Jambon Government


The Jambon Government was the Flemish Government formed and sworn in on 2 October 2019, following the 2019 Belgian regional elections and replacing the interim Homans Government. It was replaced by the Diependaele Government on 20 September 2024.
On 30 September 2019, just over four months after the elections, the ruling parties, the Christian Democratic and Flemish party and the Open Flemish Liberals and Democrats ) announced they had agreed to form a new coalition led by Jan Jambon, to be sworn in on 2 October 2019.
The cabinet started with a small majority in the Flemish Parliament as it dropped from 89 to 70 seats since the previous election, needing 63 for a majority. It lost a further seat in April 2021 when Sihame El Kaouakibi left Open Vld and became an independent member of Parliament. The main opposition parties were the far-right Vlaams Belang, the Green party and the Socialist Party.

Composition

The coalition replaced the interim Homans Government, again consisting of the, and . In contrary to what was expected, the N-VA only has four ministers, while CD&V has three. Finally, Open Vld has two ministers, although in the final months of the Government, following the resignation of Gwendolyn Rutten, no new minister was appointed and Open Vld was left with only one minister.

Changes

  • On 12 May 2022 Wouter Beke announced to be resigning from the Flemish Government after suffering months of criticism on his approach towards tackling the corona crisis, the waiting lists in healthcare and the abuses in childcare. Beke returned to take up the position of mayor of Leopoldsburg. A few days later, CD&V announced that his portfolios would be taken over by Hilde Crevits, who would in turn leave her portfolios to newcomer Jo Brouns.
  • On 6 November 2023 Bart Somers announced to be resigning from the Flemish Government to take up his position as mayor of Mechelen, replacing acting mayor Alexander Vandersmissen. One day later, Gwendolyn Rutten was announced as the successor of Somers.
  • On 2 August 2024 Gwendolyn Rutten announced to be resigning from the Flemish Government to take up her position as mayor of Aarschot in preparation for the 2024 Belgian local elections where she aims for reelection. Rutten thereby replaced acting mayor Bert Van der Auwera. With new government negotiations ongoing, it was decided not to replace Rutten in the Flemish Government, but rather shift her duties to Open Vld colleague Lydia Peeters for the remainder of the term.