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Yves Leterme

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Yves Camille Désiré Leterme
File:Yves Leterme campagne foto.jpg
Prime Minister-designate of Belgium
Assuming office
20 March 2008
MonarchAlbert II
SucceedingGuy Verhofstadt
Minister-President of Flanders
In office
20 July 2004 – 28 June 2007
Preceded byBart Somers
Succeeded byKris Peeters
Personal details
Born (1960-10-06) 6 October 1960 (age 64)
Wervik, West Flanders, Belgium
Political partyCD&V
SpouseSofie Haesen

Yves Camille Désiré Leterme (born October 6 1960 in Wervik, West Flanders) is a Belgian politician, member of the CD&V, current Vice 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 has been 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]

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. He served as chairman until he resigned after the regional elections of 2004 to become Flemish Prime Minister. In 2004 his party won the elections, thanks to success of the newly-formed coalition with the smaller separatist party New-Flemish Alliance (N-VA). Since 2004 he has headed the Flemish government, which consists of the three traditional Flemish parties (CD&V-N-VA, Flemish Liberals and Democrats (VLD), SP.A-Spirit).

Controversies

During an interview with the French newspaper Libération in August 2006, Leterme, who is himself bilingual and son of a Walloon father,[5] 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.[6][7]

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[8] and Isabelle Durant and some Flemish politicians such as Pascal Smet and Guy Vanhengel [9] found these comments insulting for 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"[10][11]. 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.[12]

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 (which is wrong, because it is the day the first King, Leopold I, was sworn in). Subsequently, he was asked if he knew the French version of the Belgian national anthem, the Brabançonne, and he began to sing la Marseillaise, the French national anthem.[13]

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.[14]

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.[15] 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.

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.[16]

On September 29, explorer 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.[17]

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.[18]

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 is planned to become Prime Minister on March 23 2008, when a new government is to be formed.[19]

Hospitalisation

Yves Leterme was hospitalised on 14 February 2008.[20][21] He was first admitted into his local hospital in Ypres in the morning, but was later transported by helicopter to the University Hospital Gasthuisberg in Leuven for further testing.[22][23] Rumours that he is suffering from hepatitis were formally denied by a spokesman[24][25], while was later revealed that he had suffered from an internal bleeding.

His tasks as Minister for Budget and Institutional Reform have been temporarily taken over by Jo Vandeurzen (CD&V), the Minister for Justice.[26]

References

  1. ^ a b Philip Blenkinsop, Flanders chief set to lead next Belgian government, Reuters, June 10, 2007.
  2. ^ Template:Nl icon"Nieuwe minister-president legt verklaring af". VRT Nieuws. 2007-06-28. Retrieved 2007-06-28. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  3. ^ "Leterme to lead coalition talks". VRT Nieuws. 2007-07-16. Retrieved 2007-07-22. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  4. ^ "Belgium's PM hopeful gives up efforts to form government". 2007-12-01. Retrieved 2007-12-01. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  5. ^ Template:Nl icon"Wallonië vreest Vlaamse favoriet". NRC Handelsblad. 2007-05-29. Retrieved 2007-06-13. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  6. ^ Template:Fr icon"D'un Etat unitaire à un Etat fédéral". Libération. 2006-08-18. Retrieved 2007-06-10. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  7. ^ "French speakers 'incapable' of learning Dutch language". Expatica. 2006-08-17. Retrieved 2007-06-13. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  8. ^ Template:Fr iconLeterme se lâche" dans Libération
  9. ^ Template:Fr icon "Bruxellois flamands pas d'accord" in La Libre Belgique, August 18, 2006 [1]
  10. ^ Top Belgian politician dismisses Belgium as “accident of history”
  11. ^ Template:Fr icon "Leterme : “Pas besoin du Roi”" in La Dernière Heure", August 23, 2006, [2]
  12. ^ Template:Nl icon "Citaat Leterme over koning uit context gehaald" in Het Laatste Nieuws
  13. ^ "Do we need a history lesson?". VRT Nieuws. 2007-07-22. Retrieved 2007-07-22. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  14. ^ "Yves Leterme gaat in dialoog met de RTBF". VRT Nieuws. 2007-08-12. Retrieved 2007-08-12. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  15. ^ Belgians vote in legislative elections
  16. ^ "Leterme to lead coalition talks". VRT Nieuws. 2007-07-16. Retrieved 2007-07-22. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  17. ^ "Koning benoemt Leterme opnieuw als formateur" (in Dutch). Vrtnieuws.net. 2007-09-29. Retrieved 2007-09-29.
  18. ^ "Belgium's PM hopeful gives up efforts to form government". Agence France-Presse. 2007-12-01. Retrieved 2007-12-01. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  19. ^ "Belgium's interim government sworn-in", Xinhua, December 21, 2007.
  20. ^ "Leterme hospitalisé à Louvain" (in French). Le Soir. 2008-02-14. Retrieved 2008-02-14. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  21. ^ "Belgian candidate prime minister Leterme in hospital with undisclosed ailment". International Herald Tribune. 2008-02-14. Retrieved 2008-02-14. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  22. ^ "Leterme hospitalised". Deredactie.be. 2008-02-14. Retrieved 2008-02-14. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  23. ^ "Leterme met ernstige klachten in Gasthuisberg" (in Dutch). Het Laatste Nieuws. 2008-02-14. Retrieved 2008-02-14. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  24. ^ "Nog geen uitsluitsel over toestand Leterme" (in Dutch). De Standaard Online. 2008-02-14. Retrieved 2008-02-14. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  25. ^ "Leterme in het ziekenhuis met hepatitis" (in Dutch). De Morgen. 2008-02-14. Retrieved 2008-02-14. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  26. ^ "Vandeurzen neemt tijdelijk over van Leterme" (in Dutch). Deredactie.be. 2008-02-14. Retrieved 2008-02-14. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
Political offices
Preceded by Prime Minister-designate of Belgium
2008 – present 		Incumbent
Preceded by Minister-President of Flanders
2004 – 2007 		Succeeded by

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