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.