Herman Van Rompuy

Herman Achille, Count Van Rompuy (Dutch: [ˈɦɛrmɑɱ vɑn ˈrɔmpœy] ^ⓘ; born 31 October 1947) is a Belgian politician who served as Prime Minister of Belgium from 2008 to 2009, and later as the first permanent President of the European Council from 2009 to 2014.

Van Rompuy, a politician from Belgium's Christian Democratic and Flemish party, served as the 49th prime minister of Belgium from 30 December 2008 until 25 November 2009, when he was succeeded by his predecessor, Yves Leterme. On 19 November 2009, the European Council, which consists of the heads of state or government of the EU member states, selected Van Rompuy as its first full-time President under the Treaty of Lisbon. His term officially began on 1 January 2010 and was set to run until 31 May 2012 On 1 March 2012, he was re-elected for a second and final term, serving from 1 June 2012 to 30 November 2014. In 2019, he was appointed chairman of the board of the College of Europe.

Born in Etterbeek, Brussels, Herman Achille Van Rompuy was the son of Victor Lodewijk Maurits "Vic" van Rompuy (Begijnendijk, 27 February 1923 – Begijnendijk, 14 November 2004), a 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, particularly of American singer Elvis Presley.

Later, he studied at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven and received a bachelor's degree in philosophy in 1968, and a master's degree in applied economics in 1971. From 1972 to 1975, he worked at the Belgian Central Bank.

Between 1980 and 1987, he was a lecturer at the Handelshogeschool Antwerpen (now Lessius University College). From 1982, he was also taught at the Vlaamse Economische Hogeschool Brussel (VLEKHO), which later became part of Hogeschool-Universiteit Brussel and is now the 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). His eldest son, Peter, is involved in the Christian Democratic and Flemish (CD&V) party and was a candidate in the 2009 Belgian regional elections.

His younger brother, Eric Van Rompuy, is also a politician in the CD&V and served as a minister in the Flemish Government from 1995 to 1999. His sister, Tine Van Rompuy, is affiliated with the Workers' Party of Belgium. His another sister, Anita Van Rompuy, is not politically active and is married to Arne van der Graesen.

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). 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).