', [[Brussels]]
| seat = 16, [[Rue de la Loi]], [[Brussels]]
| nominator = 
| appointer = [[Monarchy of Belgium|Monarch of Belgium]]
| appointer_qualified = 
| termlength = No term limit
| termlength_qualified = 
| constituting_instrument = 
| precursor = 
| formation = {{start date and age|df=y|1831|2|26}} (de facto)<br>{{start date and age|df=y|1918}} (de jure)
| first = [[Étienne Constantin de Gerlache|Étienne de Gerlache]]
| last = 
| abolished = 
| succession = 
| unofficial_names = Premier of Belgium
| deputy = 
| salary = €236,900 annually<ref name="igcompaycheck">{{cite web|url=https://www.ig.com/uk/forex/research/pay-check|title=IG.com Pay Check}}</ref>
| website = [https://www.premier.be/ premier.be]
| footnotes = 
}}
{{Politics of Belgium}}

The '''prime minister<!--"prime minister" is uncapitalised here because it is preceded by the modifier "The", as per [[MOS:JOBTITLES]] bullet 3 and table column 2 example 1. Any proposal for modification to the guideline should be posted at its talk page, [[WT:MOSBIO]].--> of Belgium''' ({{langx|nl|Eerste minister van België}}; {{langx|fr|Premier ministre de Belgique}}; {{langx|de|Premierminister von Belgien}}) or the '''premier of Belgium''' is the [[head of government|head of]] the [[Cabinet of Belgium|federal government]] of [[Belgium]], and the most powerful person in Belgian politics.

The first head of government in Belgian history was [[Henri Van der Noot|Henri van der Noot]] in 1790, during the brief existence of the United Belgian States. Although Leaders of Government (French: Chefs de Cabinet) had been appointed since Belgium's independence, it was not until after [[World War I]] that the modern role of prime minister began to take shape. Before 1918, the [[king of the Belgians]] often presided over the Council of Ministers, but with the appointment of [[Léon Delacroix]], the premiership gained prominence. Over time, the political influence of the Crown has diminished, while the role of the prime minister has become increasingly significant.

[[Bart De Wever]], the (former) leader of [[New-Flemish Alliance]], was appointed as new prime minister on 3 February 2025. He is the first Flemish Nationalist to ever become Premier of Belgium.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Arnoudt |first=Rik |date=1 February 2025 |title=Van 'Slimste mens' tot eerste Vlaams-nationalist als premier: hoe Bart De Wever al 20 jaar de politiek in België domineert |url=https://www.vrt.be/vrtnws/nl/2025/01/10/portret-bart-de-wever/ |access-date=3 February 2025 |work=[[VRT NWS]]}}</ref> He succeeded [[Alexander De Croo]].

== History ==
In 1790, the [[Sovereign Congress (United Belgian States)|Sovereign Congress of the States of Belgium]] sat in [[City of Brussels|Brussels]] and was composed of representatives from each of the eight provinces. [[Henri Van der Noot|Henri van der Noot]] served as President of the National Congress, retaining the title of Minister Plenipotentiary having previously held the title Minister Plenipotentiary of Brabant.

Since the [[Belgian Revolution|independence of Belgium]] in 1830, governments have been designated with the name of the minister who formed the government as [[formateur]], but that position did not have a specific status. Originally, from 1831 the [[Monarchy of Belgium|king of the Belgians]] presided over the Council of Ministers, but when he was absent, the presidency was taken by the ''chef de cabinet'' (head of Cabinet), usually the oldest or most influential minister. This position gradually became more prominent, and the minister with this title then soon acquired the competency to present the king with the proposed allocation of the various ministerial departments among the ministers.

With the expansion of voting rights after [[World War I]], more political parties started to win seats in parliament—especially the [[Belgian Socialist Party]]—and this made it impossible to achieve an absolute majority in parliament. Since then, [[coalition government]]s have been necessary, which has made the task of forming a government by the appointed formateur more difficult. Consequently, the formateur increasingly gained greater respect, and much prestige. Thus the formateur became prominent as a position of leadership. As the ministers of the government now represented various political parties, there was a need for someone to coordinate the proceedings of the various ministers. The prime minister was now asserted as the actual head of government, and this is how the office of prime minister came into existence.

Gradually, the head of Cabinet replaced the king more often during the first half of the twentieth century, and as such gained importance within government. As the Constitution requires the king to exercise his powers through the ministers, the prime minister became reckoned as the country's most important political figure and ''de facto'' chief executive. Nevertheless, given his newly acquired prominence, as a member of the Cabinet the head of Cabinet continued to lead a ministerial department.

The title of ''Prime Minister'' or ''[[Premier]]'' was used for the first time in 1918 in official documents and it is at this time that the position was assigned to its own cabinet. Only in 1970 the title was incorporated in the [[Constitution of Belgium|Belgian Constitution]] with the first [[state reform in Belgium|state reform]].

== Function ==
Besides coordinating government policies, the prime minister is responsible for the proper execution of the [[coalition agreement]]. The prime minister also presides at meetings of the Council of Ministers and manages conflicts of competencies between the ministers. In addition, the prime minister represents the government coalition in public, both at home and abroad. It is the prime minister who maintains contact with the [[King of the Belgians|king]] and presents the [[government policy statement]] in the [[Belgian Federal Parliament|Parliament]]. The prime minister can also ask Parliament for a vote of confidence, which can even lead to the government's resignation in the case of a [[constructive vote of no confidence]]. Unless the prime minister resigns because of a personal matter, the whole government resigns with the prime minister's resignation. The prime minister also represents Belgium in the various international organisations, alongside the [[Minister of Foreign Affairs (Belgium)|minister of foreign affairs]]. Due to the [[state reform in Belgium|state reform]], the prime minister acquired a number of additional tasks, such as keeping in check the relations between the different [[Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium|regions and communities]] of the country, and presiding at the deliberative committee that consists of the governmental representatives of all the [[federalism|federal entities]].

It is expected, though not required, that the prime minister be fluent in both French and Dutch.

== Appointment ==
The day after the [[Elections of Belgium#Federal elections|federal elections]], the incumbent prime minister offers the resignation of his government to the king. The king then asks the resigning government to continue as a [[caretaker government]] until a new government is formed. The king then consults a number of prominent politicians in order to ascertain the different possibilities of forming a government. He usually consults the presidents of the [[Chamber of Representatives (Belgium)|Chamber of Representatives]] and the [[Senate (Belgium)|Senate]], the most important political parties, and other people of political and socio-economic importance. After the consultations, the king appoints an ''[[informateur]]'' who is in charge of collecting information from the different political parties about their demands for formation of a new government. After these consultations, the ''informateur'' reports to the king so that the king can find a suitable ''[[formateur]]'', who is responsible for forming the government. Usually, it is the ''formateur'' of the federal government who then becomes prime minister.<ref name="For">{{harvsp|Formation|id=bel.be}}</ref>{{full citation needed|date=March 2025}}

It usually takes several months of negotiations before the ''formateur'' is ready to accept a formal royal invitation to form a government. Per the Constitution, the king's acts are only valid with the countersignature of a minister. For this reason, the outgoing prime minister countersigns the Act of Appointment of the new prime minister, and the new prime minister countersigns the Act of Resignation of the resigning prime minister. The king then appoints the other ministers and secretaries of state of the [[Cabinet of Belgium|federal government]], and their Acts of Appointment are countersigned by the prime minister.

== Official office ==
The official office of the prime minister is located at 16 [[Rue de la Loi]] (Wetstraat in Dutch, or "Law Street" in translation) among many notable Belgian government and [[European Union]] buildings in the centre of [[Brussels]] and around [[Brussels Park]]. The residence includes the [[Cabinet of Belgium|Belgian Federal Cabinet]], the [[chancellor|Chancellery]] and the [[Council of Ministers of Belgium|Council of Ministers]]. It functions as the nerve center of [[Belgian politics]]. The building was originally erected as the so-called "Refuge House" by the [[Gertrude of Nivelles|Saint Gertrude]] Abbey of [[Leuven]]. It was designed by the Belgian-Austrian architect [[Louis Joseph Montoyer]].<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20070715052535/http://premier.fgov.be/nl/16/vr/ingang.html Wetstraat 16 – virtueel bezoek – de ingang – premier.fgov.be], Aardse wetstraat, warandepark.blogspot.com (15 December 2007)</ref> At the time of the [[United Kingdom of the Netherlands]] (1815–1830), the building was planned to be used as the location for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20070715052535/http://premier.fgov.be/nl/16/vr/ingang.html Wetstraat 16 – virtueel bezoek – de ingang – premier.fgov.be]</ref> In 1830 it was purchased by [[Eugène, 8th Prince of Ligne|Prince Eugène of Ligne]],<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20070715052523/http://premier.fgov.be/nl/16/vr/hal0.html Wetstraat 16 – virtueel bezoek – de hal – premier.fgov.be]</ref> and from 1944, the building became state property, after which it was furnished to function as a meeting place for the prime minister and his cabinet.
{{Gallery
|title=
|width=190 | height=200
|align=center
|File:16_rue_de_la_loi_Building.JPG|The office of the Belgian prime minister
|File:Bruxelles_16_rue_de_la_Loi.jpg|The entrance
|File:Bruxelles 16 rue de la Loi 901.jpg|The doorbell}}

==See also==

* [[List of Belgian monarchs]]
* [[List of prime ministers of Belgium]]
* [[List of prime ministers of Belgium by political affiliation]]
* [[List of prime ministers of Belgium by time in office]]
* [[Lifespan timeline of prime ministers of Belgium]]
* [[Minister-President of the Brussels Capital-Region]]
* [[Minister-President of Flanders]]
* [[Minister-President of the French Community]]
* [[Minister-President of the German-speaking Community]]
* [[Minister-President of Wallonia]]
* [[History of Belgium]]
* [[Royal Question]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}

{{Governments of Belgium}}
{{Belgium topics}}
{{European Council}}
{{Europe heads of state and government}}
{{Prime Minister}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Prime Minister of Belgium}}
[[Category:Government of Belgium]]
[[Category:Political history of Belgium]]
[[Category:Prime ministers of Belgium|*]]
[[Category:1831 establishments in Belgium]]