# Groen (political party)

Groen ( ; lit. 'Green'), founded as Agalev, is a green Flemish political party in Belgium. The main pillars of the party are social justice, human rights, and ecologism. Its French-speaking equivalent is Ecolo; the two parties maintain close relations with each other.

## History
### Agalev

In 1979, the green party was founded by name of "Agalev", an acronym of "Anders Gaan Leven" ("Towards Different Living"). During the eighties, the party was known for being against nuclear weapons, and for being pro-Europe.
In 1992 Agalev was asked to support a constitutional change called the Sint-Michiels agreement, which would make Belgium a federation. This change required a two-third majority, so the majority needed to convince some parties of the opposition to proceed. Both Agalev and Ecolo agreed, in exchange for a tax on bottles, the first ecotax in Belgium. However, after the constitutional change was voted in, the ecotax was cancelled and replaced by a watered-down concept.
In the elections of 1999, Agalev scored 7% federally and 11% regionally (in Flanders). The Dioxin affair, a scandal surrounding dioxine in for-consumption chickens just before the elections, played an important role in the Greens' performance. The Greens joined the first Verhofstadt government as part of the "purple-green" federal coalition from 12 July 1999 until 18 May 2003. Representing Agalev in this federal government, Magda Aelvoet was Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister of Consumer Affairs, Public Health and the Environment. She tabled legislation on gay marriage, making Belgium the second country in the world to legalise same-sex marriage. Within the same legislature, Magda Aelvoet left her position due to her opposition of a Belgian arms delivery to Nepal, and was succeeded by fellow party member Jef Tavernier.
Also following the elections of 1999, the party joined the Flemish Government, which was composed of the same parties. Agalev supplied two ministers: Mieke Vogels became responsible for Wellbeing, Health and Equal opportunities, and Vera Dua for Agriculture and Environment.

### Renaming to Groen! (2003)

In the federal elections of 2003, Agalev scored less than 5% and lost all their seats (on the federal level). The next day, Jos Geysels resigned as party leader. The sitting ministers in the Flemish government Mieke Vogels and Vera Dua stepped down, and were replaced by Adelheid Byttebier [nl] and Ludo Sannen [nl] respectively.
Vera Dua got elected as chairperson, and on the same day, the party's name was changed to Groen! (Green!). The party got between 5 and 10% of the votes through the elections of the early 00's. They did not participate in a governmental coalition (on any level higher than local).

### Groen (2012–present)

In 2012 the party decided to drop de exclamation mark of their name.
After the local and provincial elections of 2014, Groen had a mandate for the first time in the province of Flemish-Brabant. In 2018 the province of East-Flanders followed. The results in Flemish-Brabant had improved though Green wasn't part of the coalition anymore after these elections.
In 2019, there were elections on the regional, federal and European level. At this time the school strike for climate movement had dominated the media, so the party Groen was expected to grow substantially. An total victory didn't happen, though the party gained seats on all levels.
On the regional level of Brussels-Capital, Groen participated in a red-green-blue coalition. Elke Van den Brandt became Minister of Mobility, Public Works, and Road Safety.
On the federal level, a new government wasn't formed until 17 March 2020, when the coronavirus outbreak urged a minority government with extra plenary powers to be formed. After 6 months a 'regular' majority government was formed and the Vivaldi coalition was sworn in with 2 Groen ministers. Petra De Sutter became Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Civil Service, Public Enterprises, Telecommunication and Postal Services, as Europe's first transgender deputy prime minister. Tinne Van der Straeten holds the Ministry of Energy.
In 2022 the members of Groen elected new party leaders: the duo Nadia Naji and Jeremie Vaneeckhout, and the logo changed from green only to a more colourful background.

## Political views

Groen is a progressive Flemish party that, as the name itself suggests, considers environmental and climate policy very important. The party wants to combine this with attention to social justice, equal opportunities, human rights and quality of life. In other words, the party wants to protect the planet, but wants to do so by paying attention to the weakest in society. The party therefore wants good and affordable health care and to tackle poverty. In order to afford these initiatives, the party expect the richest people and the biggest polluters in society to contribute more.

## Party chairperson

| Name | Name | From | Until | Vice-chairperson | Comments |
| 1 | Leo Cox | 28 March 1982 | 7 January 1989 | not applicable | Spokesperson |
| 2 | Johan Malcorps | 7 January 1989 | 6 June 1995 | not applicable | Spokesperson |
| 3 | Wilfried Bervoets | 6 June 1995 | 24 July 1998 | not applicable | Spokesperson. Passed away in function. During his illness, Jos Geysels was acting spokesperson. |
| 4 | Jos Geysels | 8 June 1998 | 21 June 2003 | not applicable | Spokesperson |
| 5 | Dirk Holemans | 21 June 2003 | 15 November 2003 | not applicable | Spokesperson |
| 6 | Vera Dua | 15 November 2003 | 10 November 2007 | not applicable | |
| 7 | Mieke Vogels | 10 November 2007 | 25 October 2009 | Wouter Van Besien (from 17 May 2008) | |
| 8 | Wouter Van Besien | 25 October 2009 | 15 November 2014 | Björn Rzoska (until 19 January 2013) Elke Van den Brandt (from 19 January 2013) | |
| 9 | Meyrem Almaci | 15 November 2014 | 11 June 2022 | Jeremie Vaneeckhout (until 19 October 2019) Dany Neudt (from 19 October 2019) | Re-elected |
| 10 | Jeremie Vaneeckhout and Nadia Naji | 11 June 2022 | 19 December 2024 | not applicable | |
| 11 | Bart Dhondt | 19 December 2024 | Incumbent | Natacha Waldmann |

## Current mandates
### European politics

European Parliament :
| Name | Committees |
| Sara Matthieu | International Trade Employment and Social Affairs |

### Federal politics

Chamber of Representatives :
| Name | Notes |
| Wouter De Vriendt | Faction leader |
| Kim Buyst | |
| Kristof Calvo | |
| Barbara Cremers | |
| Eva Platteau | |
| Dieter Van Besien | |
| Stefaan Van Hecke | |
| Kathleen Pisman | |
Senate :
| Type | Name | Notes |
| Co-opted Senator | Fourat Ben Chikha [nl] | Second vice president of the Senate |
| Community Senator | Stijn Bex [nl] | |
| Community Senator | Soetkin Hoessen [nl] | |
| Community Senator | Chris Steenwegen [nl] | |
Belgian Federal De Croo Government :
| Public Office | Name | Function |
| Deputy Prime Minister | Petra De Sutter | Minister of Civil Service, Public Enterprises, Telecommunication and Postal Services |
| Minister | Tinne Van der Straeten | Minister of Energy |

### Regional politics: Flanders

Flemish Parliament :
| Meyrem Almaci | Imade Annouri [nl] | Stijn Bex |
| Johan Danen | Ann De Martelaer | Celia Groothedde [nl] |
| Elisabeth Meuleman [nl] | Ann Moerenhout | Staf Aerts |
| Bjorn Rzoska | Mieke Schauvliege [nl] | Chris Steenwegen |
| Tine van den Brande | Jeremie Vaneeckhout | |

### Regional politics: Brussels

Parliament of the Brussels-Capital Region :
| Name | Notes |
| Juan Benjumea Moreno [nl] | |
| Lotte Stoops [nl] | |
| Soetkin Hoessen [nl] | |
| Arnaud Verstraete [nl] | Faction Leader |
Brussels Regional Government Vervoort II :
| Public Office | Name | Function |
| Minister | Elke Van den Brandt | Mobility and Public Works |

## Election results
### Chamber of Representatives

| Election | Votes | % | Seats | +/− | Government | Elected members of parliament |
| 1977 | 2,435 | 0.0 | 0 / 212 | | Extra-parliamentary | |
| 1978 | 5,556 | 0.1 | 0 / 212 | 0 | Extra-parliamentary | |
| 1981 | 138,575 | 2.3 | 2 / 212 | 2 | Opposition | Ludo Dierickx, Fernand Geyselings |
| 1985 | 226,758 | 3.7 | 4 / 212 | 2 | Opposition | Ludo Dierickx, Mieke Vogels |
| 1987 | 275,437 | 4.5 | 6 / 212 | 2 | Opposition | Jozef Cuyvers, Wilfried De Vlieghere, Jos Geysels, Hugo Van Dienderen, Wilfried Van Durme, Mieke Vogels |
| 1991 | 299,550 | 4.9 | 7 / 212 | 1 | Opposition | Magda Aelvoet (until 20 July 1994) → Lodewijk Steenwegen, Luc Barbé, Wilfried De Vlieghere, Vera Dua, Jos Geysels, Hugo Van Dienderen, Mieke Vogels (until 11 January 1995) → Peter Luyten |
| 1995 | 269,058 | 4.4 | 5 / 150 | 2 | Opposition | Frans Lozie, Jef Tavernier, Hugo Van Dienderen, Lode Vanoost, Joos Wauters |
| 1999 | 434,449 | 7.0 | 9 / 150 | 4 | Coalition | Eddy Boutmans (until 12 October 1999) → Leen Laenens, Anne-Mie Descheemaeker, Kristien Grauwels, Simonne Leen, Fauzaya Talhaoui, Jef Tavernier (until 28 August 2002) → Liliane De Cock, Peter Vanhoutte, Lode Vanoost, Joos Wauters |
| 2003 | 162,205 | 2.5 | 0 / 150 | 9 | Extra-parliamentary | |
| 2007 | 265,828 | 4.0 | 4 / 150 | 4 | Opposition | Meyrem Almaci, Wouter De Vriendt, Tinne Van der Straeten, Stefaan Van Hecke |
| 2010 | 285,989 | 4.4 | 5 / 150 | 1 | Opposition | Meyrem Almaci, Eva Brems, Kristof Calvo, Wouter De Vriendt, Stefaan Van Hecke |
| 2014 | 358,947 | 5.3 | 6 / 150 | 1 | Opposition | Meyrem Almaci, Kristof Calvo, Stefaan Van Hecke, Evita Willaert, Wouter De Vriendt, Anne Dedry |
| 2019 | 413,836 | 6.1 | 8 / 150 | 2 | External support (2020) | Kim Buyst, Kristof Calvo, Barbara Creemers, Wouter De Vriendt, Jessica Soors (until 2020) → Eva Platteau, Stefaan Van Hecke, Dieter Van Besien, Kathleen Pisman |
| 2019 | 413,836 | 6.1 | 8 / 150 | 2 | Coalition (2020–2025) | Kim Buyst, Kristof Calvo, Barbara Creemers, Wouter De Vriendt, Jessica Soors (until 2020) → Eva Platteau, Stefaan Van Hecke, Dieter Van Besien, Kathleen Pisman |
| 2024 | 324,608 | 4.7 | 6 / 150 | 2 | Opposition |

### Senate

| Election | Votes | % | Seats | +/− |
| 1977 | 3,270 | 0.1 | 0 / 106 | |
| 1978 | | | 0 / 106 | |
| 1981 | 121,016 | 2.0 | 1 / 106 | 1 |
| 1985 | 229,206 | 3.8 | 2 / 106 | 1 |
| 1987 | 299,049 | 4.9 | 3 / 105 | 1 |
| 1991 | 314,360 | 5.1 | 5 / 70 | 2 |
| 1995 | 223,355 | 3.7 | 1 / 40 | 4 |
| 1999 | 438,931 | 7.1 | 3 / 40 | 2 |
| 2003 | 161,024 | 2.5 | 0 / 40 | 3 |
| 2007 | 241,151 | 3.6 | 1 / 40 | 1 |
| 2010 | 251,605 | 3.9 | 1 / 40 | 0 |

### Regional: Brussels

| Election | Votes | % | % | Seats | +/− | Government | Elected Members of parliament |
| Election | Votes | D.E.C. | Overall | Seats | +/− | Government | Elected Members of parliament |
| 1989 | 4,821 | | 1.1 (#12) | 1 / 75 | | Opposition | Dolf Cauwelier |
| 1995 | 3,906 | | 1.0 (#11) | 0 / 75 | 1 | Opposition | |
| 1999 | 13,223 | 21.8 (#4) | 3.1 (#8) | 0 / 75 | 0 | Opposition | Adelheid Byttebier (until 6 June 2003; replaced Mieke Vogels as Flemish minister) → Anne Van Asbroeck (SP.A) |
| 2004 | 6,132 | 9.8 (#5) | 1.4 (#10) | 1 / 89 | 1 | Opposition | Adelheid Byttebier |
| 2009 | 5,806 | 11.2 (#5) | 1.3 (#10) | 2 / 89 | 1 | Coalition | Bruno De Lille (became Brussels-Capital Region state secretary) → Elke Van den Brandt, Annemie Maes |
| 2014 | 9,551 | 17.9 (#5) | 2.1 (#9) | 3 / 89 | 1 | Opposition | Bruno De Lille, Annemie Maes, Arnaud Verstraete |
| 2019 | 14,425 | 20.6 (#1) | 3.1 (#7) | 4 / 89 | 1 | Coalition | Elke Van den Brandt (became minister ) → Soetkin Hoessen, Arnaud Verstraete, Lotte Stoops, Juan Benjumea Moreno |
| 2024 | 18,345 | 22.82 (#1) | | 4 / 89 | 0 | TBD | |

### Regional: Flemish Parliament

| Election | Votes | % | Seats | +/− | Government | Elected representatives |
| 1995 | 267,155 | 7.1 (#6) | 7 / 124 | | Opposition | Vera Dua, Jos Geysels, Johan Malcorps, Ludo Sannen, Jos Stassen, Ria Van Den Heuvel, Cecile Verwimp |
| 1999 | 451,361 | 11.6 (#5) | 12 / 124 | 5 | Coalition | Magda Aelvoet (until 12 July 1999; became federal minister) → Ann De Martelaer, Veerle Declercq, Jos Geysels, Eloi Glorieux, Dirk Holemans, Johan Malcorps, Frans Ramon, Ludo Sannen (until 26 May 2003; replaced Vera Dua as Flemish minister) → Flor Ory (until 17 February 2004) → Ludo Sannen, Jos Stassen, Ria Van Den Heuvel, Jo Vermeulen, Vera Dua (became Flemish minister) → Isabel Vertriest (until 26 May 2003) → Vera Dua |
| 2004 | 308,898 | 7.6 (#5) | 6 / 124 | 6 | Opposition | Rudi Daems, Vera Dua, Eloi Glorieux, Jos Stassen, Jef Tavernier, Mieke Vogels |
| 2009 | 278,211 | 6.8 (#7) | 7 / 124 | 1 | Opposition | Bart Caron, Elisabeth Meuleman, Dirk Peeters, Hermes Sanctorum, Luckas Vander Taelen, Mieke Vogels, Filip Watteeuw (until 31 December 2012) |
| 2014 | 365,779 | 8.7 (#5) | 10 / 124 | 3 | Opposition | Imade Annouri, Bart Caron, Johan Danen, Elisabeth Meuleman, Ann Moerenhout, Ingrid Pira, Bjorn Rzoska, Hermes Sanctorum (until 2016; became independent), Wouter Van Besien, Elke Van den Brandt |
| 2019 | 428,696 | 10.1 (#5) | 14 / 124 | 4 | Opposition | Meyrem Almaci, Jeremie Vaneeckhout, Johan Danen, Björn Rzoska, An Moerenhout, Stijn Bex, Mieke Schauvliege, Chris Steenwegen, Imade Annouri, Celia Groothedde, Elisabeth Meuleman, Ann De Martelaer, Staf Aerts, Tine Van den Brande |
| 2024 | 304,688 | 7.17 | 9 / 124 | 5 | Opposition | |

### European Parliament

| Election | List leader | Votes | % | % | Seats | +/− | EP Group |
| Election | List leader | Votes | D.E.C. | Overall | Seats | +/− | EP Group |
| 1979 | Paul Staes | 77,986 | 2.33 (#5) | 1.43 | 0 / 24 | New | − |
| 1984 | Paul Staes | 246,712 | 7.08 (#5) | 4.31 | 1 / 24 | 1 | RBW |
| 1989 | Paul Staes | 446,539 | 12.20 (#4) | 7.57 | 1 / 24 | 0 | G |
| 1994 | Magda Aelvoet | 396,198 | 10.73 (#5) | 6.64 | 1 / 25 | 0 | G |
| 1999 | Patsy Sörensen | 464,042 | 11.98 (#6) | 7.50 | 2 / 25 | 1 | Greens/EFA |
| 2004 | Bart Staes | 320,874 | 7.99 (#5) | 4.94 | 1 / 24 | 1 | Greens/EFA |
| 2009 | Bart Staes | 322,149 | 7.90 (#6) | 4.90 | 1 / 22 | 0 | Greens/EFA |
| 2014 | Bart Staes | 447,391 | 10.62 (#5) | 6.69 | 1 / 21 | 0 | Greens/EFA |
| 2019 | Petra De Sutter | 525,908 | 12.37 (#5) | 7.81 | 1 / 21 | 0 | Greens/EFA |
| 2024 | Sara Matthieu | 450,781 | 10.00 (#5) | 6.31 | 1 / 21 | 0 | Greens/EFA |
* ↑ In coalition with SP