The speaker of the Flemish Parliament () is the presiding member of the Flemish Parliament, which is the legislature of Flanders (Belgium). The speaker is elected at the beginning of each parliamentary year, on the fourth Monday in September. The speaker chairs the plenary sessions of the Flemish Parliament and acts as its official representative. The speaker determines whether a certain initiative is admissible and thus can be put to parliament at all. The Flemish ministers take the oath before the Speaker of the Flemish Parliament. Only the head of the Flemish government, the minister-president of Flanders, takes the oath before the King. The speaker also presides over the Bureau and the Extended Bureau of the Flemish Parliament and is assisted by four deputy speakers.
List of speakers of the Flemish Parliament No. Name Entered office Left office Legislative term(s) Party Cultural Council for the Dutch Cultural Community (Cultuurraad voor de Nederlandse Cultuurgemeenschap) 1. 7 December 1971 9 May 1974 Christian People's Party (CVP) 2. 9 May 1974 14 June 1977 Party for Freedom and Progress (PVV) 3. Maurits Coppieters 14 June 1977 24 April 1979 People's Union (VU) Flemish Council (Vlaamse Raad) 4. Rik Boel 24 April 1979 22 December 1981 Belgian Socialist Party (BSP) / Socialist Party (SP) 5. Jean Pede 22 December 1981 3 December 1985 Party for Freedom and Progress (PVV) 6. Frans Grootjans 3 December 1985 13 December 1987 Party for Freedom and Progress (PVV) 7. Jean Pede 2 February 1988 18 October 1988 Party for Freedom and Progress (PVV) 8. 18 October 1988 13 January 1994 Socialist Party (SP) 9. Eddy Baldewijns 13 January 1994 13 June 1995 Socialist Party (SP) Flemish Parliament (Vlaams Parlement) 10. 13 June 1995 12 July 2006 1995–19991999–20042004–2009 (partial) Socialist Party – Different (sp.a) 11. Marleen Vanderpoorten 13 July 2006 13 July 2009 2004–2009 (partial) Flemish Liberals and Democrats (VLD) 12. Jan Peumans 13 July 2009 26 May 2019 2009–20142014–2019 New Flemish Alliance (N-VA) 13. Kris Van Dijck 18 June 2019 11 July 2019 2019–2024 New Flemish Alliance (N-VA) 14. Wilfried Vandaele 13 July 2019 2 October 2019 2019–2024 New Flemish Alliance (N-VA) 15. Liesbeth Homans 2 October 2019 31 December 2024 2019–20242024–2029 New Flemish Alliance (N-VA) 16. Freya Van den Bossche 1 January 2025 incumbent 2024–2029 Vooruit
See also Flemish Parliament
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