Speaker Bio

 Count Herman Van Rompuy
Former President of the European Council
Elected as the first full-time President of the European Council in November 2009, Herman Van Rompuy took office when the Lisbon Treaty came into force on 1 December 2009. In 2012, he was re-elected for a second (and last) term starting on 1 June 2012 and running until 30 November 2014.
At the time of his first election, Herman Van Rompuy was Prime Minister of Belgium. Prior to that he had served in Belgium as Speaker of the House of Representatives (2007-2008) and in several government positions, including as Secretary of State for Finance and Small Businesses (1988) and Vice-Prime Minister and Minister of Budget (1993-1999). His is Minister of State (since 2004).
A former economist at the National Bank of Belgium, Herman Van Rompuy began his political career in 1973 as national vice-president of his party’s youth movement. He was president of the Flemish Christian Democrats (1988-1993). He served in the Belgian Parliament, in turn as Senator (1988-1995) and Member of the House of Representatives (1995-2009).
Herman Van Rompuy holds a Bachelor in Philosophy, and a Master in Economics from the university K.U. Leuven.
He was born in Etterbeek (Brussels), on 31 October 1947, and is married with Geertrui Windels; they have four children and nine grandchildren.
He was professor at the KU Leuven. He teached at the UC Louvain, SciencePo in Paris and the College of Europe (Bruges and Natolin).
He was the President of the European Policy Centre (2015-2022).
He is president of the Administrative Council of the College of Europe.
King Philip granted him the noble title of count in 2015.