First full-time President of the European Council. He was Prime Minister of Belgium in 2009. Prior to this he served as President (Speaker) of the Chamber of Representatives. He has held a number of portfolios in the Belgian Government including Secretary of State for Finance (1988), Vice Prime Minister and Minister for Budget (1993-1999). He also worked as an economist in Belgium’s central bank and served in both the Senate (1988-1995) and the Chamber of Representatives (1995-2009).
For a reasonably open world
