Charles Michel | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Official portrait, 2019 | |
| President of the European Council | |
| Assumed office 1 December 2019 | |
| Preceded by | Donald Tusk |
| Prime Minister of Belgium | |
| In office 11 October 2014 – 27 October 2019 | |
| Monarch | Philippe |
| Deputy | Jan Jambon Kris Peeters Koen Geens Didier Reynders Alexander De Croo |
| Preceded by | Elio Di Rupo |
| Succeeded by | Sophie Wilmès |
| President of the Reformist Movement | |
| In office 18 February 2019 – 29 November 2019 | |
| Preceded by | Olivier Chastel |
| Succeeded by | Georges-Louis Bouchez |
| In office 14 February 2011 – 10 October 2014 | |
| Preceded by | Didier Reynders |
| Succeeded by | Olivier Chastel |
| Minister of Development Cooperation | |
| In office 21 December 2007 – 14 February 2011 | |
| Prime Minister | Guy Verhofstadt Yves Leterme Herman Van Rompuy |
| Preceded by | Armand De Decker |
| Succeeded by | Olivier Chastel |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Charles Yves Jean Ghislain Michel 21 December 1975 Namur, Belgium |
| Political party | Reformist Movement |
| Other political affiliations | Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party |
| Height | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) |
| Spouse | Amélie Derbaudrenghien |
| Children | 3 |
| Parent |
|
| Alma mater | Université libre de Bruxelles University of Amsterdamˈ |
Charles Michel (French: [ʃaʁl miʃɛl]; born 21 December 1975) is a Belgian politician serving as the president of the European Council since 2019. He previously served as the prime minister of Belgium between 2014 and 2019. Michel became the minister of development cooperation in 2007 at age thirty-one, and remained in this position until elected the leader of the Francophone liberal Reformist Movement (MR) in February 2011. He led MR to the 2014 federal election, where they emerged as the third-largest party in the Chamber of Representatives. After coalition negotiations, Michel was confirmed as Prime Minister of a MR-N-VA-OVLD-CD&V government. He was sworn in on 11 October 2014, becoming the youngest Belgian prime minister since Jean-Baptiste Nothomb in 1841.
In December 2018, the government collapsed following internal disagreements over the handling of the Global Compact for Migration, with the N-VA withdrawing from the cabinet. Michel subsequently tendered his resignation and remained in office in a caretaker capacity.[1] At the 2019 federal election shortly afterwards, MR lost a number of seats, although Michel remained in office as interim prime minister during coalition negotiations. Weeks after the federal election, on 2 July 2019, the European Council voted to appoint Michel as its new president. He took over from Donald Tusk at a ceremony on 29 November 2019, formally beginning his term on 1 December 2019.[2][3] In January 2024, he announced he would step down as president of the European Council to run in the 2024 European Parliament election, before reversing his decision within the same month and declaring he would finish his current mandate.[4][5]
- ^ Dunst, Charles (21 December 2018). "Charles Michel to head Belgian caretaker government – POLITICO". Politico.eu. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
- ^ "Charles Michel takes over from Donald Tusk as President of the European Council". General Secretariat of the Council. Press release. 29 November 2019. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: others (link) - ^ @eucopresident (29 November 2019). "It's time: I am handing over the #EUCO bell & this Twitter account to my friend @CharlesMichel. Best wishes, Mr President! Thank you all for accompanying me over the last 5 years! https://europa.eu/!Yd78Cd Don't worry, I will continue tweeting on @donaldtusk and @donaldtuskEPP" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ "EU's Charles Michel to quit Council presidency, run as MEP – DW – 01/07/2024". dw.com. Retrieved 7 January 2024.
- ^ "Charles Michel pulls out of EU election race – Politico – 01/26/2024". politico.eu. 26 January 2024. Retrieved 26 January 2024.