Editing Party for Freedom and Progress (section)

== History ==
=== Foundation of a new party===

In 1961, [[Omer Vanaudenhove]], leader of the Liberal Party, reorganised it into the Partij voor Vrijheid en Vooruitgang/Parti de la Liberté et du Progrès (PVV/PLP).  The new party, among other things, jettisoned the Liberals' traditional [[anti-clericalism]].  In 1965, the party obtained a victory in the general elections with 21.6% of the votes. In 1966, the PVV joined the government of [[Paul Vanden Boeynants]]. The liberal ministers during this period were [[Willy De Clercq]], [[Jacques Van Offelen]], [[Frans Grootjans]], [[Herman Vanderpoorten]], [[Charles Poswick]] and [[August De Winter]].

=== Separation between PVV and PRL ===

On 27 June 1971, the party was split up in a Flemish (PVV) and Walloon party (the [[Liberal Reformist Party (Belgium)|Liberal Reformist Party]], PRL). Only a few months later, on 24 September 1971, the parliament was dissolved. In the elections which followed The Flemish PVV gained votes, but the Walloon PRL lost in the elections.

In this period (1971–1992), the PVV ministers in the government were: [[Willy De Clercq]], [[Herman Vanderpoorten]], [[Herman De Croo]], [[Karel Poma]], [[Alfred Vreven]], [[André Kempinaire]], [[Guy Verhofstadt]], [[Louis Waltniel]], [[Jean Pede]], [[Patrick Dewael]], [[Ward Beysen]], and [[Jacky Buchmann]].

The PRL ministers in the government were: [[André Damseaux]], [[François-Xavier de Donnea]], [[Jean Gol]], [[Louis Olivier]], [[Charles Poswick]], and [[Michel Toussaint]].

=== Flanders: VLD ===

In Flanders, the PVV ceased to exist in 1992. On 15 November 1992, the [[Open Vlaamse Liberalen en Democraten|Flemish Liberals and Democrats]] (VLD) was founded.

=== French-speaking Community: MR ===

In 1976, the name of the party was changed into Parti des Réformes et des Libertés de Wallonie|Parti de Réformes et de la Liberté en Wallonie (PRLW). In 1979, the name was changed to [[Liberal Reformist Party (Belgium)|Liberal Reformist Party]] (PRL) after the merger with the Liberal Party of Brussels. In March 2002, the PRL merged with the German-speaking [[Partei für Freiheit und Fortschritt|Party for Freedom and Progress]] (PFF) of the [[East Cantons]], the [[Fédéralistes Démocrates Francophones|Democratic Front of Francophones]] (FDF) and the [[Mouvement des Citoyens pour le Changement|Citizens' Movement for Change]] (MCC) into the [[Mouvement Réformateur|Reformist Movement]] (MR).