Belgium

House of Representatives

Political system
Parliamentary system
Structure of parliament
Bicameral
IPU membership
Yes

About parliament

Basic information such as the official name of parliament and details of its structure and leadership. Also includes the current breakdown of MPs by sex and age, and provisions for quotas and reserved seats.

Parliament name
Parlement fédéral - Federaal Parlement - Föderales Parlament (Federal Parliament)
Chamber name
Chambre des Représentants (House of Representatives)
Structure & status of parliament
Lower chamber
Parliamentary term (years)
5

IPU membership

Affiliation periods
from 1889
IPU Geopolitical Group/s
Twelve Plus Group

Speaker

Official title
President of the House of Representatives
Speaker
Peter De Roover (Male)
Date of birth: 20 May 1962
Term
10 Jul 2024
Additional information

Elected on 10 July 2024, re-elected on 8 Oct. 2024.

The President is elected after each general election and at the beginning of the parliamentary term, on the second Tuesday of October each year, for a one-year term of office. The President may be re-elected.

Speaker terms

Click for historical data

Notes: The Houses every year on the second Tuesday in October, unless they have been convened previously by the King. Each session, each House appoints its president, its vice-presidents, and forms its bureau.

Sources: Constitution, art. 44 and 52

Secretary general

Official title
Secretary General
Secretary General
Nicole Marquet (Female)
Term
01 Nov 2024
Notes

Members

Statutory number of members
150
Principal mode of designation of members
Directly elected
Directly elected members
150
Current number of members
150
Men
88
Women
62
Percentage of women
41.3%
Statutory number of members per country
210
Population (in thousands)
11,713
Inhabitants per parliamentarian
55,776

Age

Data on the age of parliamentarians is collected at the start of the legislature, following the most recent elections. This data is not updated during the legislature, except when parliament notifies the IPU of a change in the youngest or oldest member.

Average age of all members
47.4
(2024-06)
Youngest member
Britt Huybrechts (Female)
Youngest member (years)
25
Oldest member
Pierre Kompany (Male)
Oldest member (years)
76
Number of members, by age (2024-06)
Breakdown of members by age and gender
18 - 20 21 - 30 31 - 40 41 - 45 46 - 50 51 - 60 61 - 70 71 - 80 81 - 90 91 and over Totals per gender
Male 0 4 13 11 20 31 4 3 0 0 86
Female 0 5 12 14 17 14 2 0 0 0 64
Totals per age interval 0 9 25 25 37 45 6 3 0 0 150
Total <= 45: 59 Total >= 46: 91
Percentage of members, by age
Age at the last election or renewal Overall Male Female
Percentage of MPs 30 years of age or younger
6.0% 2.7% 3.3%
Percentage of MPs 40 years of age or younger
22.7% 11% 11.3%
Percentage of MPs 45 years of age or younger
39.3% 19% 20.7%

Reserved seats and quotas

There are reserved seats in parliament for certain groups
No
Electoral quota for women
Yes

Notes:

On electoral lists, the number of candidates of either gender cannot be greater than the other. This also applies to the list of alternates. The two top candidates on candidate lists and on the lists of alternates cannot be of the same gender.

Sources:

https://www.idea.int/data-tools/data/gender-quotas-database/country?country=22

Article 117bis of the Electoral Code, as amended by L2002-12-13/41, art. 5, 003. The law entered into force on 20 January 2003.

Youth quota
No

Links to additional information

Parliamentary website
List of members
Rules of procedure/Standing Orders
Constitution

Historical data for IPU membership

Historical data for IPU membership
Year IPU membership
2020-09
List of values for 2020-09
No
2019-04
List of values for 2019-04
No
2018-06
List of values for 2018-06
No