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Flemish Movement

From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Flemish strijdvlag as adopted by large parts of the Flemish Movement

The Flemish Movement is an umbrella term which has many political groups in the Belgian region of Flanders and, less commonly, in French Flanders. They are made up of groups who wish to promote Flemish culture and the Dutch language as well as those wanting a greater political independence for Flanders within Belgium. It also supports nationalists who want Flanders to be independent from Belgium, either through outright independence or to be reunited with the Netherlands.

21st century

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In recent history, the Flemish Movement has become more powerful and important in Belgian politicians.[1][2][3] Since 2010, the separatist N-VA party has been the biggest party in Flanders,[4] while Vlaams Belang has become the second largest in the 2019 federal and regional elections.[5]

In 2025, Bart De Wever became Belgium's first Flemish nationalist to become prime minister.[6][7]

References

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  1. "Belgian Political Crisis and Talk of Linguistic Divisions Continue | DW | 02.10.2007". DW.COM.
  2. "An artificial kingdom moves closer to its end". The Economist.
  3. Voice, European (May 26, 2014). "Flemish separatism gains ground in Belgium". POLITICO.
  4. Brzozowski, Alexandra; Matthews-Ferrero, Daniel; Papalamprou, Ery; An, Fengwei David; Steenland, Robert; Putte, Thomas van de (May 3, 2019). "EU country briefing: Belgium".
  5. "Vlaams Belang surges, N-VA biggest". 2019-05-26.
  6. "Belgium gets new government with Flemish separatist Bart De Wever as PM". politico. 2025-02-03. Retrieved 2025-02-03.
  7. "Van 'Slimste mens' tot eerste Vlaams-nationalist als premier: hoe Bart De Wever al 20 jaar de politiek in België domineert". vrt (in Dutch). 2025-02-01. Retrieved 2025-02-03.