Belgium Politics
- Conventional Long Form Name: Kingdom of Belgium
- Capital City: Brussels, Belgium
- Type of Government: Federal Parliament Democracy under a Constitutional Monarchy
- Date of Independence: October 4, 1830
- National Holiday: July 21 to celebrate the ascension to the Throne of King Leopold I
- Chief of State: King Philippe
- Head of Government: Prime Minister Elio Di Rupo
- Executive Branch: The monarchy in Belgium is hereditary and constitutional. Legislative elections are held and then the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition usually is appointed prime minister by the monarch and then approved by parliament.
- Legislative Branch: Belgium's legislative branch is a bicameral Parliament, consisting of a Senate of 71 seats (40 members directly elected by popular vote, 31 indirectly elected). Each member of the senate has a four-year term to serve. There is also a Chamber of Deputies consisting of 150 seats. Each member is directly elected by popular vote on the basis of proportional representation and serves four-year terms.
- Judicial Branch: The Constitutional Court in Belgium consists of 12 judges - 6 Dutch-speaking and 6 French-speaking. The Supreme Court of Justice is a court organized into 3 chambers: civil and commercial; criminal; social, fiscal, and armed forces. Each chamber includes a Dutch division and a French division, each with a chairperson and 5-6 judges.
- Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal and compulsory
- Belgium's Ambassador to the United States: Jan Matthysen
- Location of Belgium's Embassy in the United States: 3330 Garfield Street NW, Washington, DC 20008
- Belgium's Consulates in the United States: Atlanta, Los Angeles, New York
- United States Ambassador to Belgium: Denise Bauer
- Location of United States Embassy in Belgium: 27 Boulevard du Regent [Regentlaan], B-1000 Brussels
- Location of United States Consulates in Belgium: None
- Belgium's Representative to the UN: Bénédicte Frankinet
- National Symbols: Lion
![Picture](/uploads/2/3/3/0/23305302/284619197.jpg?299)
Three equal vertical bands of black, yellow, and red make up the flag of Belgium. The vertical design was based on the flag of France. The colors are those of the arms of the duchy of Brabant (yellow lion with red claws and tongue on a black field).