Talk:List of Prime Ministers of Belgium

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Flag of the Flemish Community and the Flemish Region

Flag of the French Community and the Walloon Region

Flag of the Brussels-Capital Region

Flag of the German-speaking community

[edit] Abbreviations

Are the abbreviations really necessary? I mean most people know e.g. Verhofstadt as Guy Verhofstadt, not as G.M.M.L. Verhofstadt. The same applies for most other PM's. Sijo Ripa 13:37, 12 July 2007 (UTC)

I concur. --Ganchelkas 13:51, 12 July 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Ethnicity/language

Shouldn't we mention the ethnicity or the native tongue of each prime minister? Meursault2004 (talk) 00:50, 22 March 2008 (UTC)

Great Idea! C mon (talk) 10:17, 22 March 2008 (UTC)

Great. I'll try to do some research. I think I'll take ethnicity. Meursault2004 (talk) 10:58, 22 March 2008 (UTC)

I just took a look at nl: and they are using language as criterion there. Meursault2004 (talk) 11:15, 22 March 2008 (UTC)

What do you do with people with no clear origin? Suppose Jacques Brel would have been Prime Minister would he be Flemish or Walloon. What about those people from Brussels (e.g. Hergé)? Do you really think the Flemish or Walloon ethnicity is an objective characteristic of the politicians? For example Charles Picqué? Is he a Walloon or a Brusseler? Vb (talk) 19:57, 26 March 2008 (UTC)
I think the solution is to add a reference prooving the ethnicity of the person. Without source, stating the ethnicity is simply original research at the best and POV pushing at the worst. Vb (talk) 19:59, 26 March 2008 (UTC)

I doubt whether it is a good idea to mention all Belgian Prime Ministers' ethnicities. Nowadays, it is quite clear whether an individual is Flemish or Walloon, but the situation was much more complex in pre-war Belgium, since the Flemish political élite used to speak French. I think it can even be considered an anachronism to make a distinction between "Flemish" and "Walloon" when talking about nineteenth century Belgium. Ivo von Rosenqvist (talk) 16:04, 12 April 2008 (UTC)

I also think that it would be wiser to mention the mother-tongue instead of the ethnicity. Ivo von Rosenqvist (talk) 13:11, 15 April 2008 (UTC)
Indeed. Is Vanden Boeynants a Walloon? He is a Bruxellois of (at least partial) Flemish descent, not really a Walloon (not really a Fleming either, obviously). But his mother tongue was French. If we need a column indicating this, mother tongue is easier and less loaded than ethnicity, though it will still give problems, certainly with 19th century PM's. Fram (talk) 13:13, 15 April 2008 (UTC)

What do you with people of clear mixed ancestries such as Yves Leterme? He speaks both Dutch and French natively although perhaps he self identifies more with the Flemish than with the Walloons. Meursault2004 (talk) 18:21, 15 April 2008 (UTC)

True. But I think one could easily say that Dutch is Mr. Leterme's first language.
I think that it is better to mention the language than the ethnicity, regarding the complex linguistic situation of Brussels. For instance, it is not right to call Mr. Vanden Boeynants a Walloon, since he lived in Brussels. But in Mr. Vanden Boeynants' case, it is also an anachronism to distinguish between Flanders, Brussels, and Wallonia. Back when he was a Prime Minister, Belgium was not a federal state yet, and Brussels was still a part of the united Province of Brabant. Ivo von Rosenqvist (talk) 07:54, 17 April 2008 (UTC)