Herman Van Rompuy

Born in Etterbeek, Brussels, to Dr. Victor Lodewijk Maurits "Vic" van Rompuy (Begijnendijk, 27 February 1923 – Begijnendijk, 14 November 2004), later Professor of Economics, and wife Germaine Geens (Begijnendijk, 1 December 1921 – Begijnendijk, 23 November 2004), he attended Sint-Jan Berchmanscollege in Brussels (until 1965), where Ancient Greek and Latin were his main subjects.

During his early teens, he was an avid rock and roll fan, especially of US singer Elvis Presley.

Herman Achille, Count Van Rompuy (born 31 October 1947) is a Belgian politician, who served as the prime minister of Belgium from 2008 to 2009, and then as the first permanent president of the European Council from 2009 to 2014.

Later, he studied at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven and received a bachelor's degree in Philosophy (1968), and a master's degree in Applied Economics (1971).

He worked at the Belgian Central Bank from 1972 to 1975.

Van Rompuy was the chairman of the national Christian People's Party's (CVP) youth council (1973–1977).

From 1975 to 1980, he worked in the ministerial cabinets of Leo Tindemans and Gaston Geens.

In 1978 he was elected a member of the national CVP's bureau (1978–present).

From 1980 to 1987, he was a Lecturer at the Handelshogeschool Antwerpen (now Lessius University College); from 1982, he was also a lecturer at the Vlaamse Economische Hogeschool Brussel (VLEKHO later Hogeschool-Universiteit Brussel; now University of Leuven Brussels campus).

Van Rompuy is married to Geertrui Windels, with whom he has four children: Peter (born 1980), Laura (born 1981), Elke (born 1983), and Thomas (born 1986).

He first was elected to the Belgian Senate in 1988, and served until 1995.

In 1988 he briefly served as Secretary of State for Finance and Small and Medium Enterprises before becoming the national chairman of the CVP (1988–1993).

Van Rompuy was Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Budget from September 1993 to July 1999, in the two governments led by Jean-Luc Dehaene.

As budget minister, together with finance minister Philippe Maystadt, he helped drive down Belgium's debt from a peak of 135% of gross domestic product (GDP) in 1993.

His younger brother, Eric Van Rompuy, is also a politician in the CD&V and was a minister in the Flemish Government from 1995 to 1999.

His sister, Tine Van Rompuy, is a member of the Workers Party of Belgium.

He has another sister, Anita Van Rompuy, who is not politically active, married to Arne van der Graesen.

He was elected to the Belgian Chamber of Representatives in the 1995 general election, but as he remained a minister, he was barred from taking the seat while holding that office.

After his party's defeat in the 1999 Belgian general election, he became a member of the Chamber of Representatives.

It fell to below 100% of GDP in 2003.

He was re-elected in 2003 and 2007.

In 2004, he was designated Minister of State.

Before he was President, Van Rompuy expressed reticence about possible Turkish membership of the EU.

In 2004, he stated "An enlargement [of the EU] with Turkey is not in any way comparable with previous enlargement waves. Turkey is not Europe and will never be Europe."

He continued "But it's a matter of fact that the universal values which are in force in Europe, and which are also the fundamental values of Christianity, will lose vigour with the entry of a large Islamic country such as Turkey."

As President, Van Rompuy has avoided opposing Turkish membership of the EU.

On 12 July 2007, Van Rompuy was elected as the President of the Belgian Chamber of Representatives, succeeding Herman De Croo.

A politician from Belgium's Christian Democratic and Flemish party, Van Rompuy served as the 49th prime minister of Belgium from 30 December 2008 until Yves Leterme (who was also his predecessor) succeeded him on 25 November 2009.

On 28 December 2008, following the 2007–2008 Belgian political crisis, Van Rompuy was asked by King Albert II to form a new government after he was reluctant to take up the role of Prime Minister.

He was sworn in as Belgian prime minister on 30 December 2008.

On 19 November 2009, Van Rompuy was selected by the members of the European Council, which is the institution of the European Union (EU) comprising the heads of state or government of the EU member states, as the first full-time President of that Council under the Treaty of Lisbon.

He was appointed for the period 1 December 2009 until 31 May 2012, though he only took up his position officially on 1 January 2010.

His eldest son, Peter, is active in the Christian Democratic and Flemish (CD&V) party and stood as a candidate in the Belgian regional elections of 2009.

On 13 October 2009, Bloomberg reported that the government of Herman Van Rompuy would seek to tax banks and nuclear power to tame the deficit.

"We are in the early stages of a recovery and at this time it is important not to weaken burgeoning confidence and to lay the foundations of a sustainable recovery" Van Rompuy said in a speech to parliament in Brussels.

On 23 December 2010, he said "Turkish reform efforts have delivered impressive results."

He continued "Turkey plays an ever more active role in its neighbourhood. Turkey is also a full-standing member of the G-20, just like five EU countries and the EU itself. In my view, even before an outcome of the negotiations, the European Union should develop a close partnership with the Turkish Republic."

After eight years in opposition, CD&V (formerly known as CVP) returned to government.

On 1 March 2012, he was re-elected for a second (and last) term, to last from 1 June 2012 until 30 November 2014.

He was appointed chairman of the board of the College of Europe in 2019.