Yves Leterme

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Yves Leterme
Yves Leterme
Incumbent
Assumed office 
20 March 2008
Monarch Albert II
Deputy Didier Reynders (Finance)
Patrick Dewael (Interior)
Jo Vandeurzen (Justice)
Laurette Onkelinx (Social Affairs)
Joëlle Milquet (Employment)
Preceded by Guy Verhofstadt
In office
20 July 2004 – 28 June 2007
Preceded by Bart Somers
Succeeded by Kris Peeters
Born 6 October 1960 (1960-10-06) (age 47)
Wervik, West Flanders, Belgium
Political party CD&V
Spouse Sofie Haesen
Religion Roman Catholic

Yves Camille Désiré Leterme (born 6 October 1960) is a Belgian politician, member of the Christian Democratic and Flemish party (CD&V), and the current Prime Minister of Belgium. He is a former Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Budget, Institutional Reforms, Transport and the North Sea in the Belgian federal government. He is also a former Minister-President of Flanders and Flemish Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries.

Yves Leterme was one of the choices to become the next Prime Minister of Belgium following the 2007 General Election.[1] He tendered his resignation as Flemish Minister-President on June 26, 2007, and has been succeeded in that position by Kris Peeters.[2] On July 16, 2007, Leterme was appointed to start formal coalition talks into forming a new government.[3] On December 1 of that year, Leterme for the second time offered his resignation to the King, as coalition talks stalled.[4] He was finally sworn as Prime Minister on March 20, 2008.[5]

Contents

[edit] Personal Life

Leterme was born in the small city Wervik in the province West Flanders.

He studied law at the Catholic University of Leuven where he received a LL.B. degree in 1981. He then studied at Ghent University where he subsequently obtained a B.Sc. degree in Political Science (1983) and a LL.M. degree (1984). Finally he also received a MPA degree in 1985 at the same university.

[edit] Career

Before entering national politics, Leterme served as an auditor at the country's Court of Audit (Dutch: Rekenhof, French: Cour des Comptes). He then became adjunct and then national secretary of the CVP until he resigned to become a civil servant with the European Union. In 1997 he went on indefinite leave from that position when he was appointed Member of the Belgian Parliament. He has been a member of the city council of Ypres since 1995. He served as alderman of Ypres from 1995 to 2001.

He was appointed to the House of Representatives in 1997, elected in 1999 and 2003. After the defeat of the CD&V in the general elections of 2003, he succeeded Stefaan De Clerck as party chairman. In 2004 Yves Leterme became Minister-President of the Flemish government. Flanders has faired well during his term in office. Yves Leterme took a pragmatic course onto increasing the economic dynamic and social wellbeing in Flanders. He has made the Flemish government into the ‘investment government’, focusing the investments on the infrastructure and logistics with respect to both the business climate and social wellbeing (notably Flanders Port Area, homes for the elderly, child care, immigrant integration). In order to accelerate investment he has successfully encouraged the use of the PPP structures. Additionally, Yves Leterme’s government implemented rigorous budgeting – his government started with a sizeable implicit debt in Flanders which has been reduced to zero as the result of his policies.

In the elections of 10 June 2007 Yves Leterme received 796.521 personal votes, leading his party to a landslide victory. This was the second highest amount of personal votes ever in Belgium’s national elections. On 21 December 2007 he became Vice-Prime Minister of Belgium and Minister of Budget, Transport, Institutional Reform and the North Sea. On 23rd March got Yves Leterme as Prime minister confidence of the chamber.

[edit] Controversies

During an interview with the French newspaper Libération in August 2006, Leterme, who is himself bilingual and son of a Walloon father,[6] declared, regarding the reluctance of French-speaking inhabitants of the municipalities with language facilities in Flanders around Brussels to learn to speak Dutch:

“ Initially, the idea was that many French speakers would adjust to the new linguistic reality. But apparently the French speakers are intellectually not capable of learning Dutch.[7][8] ”

According to him, the only common things to Belgians are "The King, the football team, some beers...". Most prominent Francophone politicians such as Elio Di Rupo[9] and Isabelle Durant and some Flemish politicians such as Pascal Smet and Guy Vanhengel [10] found these comments insulting to the Francophones in the Flemish region around Brussels.

A news report produced by the Belgian Francophone television company RTBF for the Questions broadcasting reports that Leterme said in the Flemish parliament: "I don't need the King"[11][12]. According to Flemish newspapers, this sentence was taken out of context, because Leterme was talking about the creation of Flemish statutes (decrees): legislation approved by the Flemish parliament, unlike federal legislation, does not need the king's signature in order to become law. The Flemish Minister-President signs the decrees himself.[13]

Upon being questioned by a television journalist about the reason for celebrating the Belgian National day on July 21, Yves Leterme answered that it was the day the constitution was proclaimed -- his answer was incorrect, since it's actually the day the first King, Leopold I of Belgium, was sworn in. Subsequently, he was asked if he knew the French version of the Belgian national anthem, "the Brabançonne," and instead he began to sing "la Marseillaise," the French national anthem.[14][15]

Leterme caused controversy again in a December 2007 interview with the Concentra newspapers. In the interview, Leterme denounced the Francophone public broadcaster of Belgium, the RTBF, as a relic from the past, having its own political agenda, being a propagandist for CDH politician Joëlle Milquet. Leterme further compared the broadcaster to Radio Mille Collines, which was a Rwandan propaganda outlet against the Tutsis during the Rwandan Genocide, though he later mentioned he had only quoted what was said in political circles.[16]

[edit] 2007 general elections

On May 6, 2007 he officially launched his candidacy for the general election on June 10, 2007, leading the list of candidates of his party.[17] On election day, he received about 800,000 preferential votes, which is the second largest number of votes ever gained in the history of Belgian elections.

[edit] 2007-2008 political stalemate

Yves Leterme was the favourite to become the next Prime Minister of Belgium following the 2007 General Election.[1] From July 16 to August 23, 2007, Leterme led the formal coalition talks into forming a new government. On August 23 he resigned as formateur after negotiations failed over constitutional reform.[3]

On September 29, explorateur Herman Van Rompuy presented his final report to the King. Afterwards, the Royal Palace announced that the King relieved him of his exploratory mission. Later that day, King Albert II again appointed Leterme as formateur.[18]

On November 7 his party took the initiative and got the Flemish representatives to vote on the most crucial aspect of the negotiations, the splitting of the election region "Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde" and hereby forced this vote upon the French region.

Leterme again offered his resignation to the King on December 1, after coalition talks failed to reach an agreement on several issues.[19]

In the interim government under Guy Verhofstadt sworn in on December 21, 2007, Leterme became Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Budget, Institutional Reform, and Transport. He was planned to become Prime Minister in a new government in March 2008.[20]

Belgium's political uncertainty further deepened when Yves Leterme was hospitalised on 14 February 2008.[21][22] He was first admitted into the local hospital in Ypres in the morning, but was later transported by helicopter to the University Hospital Gasthuisberg in Leuven for further testing.[23][24] Rumours that he was suffering from hepatitis were formally denied by a spokesman[25][26], while it was later revealed that he had suffered from an internal bleeding in his gastrointestinal tract.

His tasks as Minister for Budget and Institutional Reform were temporarily taken over by Jo Vandeurzen (CD&V), the Minister for Justice.[27]

[edit] Prime Minister

Main article: Leterme I Government

On March 18, 2008, an agreement between five parties on the formation of the new government was announced.[28] Leterme was sworn in as Prime Minister on March 20,[5] and his government was approved by the Chamber of Representatives on March 22, with 97 votes in favor, 48 against, and one abstaining.[29]

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Philip Blenkinsop, Flanders chief set to lead next Belgian government, Reuters, June 10, 2007.
  2. ^ (Dutch)"Nieuwe minister-president legt verklaring af", VRT Nieuws, 2007-06-28. Retrieved on 2007-06-28. 
  3. ^ a b "Leterme to lead coalition talks", VRT Nieuws, 2007-07-16. Retrieved on 2007-07-22. 
  4. ^ "Belgium's PM hopeful gives up efforts to form government", 2007-12-01. Retrieved on 2007-12-01. 
  5. ^ a b La Belgique se dote d'un gouvernement après 9 mois de crise, AFP, 20 March 2008
  6. ^ (Dutch)"Wallonië vreest Vlaamse favoriet", NRC Handelsblad, 2007-05-29. Retrieved on 2007-06-13. 
  7. ^ (French)"D'un Etat unitaire à un Etat fédéral", Libération, 2006-08-18. Retrieved on 2007-06-10. 
  8. ^ "French speakers 'incapable' of learning Dutch language", Expatica, 2006-08-17. Retrieved on 2007-06-13. 
  9. ^ (French)Leterme se lâche" dans Libération
  10. ^ (French) "Bruxellois flamands pas d'accord" in La Libre Belgique, August 18, 2006 [1]
  11. ^ Top Belgian politician dismisses Belgium as “accident of history”
  12. ^ (French) "Leterme : “Pas besoin du Roi”" in La Dernière Heure", August 23, 2006, [2]
  13. ^ (Dutch) "Citaat Leterme over koning uit context gehaald" in Het Laatste Nieuws
  14. ^ "Do we need a history lesson?", VRT Nieuws, 2007-07-22. Retrieved on 2007-07-22. 
  15. ^ "Belgian leader makes anthem gaffe", BBC News, 2007-07-23. Retrieved on 2008-05-30. 
  16. ^ "Yves Leterme gaat in dialoog met de RTBF", VRT Nieuws, 2007-08-12. Retrieved on 2007-08-12. 
  17. ^ Belgians vote in legislative elections
  18. ^ "Koning benoemt Leterme opnieuw als formateur", Vrtnieuws.net, 2007-09-29. Retrieved on 2007-09-29. (Dutch) 
  19. ^ "Belgium's PM hopeful gives up efforts to form government", Agence France-Presse, 2007-12-01. Retrieved on 2007-12-01. 
  20. ^ "Belgium's interim government sworn-in", Xinhua, December 21, 2007.
  21. ^ "Leterme hospitalisé à Louvain", Le Soir, 2008-02-14. Retrieved on 2008-02-14. (French) 
  22. ^ "Belgian candidate prime minister Leterme in hospital with undisclosed ailment", International Herald Tribune, 2008-02-14. Retrieved on 2008-02-14. 
  23. ^ "Leterme hospitalised", Deredactie.be, 2008-02-14. Retrieved on 2008-02-14. 
  24. ^ "Leterme met ernstige klachten in Gasthuisberg", Het Laatste Nieuws, 2008-02-14. Retrieved on 2008-02-14. (Dutch) 
  25. ^ "Nog geen uitsluitsel over toestand Leterme", De Standaard Online, 2008-02-14. Retrieved on 2008-02-14. (Dutch) 
  26. ^ "Leterme in het ziekenhuis met hepatitis", De Morgen, 2008-02-14. Retrieved on 2008-02-14. (Dutch) 
  27. ^ "Vandeurzen neemt tijdelijk over van Leterme", Deredactie.be, 2008-02-14. Retrieved on 2008-02-14. (Dutch) 
  28. ^ Stephen Castle, "Belgium reaches deal on new government", International Herald Tribune, March 18, 2008.
  29. ^ Jones Hayden, "Belgium's New Government Wins Confidence Vote in Parliament", Bloomberg.com, March 23, 2008.

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Preceded by
Guy Verhofstadt		 Prime Minister of Belgium
2008 – present		 Incumbent
Preceded by
Bart Somers		 Minister-President of Flanders
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Persondata
NAME Leterme, Yves
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION Belgian politician
DATE OF BIRTH October 6, 1960
PLACE OF BIRTH Wervik, West Flanders, Belgium
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH