East Flanders

East Flanders
Dutch: Oost-Vlaanderen
Province of Belgium

Flag
Coat of arms
Coordinates: 51°00′N 03°45′E / 51.000°N 3.750°E / 51.000; 3.750Coordinates: 51°00′N 03°45′E / 51.000°N 3.750°E / 51.000; 3.750
Country  Belgium
Region  Flemish Region
Capital Ghent
Government
 • Governor Jan Briers
Area
 • Total 2,991 km2 (1,155 sq mi)
Population (1 January 2017)[1]
 • Total 1,496,187
 • Density 500/km2 (1,300/sq mi)
Website www.oost-vlaanderen.be

East Flanders (Dutch: Oost-Vlaanderen [ˌoːst ˈflaːndərə(n)] ( listen),[2] French: (Province de) Flandre-Orientale, German: Ostflandern) is a province of Belgium. It borders (clockwise from the North) the Netherlands and the Belgian provinces of Antwerp, Flemish Brabant, Hainaut and West Flanders. It has an area of 2,991 km², divided into six administrative districts containing 65 municipalities, and a population of 1,408,484. The capital is Ghent.

History

During the short-lived Napoleonic Empire, most of the area of the modern province was part of the Department of Escaut, named after the River Scheldt. Following the defeat of Napoleon, the entity was renamed after its geographical location in the eastern part of historic Flanders; although the province is actually situated in the western portion of Flanders, in the contemporary sense of the word.

The provincial flag has a black lion with red tongue and claws, on a background of horizontal white and green stripes. This is a recent adaptation; formerly, East Flanders used the Flemish flag, a black lion on a yellow background, as in the current coat of arms. The old flag is still publicly used, e.g. for road signs.

Geography

The province has several geographic or tourist regions:

Important rivers are the Scheldt and the Leie which merge in Ghent. The Dender merges into the Scheldt in the city of Dendermonde.

Subdivisions

East Flanders is divided into 6 administrative arrondissements (districts), subdivided into a total of 65 municipalities. In addition, there are 3 judicial and 3 electoral arrondissements.

District Ghent District: Oudenaarde District: Eeklo District: Aalst District: Dendermonde District: Sint-Niklaas District:
Location

HASC
NUTS
NIS
Population
Area

BE.OV.GT
BE234
44
553,961
944 km²

BE.OV.OD
BE235
45
123,330
419 km²

BE.OV.EK
BE233
43
84,113
334 km²

BE.OV.AL
BE231
41
286,741
469 km²

BE.OV.DM
BE232
42
199,553
343 km²

BE.OV.SN
BE236
46
248,489
475 km²

Municipalities

Demographics

The province has a population of almost 1.5 million. It had 734,000 inhabitants in 1830, when it was the most populated province of Belgium, and about a million in 1900. Population growth halted around the 1980s, but has increased again in the 21st century. Population figures in recent years is as follows:

YearPopulation
1 January 19901,331,608
1 January 19951,349,382
1 January 20001,361,623
1 January 20051,380,072
1 January 20101,432,326
1 January 20151,477,346
1 January 20171,496,187

The capital and biggest city is Ghent, also the second largest city in the Flemish Region. Other smaller cities are Aalst, Sint-Niklaas and Dendermonde in the east of the province. The eastern part of the province, part of the Flemish Diamond, is more densely populated than the western part.

Government

The Gravensteen in Ghent, the provincial capital
The Muur van Geraardsbergen

The provincial council (provincieraad) consists of 72 members which were last elected in the 2012 elections. Previously it consisted of 84 members. The council currently consists of the following political parties:

  • N-VA (Flemish nationalists): 21 members
  • CD&V (Christian democrats): 15 members
  • Open VLD (liberals): 15 members
  • sp.a (social democrats): 9 members
  • Vlaams Belang (far-right nationalists): 6 members
  • Groen (greens): 6 members

Six people chosen by and from the council form the daily government, called the deputation (deputatie). The deputation of East Flanders is a coalition of the political parties CD&V, Open Vld and sp.a. The biggest party in the council, N-VA, is not included.

The daily government is led by the governor, who is appointed by the Flemish Government. André Denys (VLD) has been the governor of East Flanders from 26 November 2004 until 21 January 2013.[3] Jan Briers, who is not member of a political party but was nominated by N-VA, succeeded him on 1 February 2013.

The province has a yearly budget of approximately 300 million euro.

Governors

  • 1830: Pierre De Ryckere
  • 1830–1834: Werner de Lamberts-Cortenbach
  • 1834–1836: Charles Vilain XIIII
  • 1837–1843: Louis de Schiervel
  • 1843–1848: Leander Desmaisières
  • 1848–1871: Edouard De Jaegher (lib.)
  • 1871–1879: Emile de T'Serclaes De Wommersom
  • 1879–1885: Léon Verhaeghe de Naeyer (lib.)
  • 1885–1919: Raymond de Kerchove d'Exaerde
  • 1919–1921: Maurice Lippens (lib.)
  • 1921–1929: André de Kerchove de Denterghem (lib.)
  • 1929–1935: Karel Weyler (lib.)
  • 1935–1938: Jules Ingenbleek (lib.)
  • 1938–1939: Louis Frederiq (lib)
  • 1939–1954: Maurice Van den Boogaerde
  • 1954–1963: Albert Mariën (lib.)
  • 1963–1984: Roger de Kinder (BSP)
  • 1984–2004: Herman Balthazar (SP.A)
  • 2004-2013: André Denys (VLD)
  • 2013-present: Jan Briers (none; nominated by N-VA)

Timeline:

André DenysMaurice Lippens (governor)

References

  1. ↑ Population per municipality as of 1 January 2017 (XLS; 397 KB)
  2. ↑ In isolation, Vlaanderen is pronounced [ˈvlaːndərə(n)].
  3. ↑ "The governor, province East Flanders". Retrieved 2006-03-14.
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