Opposition (23)
88-526: 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 then as the first permanent president of the European Council from 2009 to 2014. 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
176-419: A body composed of 27 heads of state or government (and finding consensus among them) as being "neither a spectator, nor a dictator, but a facilitator Given Van Rompuy’s support for Europe and opposition to far right, not all parties and factions had positive words for him when he took office. British MEP and Eurosceptic Nigel Farage attacked the freshly appointed president by stating that he had "the charisma of
264-636: A candidate in the Belgian regional elections of 2009 . 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. Van Rompuy was
352-589: A damp rag and the appearance of a low grade bank clerk." The remarks generated controversy and he was fined €3000 (ten days' pay) by the President (Speaker) of the European Parliament for his unparliamentary comments. In a November 2009 press conference, Van Rompuy related to global governance by stating: "2009 is also the first year of global governance with the establishment of the G20 in the middle of
440-695: A financial crisis; the climate conference in Copenhagen is another step towards the global management of our planet." Van Rompuy referred to the United Nations Climate Change Conference 2009 . On 28 January 2010, Van Rompuy attended the 2010 International Conference on Afghanistan at Lancaster House in London. It was at this event that the framework for the next decade of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan
528-645: A first package of further measures (notably longer term loans at lower interest rates, private sector debt-writedown, further fiscal consolidation in Greece) and again in October (in conjunction with full European Council meetings) to contain contagion from Greece to other countries (through bank recapitalisation across Europe and by leveraging the firepower of the EFSF to about €1 trillion). His first two years were also marked by his role in co-ordinating European positions on
616-537: A member of the Cabinet the head of Cabinet continued to lead a ministerial department. The title of Prime Minister or Premier was used for the first time in 1918 in official documents and it is at this time that the position was assigned to its own cabinet. Only in 1970 the title was incorporated in the Belgian Constitution with the first state reform . Besides coordinating government policies,
704-416: A new government. After these consultations, the informateur reports to the king so that the king can find a suitable formateur , who is responsible for forming the government. Usually, it is the formateur of the federal government who then becomes prime minister. It usually takes several months of negotiations before the formateur is ready to accept a formal royal invitation to form a government. Per
792-776: A slide presentation handed out by State Secretary for the Budget Melchior Wathelet . Van Rompuy told Parliament earlier today that the deficit would widen to 5.4% of GDP this year. Belgium's deficit will be little changed next year as the shortfall at the level of regional governments and municipalities will widen to 1.5% of GDP from 0.7%, offsetting efforts by the federal government to trim its deficit. Government debt will start exceeding one year's worth of national output as of 2010, according to European Commission forecasts. Belgium had trimmed debt to as little as 84% of GDP in 2007, before bailouts of Fortis, Dexia SA, KBC Group NV and mutual insurer Ethias Group increased
880-526: A specific status. Originally, from 1831 the king of the Belgians presided over the Council of Ministers, but when he was absent, the presidency was taken by the chef de cabinet (head of Cabinet), usually the oldest or most influential minister. This position gradually became more prominent, and the minister with this title then soon acquired the competency to present the king with the proposed allocation of
968-460: A two-thirds majority in the Senate, combined with a majority in each language group). Information reports : The Senate may draw up information reports, in particular concerning topics that are governed by rules and regulations of different state levels. Conflicts of interest: Within the logic of federalism, the Senate mediates in possible conflicts of interest between the different parliaments of
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#17327728309211056-593: Is a chamber of the communities and regions and serves as a platform for discussion and reflection about matters between these federated entities. The Senate today plays a minor role in the federal legislative process. However, the Senate, together with the Chamber, has full competence for the Constitution and legislation on the organization and functioning of the Federal State and the federated entities. Since
1144-414: Is expected, though not required, that the prime minister be fluent in both French and Dutch. The day after the federal elections , the incumbent prime minister offers the resignation of his government to the king. The king then asks the resigning government to continue as a caretaker government until a new government is formed. The king then consults a number of prominent politicians in order to ascertain
1232-603: Is prepared in one of the committees of the Senate. In addition to the standing committees, the Senate can set up special committees, working groups, advisory committees or joint committees (together with the Chamber). A standing committee consists of 20 senators. The political strength of the committees reflects the strength of the political groups in the plenary session. The Senate had three standing committees: The Senate also has an Equal Opportunities Advisory Committee that focuses on equality between women and men. The Senate and
1320-544: Is shared by others; he has been described as the painstaking builder of impossible compromises ( l'horloger des compromis impossibles ) A statement made by Van Rompuy at a news conference after his selection illustrates his approach: Every country should emerge victorious from negotiations. A negotiation that ends with a defeated party is never a good negotiation. I will consider everyone's interests and sensitivities. Even if our unity remains our strength, our diversity remains our wealth." He has also described his role of chairing
1408-498: The Belgian Constitution , reduced the number of senators to 71. The change took effect following the May 21, 1995, federal election. Until the elections of 25 May 2014, the Senate contained 40 directly elected members. To elect these members, the electorate was divided into two electoral colleges: a Dutch and a French electoral college. Unlike for European Parliament elections , there was no German-speaking electoral college. Instead,
1496-468: The Belgian Constitution . A senator cannot also be a civil servant or a member of the judiciary at the same time. However, a civil servant who is elected to the Senate is entitled to political leave and does not have to resign as a civil servant. It is also not possible to be a member of the Federal Parliament and a Member of the European Parliament at the same time. With the exception of
1584-474: The European Union does not take an initiative on an issue that is better dealt with at another level. This is the so-called early warning mechanism concerning subsidiarity. Appointments to courts: The Senate participates in a number of appointments to high courts ( Constitutional Court , Council of State , High Council of Justice ). Before a dossier or topic for debate is dealt with in plenary, it
1672-865: The Parliament of the French Community , members appointed by the Parliament of Wallonia , members appointed by the French language group of the Parliament of the Brussels-Capital Region, and the members co-opted by the three aforementioned groups. There are 35 senators in the Dutch language group, 24 in the French language group, and one in the German language group. Article 67 of the Belgian Constitution determines that at least one of
1760-408: The government policy statement in the Parliament . The prime minister can also ask Parliament for a vote of confidence, which can even lead to the government's resignation in the case of a constructive vote of no confidence . Unless the prime minister resigns because of a personal matter, the whole government resigns with the prime minister's resignation. The prime minister also represents Belgium in
1848-476: The sixth state reform of 2014, the Senate consists of 60 members. 50 are elected by the parliaments of the federated entities , and 10 are co-opted members. Starting with the elections of 25 May 2014, 50 senators are appointed by and from the parliaments of the federated entities : Whereas the German-speaking senator is chosen by plurality of votes in the Parliament of the German-speaking community,
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#17327728309211936-732: The 2014 sixth State Reform . The voters in the Flemish constituency belonged to the Dutch electoral college and the voters in the Walloon constituency (which also includes the people living in the German-speaking Community) belonged to the French electoral college, whereas the voters in Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde could choose for which electoral college they wanted to vote: they had the lists of both electoral colleges on one ballot. In each electoral college,
2024-606: The Belgian nationality, must have the full enjoyment of civil and political rights, and must be resident in Belgium . Originally, the minimum age to be elected senator was 40; this was reduced to 21 in 1993 and eventually to 18 in 2014. A senator can only enter into office after having taken the constitutional oath, in either of the three official languages in Belgium: Dutch , French or German . They may also choose to take
2112-409: The Chamber of Representatives have established three joint committees: Given its limited legislative power, since the reform of 2014, the Senate holds about ten plenary sessions a year. The standing committees of the Senate, however, determine their own meeting schedule. This is the composition of the Senate following the federal and regional elections of May 26, 2019. * Including the senator of
2200-490: The Constitution, the king's acts are only valid with the countersignature of a minister. For this reason, the outgoing prime minister countersigns the Act of Appointment of the new prime minister, and the new prime minister countersigns the Act of Resignation of the resigning prime minister. The king then appoints the other ministers and secretaries of state of the federal government , and their Acts of Appointment are countersigned by
2288-743: The Crown has decreased over time, whereas the position of prime minister has gradually become more important. Alexander De Croo , a member of the Open Flemish Liberals and Democrats and son of prominent politician, Herman , was appointed as new prime minister on 1 October 2020. He succeeded Sophie Wilmès . In 1790, the Sovereign Congress of the States of Belgium sat in Brussels and was composed of representatives from each of
2376-915: The EU. The meeting took place on 11 February 2010, in the Solvay Library (Brussels), topics to be discussed were the future direction of the economic policies of the EU, the outcome of the Copenhagen Conference and the then recent earthquake in Haiti . In fact, the meeting was in part taken over by the growing sovereign debt crisis (at that time, Greece), which was to become the hall mark of Van Rompuy's first two years as President. With EU member states holding divergent positions on this issue, he had to find compromises, not least between France and Germany, at subsequent European Council meetings and summits of Eurozone heads of state or government leading to
2464-673: The European Council and its president is provided by the General Secretariat of the Council of the European Union . The president does have, however, his own private office ( cabinet ) of close advisers. Van Rompuy chose as his chief of staff ( chef de cabinet ) Baron Frans van Daele, formerly Belgian ambassador to, variously, the US, the UN, the EU and NATO and chief of staff of several Belgian foreign ministers. Also in his team were
2552-561: The European Council by the heads of state or government of the 28 EU member states. President Van Rompuy's second term lasted for two and a half years, from 1 June 2012 to 30 November 2014. After this second mandate he could not have been re-elected because the European Council President's term of office can only be extended once. Van Rompuy was also appointed as the first President of the Euro Summit, and this for
2640-582: The Senate and four by the French-language group of the Senate. These seats are distributed proportionally between parties based on the results of the latest direct election of the Chamber of Representatives (federal level). In 1921, the co-opted members were included in the Constitution as a new category of senators. It was intended to allow the senators to elect a number of experts or members of representative organizations to join them to enhance
2728-532: The Senate is usually a member of a party of the majority with a great deal of political experience, while the virst vice president is a member of the other language group. The current president of the Belgian Senate is Stephanie D'Hose of the Open VLD . The president of the Senate presides over the plenary assembly of the Senate, manages and controls debates in the assembly, is responsible for ensuring
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2816-509: The Senate, together with the president of the Chamber of Representatives , ranks immediately behind the King in the order of precedence . The elder of the two takes the second place in the order of precedence. The Bureau of the Senate is composed of the president, the two vice presidents, and the leaders of the political groups that are represented in the standing committees . The Bureau leads
2904-646: The Treaty required to enable a more permanent financial stability mechanism. His draft – for an addition to Article 136 TFEU, pertaining to the Eurozone – was endorsed by the European Council at its October 2010 meeting. His second year in office, 2011, was also marked by a deterioration of the Greek debt crisis, leading to Van Rompuy calling an extraordinary meeting of the Eurozone heads of state or government in July to adopt
2992-440: The administrative services and replaces the secretary-general in his absence. The Senate mainly has the following tasks: Legislation : The Senate, together with the Chamber, has full competence for the Constitution and legislation on the organization and functioning of the Federal State and the federated entities. Depending on the type of law, different procedures are possible that require, among others, special majorities (i.e.
3080-572: The article: "Belgium has also charged nuclear producers a total of 250 million euros for 2008, and the same for 2009, as well as 250 million euros this year payable to a renewable energy fund. These fees remain in dispute. The producers are challenging the 2008 payment in Belgium's constitutional court. A spokesman for Van Rompuy said the government would pass a law to enforce the 500 million euro charge for this year, adding that this could also be contested by GDF Suez." On 19 November 2009, Van Rompuy
3168-409: The building became state property, after which it was furnished to function as a meeting place for the prime minister and his cabinet. Belgian Senate The Senate ( Dutch : Senaat [səˈnaːt] ; French : Sénat [sena] ; German : Senat [zeˈnaːt] ) is one of the two chambers of the bicameral Federal Parliament of Belgium ,
3256-512: 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
3344-467: The country. International parliamentary organizations: The Senate sends parliamentary delegations to different interparliamentary conferences and organizations. Through their representatives in the Senate, the federated entities have access to this interparliamentary cooperation. Subsidiarity: Following the EU Treaties, the Senate has the right as chamber of the federal parliament to ensure that
3432-477: The day-to-day activities of the Senate and convenes every two weeks in order to manage the work of the Senate. The Bureau determines the legislative agenda and the order of business in the plenary assembly and the committees, and manages the internal affairs of the Senate. A member of the Federal Government is usually invited to attend the discussions about the legislative agenda. The Bureau also assists
3520-487: The democratic functioning of the Senate, maintains order and security in the assembly and enforces the rules of the Senate. The president represents the Senate at both the national (to the other institutions) and the international level. Additionally, the president chairs the Bureau, which determines the order of business, supervises the administrative services of the Senate, and leads the Senate's activities. The president of
3608-471: The different possibilities of forming a government. He usually consults the presidents of the Chamber of Representatives and the Senate , the most important political parties, and other people of political and socio-economic importance. After the consultations, the king appoints an informateur who is in charge of collecting information from the different political parties about their demands for formation of
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3696-585: The eight provinces. Henri van der Noot served as President of the National Congress, retaining the title of Minister Plenipotentiary having previously held the title Minister Plenipotentiary of Brabant. This title will disappear when Belgium is reconquered by the Austrians. Since the independence of Belgium in 1830, governments have been designated with the name of the minister who formed the government as formateur , but that position did not have
3784-481: The entry of a large Islamic country such as Turkey." As President, Van Rompuy has avoided opposing Turkish membership of the EU. 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
3872-551: The establishment of the three-year European Financial Stability Mechanism (EFSM) and the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) in May 2010, to provide loans to Greece (and later Ireland and Portugal) to help stabilise their borrowing costs, but subject to strict conditions. The European Council also gave him the assignment of chairing a task force on economic governance, composed of personal representatives (mostly ministers of finance) of
3960-458: The first women senators. After World War II , women received the same rights as men as far as voting was concerned. The post-World War era saw a series of six Belgian state reforms from 1970 until 2014. In 1993, the competences of the Senate were redefined during the fourth State Reform. In 2014, during the sixth State Reform, the Senate transformed in the assembly it is today, with important reforms concerning composition and competences. Since
4048-446: The formateur increasingly gained greater respect, and much prestige. Thus the formateur became prominent as a position of leadership. As the ministers of the government now represented various political parties, there was a need for someone to coordinate the proceedings of the various ministers. The prime minister was now asserted as the actual head of government, and this is how the office of prime minister came into existence. Gradually,
4136-422: The former (and later) UK Labour MEP Richard Corbett , former Hungarian Ambassador to NATO Zoltan Martinusz, former head of the EU's economic & financial committee Odile Renaud-Basso, Dutch philosopher and journalist Luuk van Middelaar , his main speech writer, and Van Rompuy's long standing press officer Dirk De Backer. In 2013 Frans Van Daele retired both as a diplomat and as chief of Staff of Van Rompuy, and
4224-475: The foundations of a sustainable recovery" Van Rompuy said in a speech to parliament in Brussels. "Most important is to keep the direction. That will also provide stability and support." On 13 October, Bloomberg reported the following about Van Rompuy's Government Debt Policy: "Belgium will trim its budget deficit to 5.3% of gross domestic product in 2011 from almost 5.7% both this year and next, according to
4312-399: The head of Cabinet replaced the king more often during the first half of the twentieth century, and as such gained importance within government. As the Constitution requires the king to exercise his powers through the ministers, the prime minister became reckoned as the country's most important political figure and de facto chief executive. Nevertheless, given his newly acquired prominence, as
4400-463: The heads of government, which reported ahead of schedule to the October 2010 European Council. Its report, which proposed stronger macro-economic co-ordination within the EU in general and the Eurozone in particular and also a tightening of the Stability and Growth Pact was endorsed by the European Council. The latter also charged him with preparing, by December 2010, a proposal for a limited change to
4488-474: The increase in a province's population. Before the sixth state reform, the children of the King, older than 18, or if there were none, the Belgian descendants of the main branch of the royal house, were entitled to be senators by right by taking the oath of office. Senators by right over the age of 21 were in theory entitled to vote, but in practice they did not cast their vote. They were not taken into account for
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#17327728309214576-680: The members of the German-speaking Community were a part of the French electoral college. Even though there were two electoral colleges, there were three constituencies for Senate elections: a Flemish constituency, a Walloon constituency and the constituency of Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde , which comprised the Brussels-Capital Region and the surrounding part of the Flemish Region . The constituency of Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde ceased to exist following
4664-462: The nation's borrowing costs and inflated the debt ratio to 89.6% at the end of last year." On 22 October 2009, Reuters reported that the Van Rompuy government had signed a commitment with GDF Suez for nuclear power fees to Belgium. The outstanding dispute with GDF concerns the €250 million fee that Belgium is attempting to charge GDF for 2009 as part of its "Renewable Energy Fund" as stated in
4752-452: 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. It fell to below 100% of GDP in 2003. He
4840-601: 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 12 July 2007, Van Rompuy was elected as the President of the Belgian Chamber of Representatives , succeeding Herman De Croo . On 28 December 2008, following the 2007–2008 Belgian political crisis , Van Rompuy
4928-399: The oath in more than one language. The oath is as follows: "I swear to observe the Constitution" . ( Dutch : Ik zweer de Grondwet na te leven , French : Je jure d'observer la Constitution , German : Ich schwöre, die Verfassung zu befolgen ) Certain offices are incompatible with the office of senator. A member of the Senate may not be a member of the Chamber of Representatives at
5016-529: The other being the Chamber of Representatives . It is considered to be the " upper house " of the Federal Parliament. Created in 1831 as a chamber fully equal to the Chamber of Representatives, it has undergone several reforms in the past, most notably in 1993 and 2014. The 2014 elections were the first without a direct election of senators. Instead, the new Senate is composed of members of community and regional parliaments and co-opted members. It
5104-402: The prime minister is responsible for the proper execution of the coalition agreement . The prime minister also presides at meetings of the Council of Ministers and manages conflicts of competencies between the ministers. In addition, the prime minister represents the government coalition in public, both at home and abroad. It is the prime minister who maintains contact with the king and presents
5192-635: The prime minister. The official office of the prime minister is located at 16 Rue de la Loi (Wetstraat in Dutch, or "Law Street" in translation) among many notable Belgian government and European Union buildings in the centre of Brussels and around Brussels Park . The residence includes the Belgian Federal Cabinet , the Chancellery and the Council of Ministers . It functions as the nerve center of Belgian politics . The building
5280-407: The président in the conduct of parliamentary business. In addition, the Bureau also appoints, promotes, and dismisses the staff of the Senate. The Senate is served by a number of civil servants. The Senate's chief administrative officer is the secretary-general of the Senate, who is appointed by the assembly and heads the Senate's legislative services. He is assisted by the director-general who heads
5368-470: The quality of debate and legislation; however, political parties sometimes use it as a means of rewarding loyal members that were not elected. Prior to the Belgian federal election of May 21, 1995, there were 184 senators, the largest part of which were directly elected, some appointed by the Provincial Councils and others co-opted. The fourth state reform, which took place in 1993, revised
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#17327728309215456-699: The reform of 2014, it holds about ten plenary sessions a year. After the Belgian Revolution of 1830, the National Congress decided on the Belgian Constitution and the state structure. Belgium would become a unitary state. A bicameral Parliament was chosen over a unicameral one. The Senate was seen as a more conservative and elite body that served as a counterweight to the more progressive Chamber of representatives. Senators were directly elected, but only those who paid ground taxes were eligible. Only men who paid taxes were allowed to vote. There
5544-511: The required quorum for voting. Until Prince Philippe became King in July 2013, there were three senators by right (Prince Philippe, Princess Astrid and Prince Laurent ). When the function of senators by right was abolished in 2014 as part of the sixth state reform, there were no senators by right, as King Philippe's children were all under the age of 18. Article 69 of the Belgian Constitution sets forth four qualifications for senators: each senator must be at least 18 years old, must possess
5632-478: The same day as the members of the Chamber of Representatives , for a term of 4 years, except if the Chambers were dissolved earlier. The last federal election that had directly elected senators took place on Sunday June 13, 2010. Between 1894 and 1991, a number of senators were elected by each provincial council of the nine provinces . The number was dependent on a province's population, and increased along with
5720-557: The same term of office as his Presidency of the European Council. The Euro Summit meetings are to take place at least twice a year. In 2014, Van Rompuy was awarded the International Charlemagne Prize of Aachen for his EU role. Although the European Council is, under the terms of the Lisbon treaty, a separate institution of the EU, it does not have its own administration. The administrative support for both
5808-415: The same time and representatives must give up their seats in the Chamber of Representatives in order to join the Senate. Another important incompatibility is based on the separation of powers . A senator who is appointed as a minister ceases to sit in the Senate and is replaced for as long as he is a minister. However, if he resigns as a minister, he may return to the Senate, in accordance with Article 50 of
5896-400: The seats of the senators of the federated entities are distributed proportionally between parties based on the results for the latest election for the federated entities, i.e. the Flemish Parliament, the Parliament of Wallonia and the Parliament of the Brussels-Capital Region (regional level). Ten senators are co-opted, meaning they are elected by their peers: six by the Dutch-language group of
5984-401: The seats were divided by proportional representation, using the D'Hondt method . Of the total of 40 directly elected senators, 25 were elected by the Dutch electoral college and 15 by the French electoral college. These numbers were in the Belgian Constitution and roughly reflect the ratio of Dutch-speakers to French-speakers by population. The directly elected senators were always elected on
6072-482: The senator appointed by the Parliament of the German-speaking Community , all senators are divided into two language groups: a Dutch language group and a French language group. The Dutch language group consists of members appointed by the Flemish Parliament , members appointed by the Dutch language group of the Parliament of the Brussels-Capital Region , and the members co-opted by the two aforementioned groups. The French language group consists of members appointed by
6160-416: The senators in the Dutch language group must be resident in the Brussels-Capital Region on the date of their election, as well as six of the senators in the French language group. The president of the Senate is elected by the Senate at the beginning of each parliamentary term. The president is assisted by two vice presidents, who are also elected at the beginning of each parliamentary term. The president of
6248-403: The various international organisations, alongside the minister of foreign affairs . Due to the state reform , the prime minister acquired a number of additional tasks, such as keeping in check the relations between the different regions and communities of the country, and presiding at the deliberative committee that consists of the governmental representatives of all the federal entities . It
6336-526: The various ministerial departments among the ministers. With the expansion of voting rights after World War I , more political parties started to win seats in parliament—especially the Belgian Socialist Party —and this made it impossible to achieve an absolute majority in parliament. Since then, coalition governments have been necessary, which has made the task of forming a government by the appointed formateur more difficult. Consequently,
6424-434: The world stage at G8 and G20 summits and bilateral summits, such as the tense 5 October 2010, EU-China summit. He called a special European Council at short notice in early 2011, on the emerging Libya crisis, which, in agreeing conditions for military intervention, made it impossible for Germany to oppose such intervention once the conditions were fulfilled. On 1 March 2012, Van Rompuy was re-elected unanimously as President of
6512-494: Was Henri van der Noot in 1790, during the short-lived republic of the United Belgian States . Although Leaders of Government (French: Chefs de Cabinet ) had been appointed since the independence of the country, until 1918 the king of the Belgians often presided over the Council of Ministers, so the modern era of the "Premiership" started after World War I with Léon Delacroix . The political importance of
6600-537: 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
6688-589: 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). His eldest son, Peter, is active in the Christian Democratic and Flemish (CD&V) party and stood as
6776-675: Was also his predecessor) succeeded him on 25 November 2009. 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. On 1 March 2012, he
6864-410: Was also the possibility for the heir to the throne to become senator by right. In 1893 the principal of universal multiple voting right was introduced for men. This was combined with the principle of compulsory voting and the principle of proportional representation. For the Senate, candidates still needed to pay ground taxes, but the threshold was lowered. Moreover, a new category of provincial senators
6952-795: Was an avid rock and roll fan, especially of US singer Elvis Presley . 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. From 1980 to 1987, he was a Lecturer at the Handelshogeschool Antwerpen (now Lessius University College ); from 1982, he
7040-508: Was appointed chairman of the board of the College of Europe in 2019. Prime minister of Belgium The prime minister of Belgium ( Dutch : Eerste minister van België ; French : Premier ministre de Belgique ; German : Premierminister von Belgien ) or the premier of Belgium is the head of the federal government of Belgium , and the most powerful person in Belgian politics. The first head of government in Belgian history
7128-461: Was appointed chief of staff to king Philippe . He was succeeded as chief of staff of Herman Van Rompuy by Didier Seeuws. When the EPP membership of Hungarian party Fidesz was suspended in 2019, EPP president Joseph Daul appointed van Rompuy – alongside Hans-Gert Pöttering and Wolfgang Schüssel – to a group of high-level experts who were mandated to monitor Fidesz's compliance with EPP values. He
7216-450: 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 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
7304-475: Was chosen unanimously by the European Council, at an informal meeting in Brussels, to be the first full-time President of the European Council ; for the period of 1 December 2009 (the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon ) until 31 May 2012. He took up his position officially on 1 January 2010. Gordon Brown also praised Van Rompuy as "a consensus-builder" who had "brought a period of political stability to his country after months of uncertainty". This opinion
7392-399: 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 . He was re-elected in 2003 and 2007 . In 2004, he was designated Minister of State . Before he
7480-531: Was introduced. After World War I , the single vote system - "one man, one vote" - was introduced. This principle of universal suffrage was only applicable to men, women had no right to vote. They however could be a candidate in elections. 1921 saw a new reform for the Senate. The prerequisite of taxes was abolished and 4 categories of senators were created: directly elected senators, provincial senators, co-opted senators and senators by right. In 1936, Maria Baers and Odile Maréchal [ nl ] became
7568-718: Was originally erected as the so-called "Refuge House" by the Saint Gertrude Abbey of Leuven . It was designed by the Belgian-Austrian architect Louis Joseph Montoyer . At the time of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands (1815–1830), the building was planned to be used as the location for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In 1830 it was purchased by Prince Eugène of Ligne , and from 1944,
7656-649: 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. 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
7744-463: Was settled by the Afghan president Hamid Karzai and his successor Ashraf Ghani and their donors. As seen at right, Gordon Brown , Hillary Clinton , Catherine Ashton and Anders Fogh Rasmussen amongst other Western leaders were in attendance. In or just before the first months of his presidency Van Rompuy visited all EU member states, he also organised an informal meeting of the heads of state of
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