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Herman Van Rompuy (born 31 October 1947), sometimes known as Haiku Herman, is the first long term and full time President of the European Council (until the Treaty of Lisbon, the position had rotated among the Prime Ministers of the Member States for six months each, since then they choose a President of their meetings for a 2 1/2 year period, renewable once). A Belgian politician of the Christian Democratic and Flemish party, he served as the 49th Prime Minister of Belgium from 30 December 2008 until his predecessor (Yves Leterme) succeeded him on 25 November 2009.

On 19 November 2009 Van Rompuy was elected by his fellow Prime Ministers as the first permanent President of the European Council under the Treaty of Lisbon. He was appointed to chair the institution for the period starting from 1 December 2009 until 31 May 2012, though he only took up his position officially on the first of January 2010.

Early life

Born in Etterbeek, Brussels to Germaine Geens and Vic Van Rompuy, he attended Sint-Jan Berchmanscollege in Brussels (until 1965) where Ancient Greek and Latin were his main subjects. 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 till 1987 he was a lecturer at the Handelshogeschool Antwerpen, starting from 1982 he also is a lecturer at the Vlaamse Economische Hogeschool Brussel (VLEKHO).

Family

Van Rompuy is married to Geertrui Windels with whom he has 4 children: Peter (1980), Laura (1981), Elke (1983) and Thomas (1986). His eldest son, Peter, is active in the CD&V party and stood as a candidate for 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. His father, Vic Van Rompuy, was an economics professor.

Early career

Van Rompuy was the chairman of the national CVP's 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 shortly served as Secretary of State for Finance and for Small and Medium Enterprises before becoming the national chairman of the CVP (1988–1993).

Belgian Minister of Budget (1993–1999)

Van Rompuy was Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Budget from September 1993 to July 1999 in the two governments lead by Jean-Luc Dehaene. As budget minister, he helped drive down Belgium’s debt from a peak of 135 percent of gross domestic product in 1993. It fell to below 100 percent of GDP in 2003.

Member of the
Belgian Chamber of Representatives (1995–2009)

He was elected to the Belgian Chamber of Representatives in the 1995 general election, but as he remained minister, he was barred of 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 reelected in 2003 and 2007. In 2004, he was designated Minister of State.

Position on Turkey joining the European Union

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."

President of the
Belgian Chamber of Representatives (2007–2008)

After 8 years in the opposition, CD&V (CVP was renamed CD&V) returned into the government. On 12 July 2007, Van Rompuy was elected as the President of the Belgian Chamber of Representatives, succeeding Herman De Croo.

Prime Minister of Belgium

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.

President of the European Council

At a meeting in the Castle of the Valley of the Duchess for a meeting held by Bilderberg group on 12 November 2009, Van Rompuy made a speech about his vision of the European governance. He talked about applying a European Union wide "green"-tax, to cover social security expenses.

On 19 November 2009, Van Rompuy 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 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."

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 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.