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30-469: Meise ( Dutch pronunciation: [ˈmɛisə] ) is a municipality in the province of Flemish Brabant , in the Flemish region of Belgium . The municipality comprises the towns of Meise proper and Wolvertem (a deelgemeente ), and several smaller villages like Sint-Brixius-Rode, Oppem, Meusegem, Impde/Imde, Rossem, Westrode and quarters as Bouchout, Nerom and Slozen. On January 1, 2006, Meise had

60-574: A coalition (Eyskens I) between Christian-democrats and liberals. His cabinet fell in June 1950 over the constitutional crisis caused by King Leopold III 's actions during the Second World War . In the short lived government of Jean Duvieusart (June–August 1950) Eyskens was Minister of Economic Affairs. Between 26 June 1958 and 6 November 1958, Eyskens led a minority government which was the most recent government of Belgium (Eyskens II) not to be

90-475: A coalition government. On 6 November, Eyskens formed a coalition government with the liberals (Eyskens III) which remained in power until 3 September 1960. On 3 September 1960 he formed his third government (Eyskens IV), again a coalition with the liberal party. This government fell on 25 April 1961 over the Unitary Law (which raised the fiscal pressure by 7 billion Belgian francs, cut spending in education and

120-502: A law carried by special majorities can change the language status of any municipality, these arrangements have prevented some small municipalities with facilities to be merged in the 1970s, and thus the most minute Belgian municipalities are still found in this group, notably Herstappe with only 84 inhabitants (in 2006). Lucien Harmegnies, Minister of the Interior in the government of Gaston Eyskens (1968–1972) decided to continue

150-890: A result, there are several differences between the municipal institutions in Flanders, in Wallonia and in Brussels. Wallonia has also further devolved part of its responsibilities to the German-speaking Community with regards to its 9 municipalities. The three Regions can amend or replace the existing legislation on the municipalities, most notably the New Municipal Law. In the Flanders the Municipal Decree of 15 July 2005 applies. In Wallonia

180-484: A total population of 18,464. The total area is 34.82 km (13.44 sq mi), which gives a population density of 530/km (1,400/sq mi). The A12 runs vertically through the middle of Meise. Some of Meise's most famous inhabitants are: Empress Carlota of Mexico (born the first Belgian princess) spent many secluded years at Bouchout Castle , where she died in 1927. Municipalities of Belgium Here are three lists of municipalities for each one of

210-417: Is also responsible for the maintenance of public order in their municipality. They chair the college of mayor and aldermen or the municipal college, depending on the region , as well. In the Flanders and Brussels , the mayor is appointed by the regional government, on the nomination of the municipal council, for a term of office of six years. In Wallonia , the mayor is the municipal councillor who received

240-454: Is responsible for the daily administration of the municipality. It is also responsible for the preparation and implementation of the decisions of the municipal council. The municipal council ( Dutch : gemeenteraad ; French : conseil communal ; German : Gemeinderat ) is the representative assembly of the municipality and consists of members directly elected for a term of office of six years. The number of municipal councillors depends on

270-738: The Belgian Congo in 1960 and the split of the University of Leuven in 1970. He oversaw the first steps towards the federalization of Belgium (constitutional reform of 1970). Eyskens was born in Lier , the son of Antonius Franciscus Eyskens (1875–1948) and Maria Voeten (1872–1960). On 10 August 1931 he married Gilberte Depetter (1902–1981), with whom he had two sons: Erik Eyskens (Leuven 20 July 1935 – Antwerpen 31 August 2008) and Mark Eyskens . His son Mark also became Prime Minister, serving from 6 April 1981 to 17 December 1981. Eyskens studied at

300-607: The Catholic University of Leuven where he gained a master and doctorate degree. In 1927 he became Master of Science at Columbia University . In 1931 Eyskens became a professor at the University of Leuven. He later became dean of the economics faculty . He also served on the board of Lovanium University in the Congo. Eyskens was made doctor honoris causa by Columbia University, the University of Cologne and

330-585: The Hebrew University of Jerusalem . During the early 1930s Eyskens was chief of staff of CVP ministers Edmond Rubbens and Philip Van Isacker . In 1939 Eyskens was elected to the Belgian Chamber of Representatives . He was steadily re-elected ( in 1946 , 1949 , 1950 , 1954 , 1958 and 1961 ) and served until 1965. In 1945 and between 1947 and 1949 he was Minister of Finance . On 11 August 1949 he became Prime Minister of Belgium in

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360-662: The Netherlands and another 119 municipalities became the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg (see the article Communes of Luxembourg for details). New municipalities were created until 1928. There were 2,528 municipalities in 1850, 2,572 in 1875, 2,617 in 1900 and a maximum of 2,675 in 1929. This also includes the municipalities of the East Cantons that were added to Belgium following the First World War . In 1961,

390-601: The United Kingdom of the Netherlands , only a number of smaller municipalities were merged. In 1831, Belgium was divided into 2,739 municipalities, a number which remained more or less constant until 1961. The law of 30 March 1836 regulated municipalities and their governing bodies. The number of municipalities was reduced to 2,508 when the Belgian borders were recognised in 1839, as 124 municipalities were ceded to

420-435: The regular elections of 14 October 2018 , and the change took effect on 1 January 2019. The mayor ( Dutch : burgemeester ; French : bourgmestre ; German : Bürgermeister ) is not only the head of the municipality but also the representative of the regional and the federal government at the local level. In that capacity, they are responsible for the execution of laws , decrees , ordinances and orders. The mayor

450-625: The Code of Local Democracy and Decentralization applies. In Brussels several provisions of the New Municipal Law have been modified by ordinance , such as the Ordinance of 17 July 2003. The legal framework in the three Regions is still relatively similar, but that could change in the future. Since 1970, the Belgian Constitution includes the possibility to create agglomerations and federations of municipalities by law. This possibility

480-614: The ethnic Flemish population brought down the Belgian government in February 1968. On 17 June 1968, Gaston Eyskens formed his fifth government (Eyskens V); this time a centre-left coalition between the Christian Democrats and the Socialists. On 20 January 1973, he formed his sixth and last government (Eyskens VI), again a coalition with the Socialists. His last two governments were plagued by linguistic troubles regarding

510-532: The federal level to the three regions. This did not instantly have any significant effect on the reorganisation of municipalities, up until the Flemish Bourgeois Government (2014-2019) provided a legal framework and financial incentives for municipalities to consider merging. This led 15 Flemish municipalities to merge into seven, decreasing the total number of Flemish municipalities from 308 to 300. Their municipal councils were elected in

540-439: The largest number of preferential votes of the majority party that received the largest number of votes in the municipal elections. Hence, it is also possible that the mayor is not a member of the largest party, as the largest party is not always part of the governing coalition. It is also possible in Wallonia for the municipal council to adopt a constructive motion of no confidence in the municipal college. The executive organ of

570-600: The military, and reformed unemployment benefits and government pensions) and had caused large-scale strikes. During these years he also had to deal with the School War and the independence of the Belgian Congo . In the general election of 1965 Eyskens was elected to the Belgian Senate (re-elected in 1968 and 1971 ). In the government led by Pierre Harmel (1965–1966) he again served as Minister of Finance . Student unrest and questions of discrimination against

600-477: The municipalities of Berchem , Borgerhout , Deurne , Hoboken , Ekeren , Merksem and Wilrijk in 1983 finally reduced the number of municipalities in Belgium to 589 and was the last reorganization of the municipalities for several decades because the merger of the 19 municipalities of Brussels was postponed indefinitely. The fifth state reform (2001) transferred the responsibility over municipalities from

630-426: The municipality is known as the college of mayor and aldermen ( Dutch : college van burgemeester en schepenen ; French : collège des bourgmestre et échevins ), commonly referred to as the college of aldermen ( Dutch : schepencollege ; French : collège échevinal ), in Flanders and Brussels, and as the municipal college ( French : collège communal ; German : gemeindekollegium ) in Wallonia. This college

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660-530: The number of inhabitants of the municipality, and can vary from 7 to 55. It is responsible for all matters that are of municipal interest. Following the Fifth State Reform in 2001, the responsibility for the composition, the organization, the competences and the activities of the municipal institutions were devolved to the Regions , as well as the responsibility for the provincial institutions . As

690-475: The number of municipalities in Belgium from 2,359 to 596. Because of the specific nature of the reorganization in Antwerp , the law of 30 December 1975 did not enter into force for Antwerp until 1 January 1983. The formerly-independent municipalities were called districts and were given an advisory function. However, on 1 January 2001 they were given an administrative function again. The merger of Antwerp with

720-512: The process of territorial reorganization of Belgium. In 1971, the provisions of the Unity Law were extended and modified to apply to large agglomerations, which were initially excluded from its provisions. It was another Minister of the Interior, Joseph Michel, who managed the process. On 30 December 1975 the law regarding the merger of the municipalities was adopted. The merger became effective on 1 January 1977. The merger of 1977 further reduced

750-608: The so-called Unitary Law ( Dutch : Eenheidswet ; French : Loi unique ; German : Einheitsgesetz ), of which the fourth chapter was dedicated to the territorial organisation of the municipalities, was adopted. The authority to abolish municipalities was entrusted to the executive branch for a period of 10 years. Municipalities could be merged on financial grounds or on grounds of a geographical, linguistic, economic, social or cultural nature. In 1964 and in 1969 and 1970, roughly 300 municipalities ceased to exist and were subsumed into other municipalities. The number of municipalities

780-660: The split of the old bilingual Catholic University of Leuven into a Dutch-language university (the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven ), which stayed in Leuven and a French-language university which moved to Louvain-la-Neuve and became the Université catholique de Louvain and the start of the process of changing Belgium from a unitary state into a federation with the creation of the Communities . Upon

810-542: The three regions: The municipalities, as an administrative division , were officially created in 1795, when the Directoire reorganised the structures of the Ancien Régime . The municipalities with less than 5,000 inhabitants were grouped in so-called canton municipalities. In 1800, these canton municipalities were abolished again and the number of autonomous municipalities became 2,776. Not much changed during

840-621: Was also an economist and member of the Belgian Christian Social Party (CVP-PSC). He served three terms as the prime minister of Belgium, holding the position from 1949 to 1950, 1958 to 1961 and 1968 to 1973. During his periods in office, Eyskens was confronted with major ideological and linguistic conflicts within Belgium including the Royal Question in 1950, the School War in 1958, the independence of

870-564: Was only used once in 1971 when the Brussels Agglomeration, comprising the 19 municipalities of Brussels , was put into place. It de facto ceased to exist in 1989 when the organs of the Brussels-Capital Region were established. Gaston Eyskens Gaston François Marie, Viscount Eyskens (1 April 1905 – 3 January 1988) was a Christian democratic politician and prime minister of Belgium . He

900-433: Was reduced from 2,663 in 1961 to 2,586 in 1965 and to 2,359 in 1971. Article 4 of the constitution states that each municipality must belong to only one of the four official language areas that were established in 1962–63. In the three officially unilingual language areas, a couple of dozen municipalities in the vicinity of another language area must provide limited facilities for speakers of that other language. As only

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