More than 175 years of liberal commitment
From the Liberal Party of 1846, Belgium's oldest party, to today's Mouvement Réformateur.
1846: the founding congress of the Liberal Party, Belgium's first organised party.
The MR was born from the coming together of three liberal families
On 24 March 2002, the PRL, the PFF and the MCC sealed their political and ideological convergence within the Mouvement Réformateur: a modern, reforming and resolutely centrist party, driven by the reconciliation of every individual with society.
Parti Réformateur Libéral
Belgium's oldest party: it was founded in 1846 under the name Liberal Party. Its values (freedom, humanism, equality) were forcefully restated with the adoption of the Reformers' Manifesto.
Partei für Freiheit und Fortschritt
The German-speaking branch of the liberal family, whose full distinctiveness was recognised when the Mouvement Réformateur was created.
Mouvement des Citoyens pour le Changement
Founded in 1998, open and pluralist, it set out to bring together the forces of change. It joined the liberal federation that same year, in 1998.
Birth of the Liberal Party
Belgium's first organised party, the Liberal Party carried the values of freedom, humanism and equality from the very start.
The Mouvement Réformateur is created
On 24 March 2002, the PRL, the PFF and the MCC joined forces. Daniel Ducarme, the architect of the merger, served as founding president until June 2003; Antoine Duquesne then led the transition until October 2004.
Didier Reynders takes over the presidency
Under his presidency (2004-2011), the MR became the leading French-speaking political force in the 2007 federal election. This period also saw the departure of the FDF in 2011.
Charles Michel, from the Movement to 16 rue de la Loi
Charles Michel took the helm of the Movement and led it through to the formation of the federal government he headed from October 2014.
Olivier Chastel consolidates
Olivier Chastel chaired the party until February 2019, with Charles Michel then serving on an interim basis until the internal presidential election that autumn.
Georges-Louis Bouchez, the youngest president in our history
His presidency has been marked by an overhaul of the party statutes and steady growth in membership.
The country's leading French-speaking political force
The historic victory in the triple election of 9 June 2024 made the MR the leading French-speaking political force, in Wallonia as in Brussels. Georges-Louis Bouchez was re-elected on 15 July 2024 with 95.76% of the vote, for a five-year term.
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