Flanders (Belgium)

Vlaanderen

Last modified: 2005-02-26 by ivan sache
Keywords: flanders | vlaanderen | lion (black) | seal | belgium | law | pilot |
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by Mark Sensen

• Status of Flanders
• Official flag of Flanders
• Laws concerning the flag and the arms and use of the flag
• Unofficial flag of Flanders with a completely black lion
• Origin of the Flemish lion
• The Flemish Heraldic Council

See also:

• Belgium
• Belgium: Administrative divisions
• Provinces
  • Antwerp
  • Flemish Brabant
  • West Flanders
  • East Flanders
  • Limburg
• Flemish Commission Community of the Region Brussels-Capital
• The Flemish Cross (Het Vlaamse Kruis)
• Flemish political mouvements and pressure groups
  • Flemish Bloc (Vlaams Blok)
  • Flemish People's Movement (Vlaamse Volksbeweging, pressure group)

Status of Flanders

The Flemish Community (and Flanders Region, both institutions having merged into a single one) has competencies on the Flemish provinces and Brussels.
The Flemish Council and the Government of the Flemish Community exercize the legislative power of the Flemish Community. The Flemish Council is made of all the 118 Councillors directly elected in the Flemish Region and six Dutch-speaking, directly elected members of the Council of the Region of Brussels-Capital. The six Councellors from the Region of Brussels-Capital cannot vote the decrees of the Flemish Region.
Ten members of the Flemish Council are delegated to the Senate.
The Flemish Council votes decrees: the Flemish communautary and regional laws.

The Governement of the Flemish Community exercizes the executive power and is made of no more than ten ministers and a Minister-President. At least one of the Ministers shall live in the Region of Brussels-Capital. The Minister(s) from Brussels, member(s) of the Government of the Flemish Community, cannot state on decisions attributed to the Flemish Region.

Ivan Sache, 13 July 2001

Official flag of Flanders

The official flag of Flanders is yellow with a black lion outlined in white and with red claws and tongue. The flag with a completely black lion is unofficial, although very popular in Flanders.

This flag appears, but with the lion outlined in yellow and having a black tongue and red claws, in the Flags of Aspirant Peoples chart [eba94], #72, with the following caption: