Moerbeke-Waas

Moerbeke
Municipality
Flag Coat of arms
Moerbeke Location in Belgium
Location of Moerbeke in East Flanders
Coordinates: 51°10′N 03°56′E / 51.167°N 3.933°E / 51.167; 3.933Coordinates: 51°10′N 03°56′E / 51.167°N 3.933°E / 51.167; 3.933
Country	Belgium
Community	Flemish Community
Region	Flemish Region
Province	East Flanders
Arrondissement	Ghent
Government
• Mayor	Robby De Caluwé (Open Vld)
• Governing party/ies	Open Vld
Area
• Total	37.80 km2 (14.59 sq mi)
Population (1 January 2016)
• Total	6,328
• Density	170/km2 (430/sq mi)
Postal codes	9180
Area codes	09, 03
Website	www.moerbeke.be

Moerbeke (Dutch pronunciation: [ˌmuːrbeːkə]) is a municipality in the Belgian province of East Flanders. It is sometimes unofficially called Moerbeke-Waas (Dutch pronunciation: [ˌmuːrbeːkə ˈʋaːs]) to distinguish between this place and Moerbeke in Geraardsbergen. The municipality only comprises the town of Moerbeke proper. On January 1, 2006, Moerbeke had a total population of 5,844. The total area is 37.80 km² which gives a population density of 155 inhabitants per km².

Moerbeke was known very well for its sugar refinery.

It is thought to have been the hometown of William of Moerbeke, who as Bishop of Corinth produced a new translation into Latin of the works of Aristotle, including certain which had been rediscovered from Arab sources, in the late 13th century.

Unique is the political situation: since 1847 the liberal party has an absolute majority. The current mayor is Robby De Caluwé. The previous mayer was Filip Marin.

The aldermen are Pierre De Bock, Marc Fruytier, Thierry Walbrecht, Sarah Poppe and Rudy Van Megroot (all Open Vld).

The members of the council are Frederic Dierinck, Inge Mertens, Koen Mertens and Jonas Vandamme for Open Vld, Steven Aper for N-VA, Lut Vandevijver, Marnik Cooreman and Guido Van Hoecke for CD&V and Etienne Coppens and Chantal Francis for SP.a-Groen , Christophe Clerc (formerly N-VA) and Kristof Van Poucke (formerly N-VA) now both independent