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Information about Walloon Region

This article is about the Belgian federed region. For other uses, see Wallonia (disambiguation).
    Walloon Region

Région wallonne (French)
Wallonische Region (German)
Waals Gewest (Dutch)
Information
Official languagesFrench, German
(area dependent)
CapitalNamur
Areakm
BE-WAL
Official websitewww.wallonie.be
Population
Total3,413,978  (January 1, 2006)
Density202 / km
Institutions
Minister-PresidentRudy Demotte
Established1993
Celebration daySeptember 27
AnthemLe Chant des Wallons
Location


Walloon Region in Belgium and its provinces
Brussels-Capital Region, Flemish Region, Walloon Region


The Walloon Region, commonly called Wallonia, is one of the three Regions of Belgium.

The region represents 33% of the population and 55% of the territory of Belgium. It is predominantly French-speaking but there are also German-speaking communes in the east. As the other regions, the Walloon Region has its own parliament and government and exercizes its functions by the limits defined by the Belgian constitution. Its capital is Namur. Its official languages are French and German.

Geography

The territory of the Walloon Region is defined by the Belgian constitution: "The Walloon region is made up of the following provinces: The Walloon Brabant, Hainaut, Liège, Luxemburg and Namur."[1]

This territory of 16,844 km² (55.18% of Belgium) occupying the southern part of Belgium is also divided into 20 administrative arrondissements and 262 communes.

Attributions

The constitutional system of Belgium grants the Walloon Region its own legislative and executive powers in the fields for which it is competent:
  • agriculture and rural renewal
  • development of the territory and town planning
  • economy and foreign trade
  • employment and vocational training
  • the environment, water and nature conservation
  • housing
  • local authorities, subsidized works and sports infrastructures
  • scientific research, new technologies and energy
  • international relations
  • health and social affairs
  • tourism and heritage
  • regional transport, mobility and public works.

Emblems

Since July 15, 1998, the Walloon Region has had as emblems a flag, an anthem and a "national" day, though the Walloon Region doesn't represent a nation.

The flag is a coq hardi de gueule sur fond d'or, "a bold red rooster on gold", designed by Pierre Paulus in 1913, and adopted in July 1998.[2] It is also the flag of the French Community of Belgium and they share the same "national" day, the 27th of September. The anthem is Le Chant des Wallons ("the Walloons' song"), written by Theophile Bovy in 1900 and composed by Louis Hillier in 1901.

There is also a logo, a red “W arrow” with the baseline “WALLOON REGION”.

Cities

The largest cities in the region include, as of 2007's population figures: [1]

Politics

Main article: Politics of the Walloon Region

Since 23 April 1993, Belgium has been a federal state, geographically split into three regions and linguistically split into three communities. The Walloon Region is one of the three (southern region, mainly French-speaking, with a population of 3,360,000), the two others being the Flemish Region (northern region, Dutch-speaking, with a population of 5,900,000) and the Brussels-Capital Region (bilingual French/Dutch with French majority, with a population of 980,000).

The Walloon region has a parliament (one chamber with 75 members elected for five years by direct universal suffrage) and a government responsible in front of the parliament. Its parliament exercices two functions:
  • It discusses and passes decrees, and they can take initiatives to draw them up. After this, decrees are sanctioned and promulgated by the Walloon government.
  • It controls the Walloon government. Control is exercised via the vote.
The government of Walloon is directed by a political majority. The government numbers nine members with the president. Each member is called a ministre.

The composition of the parliament for the 2004-2009 legislature is as follows: The head of the government, called Ministre-Président, is Rudy Demotte, member of the PS.

Economy

The Walloon economy experienced a strong development in the 19th century, especially in the regions of Liège and Charleroi. Belgium was then the first country in continental Europe to undergo an industrial revolution in the early 1800s, mainly based on the iron and coal industries, which were both abundant in Wallonia. In 1842 John Cockerill (1790-1840), a British entrepreneur, founded the company Cockerill-Sambre, which would become one of the major producers of steel in Europe. Raoul Warocqué (1870-1917), who made the coal mines of Mariemont a success, was the wealthiest person in Belgium.

The profitability of these types of heavy industries started declining in the first half of the 20th century, which saw the center of industrial activity shift to the northern part of Belgium. Wallonia would be surpassed in economical development by Flanders only in the 1960s, when industrial production in the northern part of Belgium would catch up with Wallonia. The crisis in the steel industry led to a painful economic restructuration in Wallonia. Wallonia switched places with Flanders, regarding economical development. In 2004, the GDP per capita was €27,356 in Flanders, and €19,858 in Wallonia.

The current Walloon economy is relatively diversified, although certain areas — especially around Charleroi and Liège — are still suffering from the steel industry crisis, with a high unemployment rate of up to 30% in some regions, while the south of the region, bordering Luxembourg benefits from its neighbour's economic prosperity, with a lot of Belgians working on the other side of the border (called frontaliers). The restoration of economical development is high on the political agenda.

The Ardennes area south of the Meuse River is a popular tourist destination with a rich cultural heritage, with places such as Bastogne, Dinant, Durbuy, and the famous balneotherapy of Spa.

Science and Technology

Wallonia is home to several science and technology organizations.

Internal links

External links

References

1. ^ A version of the Belgian constitution in English can be found on the Website of the federal government
2. ^ Wallonia - Walloon Region (Belgium). Flags Of The World.


 •  • [ e]
Subdivisions of Belgium

Communities: Flemish • French • German
Regions and provinces:
      Brussels-Capital Region
      Flemish Region: Antwerp • East Flanders • Flemish Brabant • Limburg • West Flanders
      Walloon Region: Hainaut • Lige • Luxembourg • Namur • Walloon Brabant
Arrondissements: Administrative • Judicial • Electoral
Municipalities: of the Brussels-Capital Region • in the Flemish Region • in the Walloon Region

 •  • [ e]
Municipalities in the Brussels-Capital Region of Belgium
Anderlecht Auderghem / Oudergem Berchem-Sainte-Agathe / Sint-Agatha-Berchem Bruxelles-Ville / Stad Brussel Etterbeek Evere Forest / Vorst Ganshoren Ixelles / Elsene Jette Koekelberg Molenbeek-Saint-Jean / Sint-Jans-Molenbeek Saint-Gilles / Sint-Gillis Saint-Josse-ten-Noode / Sint-Joost-ten-Node Schaerbeek / Schaarbeek Uccle / Ukkel Watermael-Boitsfort / Watermaal-Bosvoorde Woluwe-Saint-Lambert / Sint-Lambrechts-Woluwe Woluwe-Saint-Pierre / Sint-Pieters-Woluwe
Authorities: Minister-President of the Brussels-Capital Region Brussels Parliament Governor of Brussels-Capital
Walloon may refer to:

Belgium

  • The Walloons, inhabitants of Wallonia, a geographic term of a part of Belgium based on an identity concept; see for instance the Walloons' Song.

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French (français, pronounced [fʁɑ̃ˈsɛ]) is a Romance language originally spoken in France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and Switzerland, and today by about 300 million people around the world as either
..... Click the link for more information.
German language (Deutsch, ] (help info ) ) is a West Germanic language and one of the world's major languages.
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capital (also called capital city or political capital — although the latter phrase has a second meaning based on an alternative sense of "capital") is the center of government.
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Country Belgium
Community French Community
Region
Arrondissement Namur
Coordinates Coordinates:
Area 175.
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Area is a physical quantity expressing the size of a part of a surface. The term Surface area is the summation of the areas of the exposed sides of an object.

Units

Units for measuring surface area include:
square metre = SI derived unit

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Square kilometre (U.S. spelling: square kilometer), symbol km², is a decimal multiple of the SI unit of surface area, the square metre, one of the SI derived units. 1 km² is equal to:
  • 1,000,000 m²
  • 100 ha (hectare)
Conversely:
  • 1 m² = 0.

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A website (alternatively, Web site or web site) is a collection of Web pages, images, videos or other digital assets that is hosted on one or several Web server(s), usually accessible via the Internet, cell phone or a LAN.
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population is the collection of people or organisms of a particular species living in a given geographic area or mortality, and migration, though the field encompasses many dimensions of population change including the family (marriage and divorce), public health, work and the
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January 1 is the 1st day of the year (2nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 0 days remaining. The preceding day is December 31 of the previous year.
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20th century - 21st century - 22nd century
1970s  1980s  1990s  - 2000s -  2010s  2020s  2030s
2003 2004 2005 - 2006 - 2007 2008 2009

2006 by topic:
News by month
Jan - Feb - Mar - Apr - May - Jun
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Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, humans in particular.

Biological population densities


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Square kilometre (U.S. spelling: square kilometer), symbol km², is a decimal multiple of the SI unit of surface area, the square metre, one of the SI derived units. 1 km² is equal to:
  • 1,000,000 m²
  • 100 ha (hectare)
Conversely:
  • 1 m² = 0.

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A minister-president (German: Ministerpräsident) is the head of government in a number of European countries or subnational governments, who presides over the council of ministers.
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Rudy W.G. Demotte (born June 3, 1963 in Ronse) is a Belgian socialist politician who served as Minister for Social Affairs and Public Health, in the Belgian federal government from 2003 to 2007.
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19th century - 20th century - 21st century
1960s  1970s  1980s  - 1990s -  2000s  2010s  2020s
1990 1991 1992 - 1993 - 1994 1995 1996

Year 1993 (MCMXCIII
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September 27 is the 1st day of the year (2nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 0 days remaining.

Events

  • 489 - Odoacer attacks Theodoric at the Battle of Verona, and is defeated again.

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An anthem is a composition to an English religious text sung in the context of an Anglican service. The term has evolved to mean a song of celebration, usually acting as a symbol for a certain group of people, as in the term "national anthem". See below for other uses.
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Le Chant des Wallons (The Song of the Walloons) is the anthem of the Walloon Region of Belgium.

The original words, written in Walloon as Li Tchant des Walons by Théophile Bovy in 1900, were in 1901 set to music composed by Louis Hillier.
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Brussels-Capital Region (French: Région de Bruxelles-Capitale, Dutch: Brussels Hoofdstedelijk Gewest, German: Region Brüssel-Hauptstadt
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Flemish Region (Vlaams Gewest or Vlaanderen in Dutch), a contemporary meaning of 'Flanders', is one of the three official regions of the Kingdom of Belgium – alongside the Walloon Region and the Brussels-Capital Region.
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Wallonia (French: Wallonie, German: Wallonien, Walloon: Walonreye, Dutch: Wallonië
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Communities:!!style="line-height:2em;"|Regions: |- | ||Flemish Region

(yellow) |- |Flemish Community

(yellow * ) | |- | ||Brussels-Capital Region

(orange 
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Motto
Eendracht maakt macht   (Dutch)
L'union fait la force"   (French)
Einigkeit macht stark
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French (français, pronounced [fʁɑ̃ˈsɛ]) is a Romance language originally spoken in France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and Switzerland, and today by about 300 million people around the world as either
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German language (Deutsch, ] (help info ) ) is a West Germanic language and one of the world's major languages.
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Belgium

This article is part of the series:
Politics of Belgium

  • Constitution
  • King
  • Albert II
  • Federal Government
  • Prime Minister

..... Click the link for more information.
Country Belgium
Community French Community
Region
Arrondissement Namur
Coordinates Coordinates:
Area 175.
..... Click the link for more information.
French (français, pronounced [fʁɑ̃ˈsɛ]) is a Romance language originally spoken in France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and Switzerland, and today by about 300 million people around the world as either
..... Click the link for more information.
German language (Deutsch, ] (help info ) ) is a West Germanic language and one of the world's major languages.
..... Click the link for more information.


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