The Flemish Heraldic Council

Following the overall reorganisation of local governments in the 1970s, the issue of the new authorities' coats of arms and flags had to be addressed.
The decree of January 28th 1977, regarding the granting of arms and flags to communes (BS April 7th 1977), therefore stipulates that every Flemish commune will bear its own arms and flag.

The execution of this decree was entrusted to a newly formed Subcommittee for Heraldry on December 21st 1978. On April 11th 1984 (BS September 18th 1984) the Subcommittee was replaced by the Flemish Heraldic Council (Vlaamse Heraldische Raad). The composition of the latter was announced by the ministerial decree of May 21st 1984 (BS November 27th 1984).

The decree of December 21st 1994, regarding the granting of arms and flags to provinces and communes (BS April 4th 1995), widened the Council's competence to provincial heraldry. During some twenty odd years the Council has watched over the process of granting arms and flags to communes and provinces. Its endeavours resulted in the publication of a two-volume armorial of all Flemish communes and provinces, titled "Gemeentewapens in België. Vlaanderen en Brussel."

Since a few years the Flemish Heraldic Council has devoted most of its attention to family arms. The decree of February 3rd 1998, regarding the granting of arms to private persons and to institutions (BS March 21st 1998) and the ensuing decree of June 17th 2000 on its application (BS September 1st 2000), empower the Flemish Government to officially grant coats of arms to private persons and to corporations.

The Flemish Heraldic Council counts seven members:
Mr. Jozef Dauwe, solicitor
Dr. Luc Duerloo, senior lecturer in history
Eric Houtman, archivist at the Rijksarchief Antwerpen
Daniël Ostyn, honorary state-inspector for secondary and higher education
Dr. André Vandewalle, chief archivist of the city of Bruges
Ir. Jean-Jacques van Ormelingen, president of the Belgian Federation for Genealogy and Heraldry
Lieve Viaene-Awouters, president

Secretary: Basiel Eeckhout

Activities

From September 6th to 11th 2004 the 26th International Congress for Genealogical and Heraldic Sciences will be held in Bruges.