Belgium
Senate
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Political system
Political systems: Presidential, Parliamentary, Presidential-Parliamentary, Monarchy, Communist, Transitional.
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Parliamentary system
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Structure of parliament
Structure of parliament: Unicameral, bicameral
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Bicameral
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IPU membership
Current membership status
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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
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Parlement fédéral - Federaal Parlement - Föderales Parlament (Federal Parliament)
- Chamber name
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Sénat - Senaat - Senat (Senate)
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Structure & status of parliament
This field is to indicate lower/upper in the back end.
View field in the data dictionary -
Upper chamber
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Parliamentary term (years)
Length of the parliamentary term in years
View field in the data dictionary -
5
IPU membership
- Affiliation periods
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from 1889
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IPU Geopolitical Group/s
IPU Geopolitical Groups: African Group, Arab Group, Asia-Pacific Group, Eurasia Group, Group of Latin America and the Caribbean (GRULAC), Twelve Plus Group.
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Twelve Plus Group
Speaker
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Official title
The Speaker may for example be known as the Presiding Officer, President, Chairman/Chairperson, etc.
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President of the Senate
- Speaker
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Valérie De Bue (Female)
Date of birth: 07 Oct 1966 -
Term
Start (and end) of the term of the Speaker
View field in the data dictionary -
25 Jul 2024
- Additional information
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Elected on 25 July 2024, re-elected on 8 Oct. 2024.
The President is elected after each renewal 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
Secretary general
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Official title
This post is most commonly called Secretary General or Clerk. It may also be called Secretary, Head/Chief of the Secretariat, Director General, etc.
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Secretary General
- Secretary General
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Gert Van der biesen (Male)
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Term
Start (and end) of the term of the Secretary general
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01 Apr 2016
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Notes
Additional information about the Secretary General, in particular regarding their term.
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1 April 2016 -
Members
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Statutory number of members
Statutory number of members, as defined in the constitution or other fundamental law.
View field in the data dictionary -
60
Notes: Indirectly elected: 50 senators of the federal entities designated by Community and Regional Parliaments Other: 10 senators - six Dutch-speaking and four French-speaking - co-opted by the senators of the federal entities based on the election results for the House of Representatives. The Senate shall not have more than two thirds of its members of the same sex. It shall therefore be composed of at least 20 men and at least 20 women Senators.
- Principal mode of designation of members
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Indirectly elected
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Indirectly elected members
Indirectly elected, for example by regional parliaments or an electoral college.
View field in the data dictionary -
50
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Other members
For example, ex-officio members of parliament, such as Cabinet members, members of the royal family, Attorney General, Speaker if appointed from outside parliament.
View field in the data dictionary -
10
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Current number of members
Number of members who currently hold seats in parliament. May be lower or higher than the statutory number of members.
View field in the data dictionary -
59
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Men
The number of male parliamentarians who currently hold seats in parliament.
View field in the data dictionary -
31
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Women
The number of female parliamentarians who currently hold seats in parliament.
View field in the data dictionary -
28
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Percentage of women
Calculated by dividing the current number of women by the current number of members.
View field in the data dictionary -
47.5%
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Statutory number of members per country
As defined in the constitution or other fundamental laws. Combines the number of parliamentarians in both chambers in bicameral parliaments.
View field in the data dictionary -
210
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Population (in thousands)
Source: United Nations, World Population Prospects.
View field in the data dictionary -
11,713
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Inhabitants per parliamentarian
Calculated by dividing the population by the statutory number of parliamentarians.
View field in the data dictionary -
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.
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Average age of all members
Average age of members, for which data is available, at the time of the last election or renewal.
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Click for historical data
- Youngest member
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Liesa Scholzen (Female)
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Youngest member (years)
Age is calculated at the time the member was elected/appointed to a new legislature. Data is not updated during the legislature unless the member is no longer a member.
View field in the data dictionary -
32
- Oldest member
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Viviane Teitelbaum (Female)
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Oldest member (years)
Age is calculated at the time the member was elected/appointed to a new legislature. Data is not updated during the legislature unless the member is no longer a member.
View field in the data dictionary -
68
Number of members, by age (2024-10)
| 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 | 0 | 7 | 8 | 4 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 31 |
| Female | 0 | 0 | 4 | 7 | 5 | 7 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 28 |
| Totals per age interval | 0 | 0 | 11 | 15 | 9 | 15 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 59 |
| Total <= 45: 26 | Total >= 46: 33 | ||||||||||
| Age at the last election or renewal | Overall | Male | Female |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | |
| 18.6% | 12% | 6.8% | |
| 44.1% | 25% | 18.6% |
Reserved seats and quotas
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There are reserved seats in parliament for certain groups
Reserved seats are a means to ensure the parliamentary representation of certain groups in society.
View field in the data dictionary -
Yes
- Women
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20
- Other groups
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Notes: Le Sénat ne peut compter plus de deux tiers de sénateurs du même sexe. Il compte donc au moins 20 hommes et 20 femmes.
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Electoral quota for women
Quotas to promote gender-balanced representation in parliament
View field in the data dictionary -
Yes
Notes: The Senate shall not have more than two thirds of its members of the same sex. It shall therefore be composed of at least 20 men and at least 20 women Senators.
Sources:
https://www.idea.int/data-tools/data/gender-quotas-database/country?country=22
Article 67 (3) of the Belgian Constitution.
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Youth quota
Quotas to promote the representation of youth in parliament.
View field in the data dictionary -
No
Links to additional information
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Parliamentary website
Link(s) to parliamentary web site in English, French and/or local languages.
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List of members
Link(s) to list of members on the parliamentary web site.
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Rules of procedure/Standing Orders
Link(s) to Rules of procedure on the parliamentary web site in English, French and/or local language.
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Constitution
Official links to the Constitution in English, French and/or original language is provided. Links to unofficial translations where no other source is available.
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