Guy Verhofstadt (ˈɣiː vərˈɦɔfstɑt; born
Guy Maurice Marie Louise Verhofstadt, 11 April 1953) is a
BelgianBelgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
politician who was the
47th Prime Minister of Belgium from 1999 to 2008. He is currently a
Member of the European ParliamentA Member of the European Parliament is a person who has been elected to the European Parliament. The name of MEPs differ in different languages, with terms such as europarliamentarian or eurodeputy being common in Romance language-speaking areas.When the European Parliament was first established,...
and leader of the
Group of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for EuropeThe Group of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe is the current liberal/centrist political group of the European Parliament...
.
Early career
Born in 1953 in
DendermondeDendermonde is a Belgian city and municipality located in the Flemish province of East Flanders in the Denderstreek. The municipality comprises the city of Dendermonde proper and the towns of Appels, Baasrode, Grembergen, Mespelare, Oudegem, Schoonaarde, and Sint-Gillis-bij-Dendermonde...
, he became president of the Flemish Liberal Student's Union (1972–1974) while studying
lawLaw is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
at the
University of GhentGhent University is a Dutch-speaking public university located in Ghent, Belgium. It is one of the larger Flemish universities, consisting of 32,000 students and 7,100 staff members. The current rector is Paul Van Cauwenberge.It was established in 1817 by King William I of the Netherlands...
. He quickly became the secretary of
Willy De ClercqWilly Clarisse Elvire Hector, Viscount De Clercq was a Belgian liberal politician.De Clercq was born in Ghent...
, who was at that time the president of the Flemish liberal party (
Party for Freedom and ProgressThe Party for Freedom and Progress was a liberal party in Belgium which existed from 1961 until 1992 and was the successor of the Liberal Party, which had roots dating back to 1846. It was succeeded in Flanders by the Flemish Liberals and Democrats and in Wallonia by the Parti Réformateur...
, PVV). In 1982, at age 29, he became president of the party. In 1985 he was elected into the Chamber of Deputies, and became Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Budget under Prime Minister
Wilfried MartensWilfried Martens is a Belgian politician. He was born in Sleidinge . Martens was the 44th Prime Minister of Belgium from 3 April 1979 to 6 April 1981 and 17 December 1981 to 7 March 1992....
. Because of his economic views and his young age, he became known as "Baby
ThatcherMargaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
". Another nickname from that era is "
da joenk", a
BrabantianBrabantian or Brabantish, also Brabantic , is a dialect group of the Dutch language. It is named after the historical Duchy of Brabant which corresponded mainly to the Dutch province of North Brabant, the Belgian provinces of Antwerp and Flemish Brabant, as well as the institutional Region of...
dialect expression meaning "that kid" (in a pejorative sense, referring to his rather iconoclastic and immature style).
After being ousted from government he became leader of the opposition. After a failed attempt to form a government in November 1991, he changed the PVV into the
Flemish Liberals and Democrats' , commonly known as Open VLD and also simply as the VLD, is a Flemish liberal political party in Belgium, created in 1992 from the former Party for Freedom and Progress and a few other politicians from other parties. The party led the government for three cabinets under Guy Verhofstadt from 1999...
(VLD). This new party attracted many politicians from other parties, notably from the
VolksuniePeople's Union was a Belgian political party, formed in 1954 as a successor to the "Christian Flemish People's Union", an electoral alliance of Flemish nationalists....
(VU) and the Christian People's Party (CVP).
However, despite the fact that many had high expectations, the party did not manage to outstrip the CVP. Verhofstadt resigned and disappeared from the political scene, only to return to the party's presidency in 1997 with a less radical image. He gradually moved away from
neoliberalismNeoliberalism is a market-driven approach to economic and social policy based on neoclassical theories of economics that emphasizes the efficiency of private enterprise, liberalized trade and relatively open markets, and therefore seeks to maximize the role of the private sector in determining the...
(partly under the influence of his brother
DirkDirk Verhofstadt is a Belgian social liberal theorist and brother of former Belgian prime minister Guy Verhofstadt. He has a keen interest in political philosophy, and his philosophical outlook is influenced by Karl Popper, John Stuart Mill, Thomas Paine, Amartya Sen and Martha Nussbaum...
, a
social liberalSocial liberalism is the belief that liberalism should include social justice. It differs from classical liberalism in that it believes the legitimate role of the state includes addressing economic and social issues such as unemployment, health care, and education while simultaneously expanding...
political philosopherPolitical philosophy is the study of such topics as liberty, justice, property, rights, law, and the enforcement of a legal code by authority: what they are, why they are needed, what, if anything, makes a government legitimate, what rights and freedoms it should protect and why, what form it...
), and became more of a
centristIn politics, centrism is the ideal or the practice of promoting policies that lie different from the standard political left and political right. Most commonly, this is visualized as part of the one-dimensional political spectrum of left-right politics, with centrism landing in the middle between...
figure, a change which especially became clear during his first term as Prime Minister.
Verhofstadt I
Partly because of a
food scandalThe Dioxin Affair was a political crisis that struck in Belgium during the spring of 1999.Contamination of feedstock with polychlorinated biphenyls was detected in animal food products, mainly eggs and chickens....
that broke out just before the 1999 elections, the VLD became the largest party in the country, obtaining over 22% of the vote in Flanders. He quickly formed a coalition with the socialist and the green party in
FlandersFlanders is the community of the Flemings but also one of the institutions in Belgium, and a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France and the Netherlands. "Flanders" can also refer to the northern part of Belgium that contains Brussels, Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp...
, and with the French speaking counterparts of these parties (a symmetric coalition) in Brussels and Wallonia. He was appointed Prime Minister on 12 July 1999, the first liberal to hold that office since 1938. It was the first Belgian government without a Christian Democratic party since 1958, and the first one which included the green parties.
Verhofstadt was awarded the
Vision for Europe AwardThe Vision for Europe Award is an honour that has been bestowed annually since 1995 by the non-profit Edmond Israel Foundation in "recognition of outstanding achievements in taking Europe into the future."...
in 2002 for his work toward a more unified Europe. The economic situation gave him leeway in raising the lowest social alimonies and lowering taxation. After 2001, the economic situation worsened. The 'Aging Fund' or 'Silver Fund' was set up, in order to ensure the maintenance of pensions until 2030. But despite his efforts to boost the economy while attempting to maintain the social benefits system, unemployment rose, after previously falling during the second
Dehaene-Early life and political career:He was born in Montpellier, France, when his parents were fleeing German troops. He got into politics through the Algemeen Christelijk Werknemersverbond , a trade union which was closely linked to the Christelijke Volkspartij .In 1981, he became Minister of Social...
cabinet.
Much to the disapproval of his coalition partners, Verhofstadt and his VLD opposed granting the right to vote to non-EU residents. Instead, they proposed and were able to liberalize procedure for obtaining Belgian citizenship.
During the prelude to the
Iraq crisis of 2003The issue of Iraq's disarmament reached a crisis in 2002-2003, when U.S. President George W. Bush demanded a complete end to what he alleged was Iraqi production of weapons of mass destruction and that Iraq comply with UN Resolutions requiring UN weapons inspectors unfettered access to areas those...
, Belgium joined France, Germany and Russia in their opposition to the invasion.
Verhofstadt II
Following the
2003 general elections, Verhofstadt formed his second cabinet without the green parties, who were virtually annihilated in the election. For various reasons, the formation of the second government was delayed well beyond normal: the economic situation worsened to 1999 levels, both politically similar parties (liberals and socialists) gained approximately the same seats. Additionally, the various world governments were pressing for the abolition of the law of universal competence (also known as the "genocide law"), which gave Belgian judges the authority to accuse and sentence non-Belgians with crimes against humanity. Accusations that were made had rarely been followed up, and were often dismissed as being little more than politically motivated international insults. Verhofstadt's second government was sworn in on 12 July 2003, with both coalition partners having agreed to abolish the so-called "genocide law" and replace it with a much weaker one.
Guy Verhofstadt second Government consisted of his liberal Open VLD their sister liberal
MRThe Reformist Movement is a French-speaking liberal political party in Belgium. The party was in coalition as part of the Leterme II Government, and was also part of the governing coalition in the Walloon Region and Brussels-Capital Region until the 2004 regional elections...
, the Flemish social democratic SP.a and their sister social democratic party
PSParti Socialiste may refer to:*Socialist Party * Parti Socialiste * Swiss Socialist Party...
to form another
Purple coalitionPurple is a common term in politics for governments or other political entities consisting of parties that have red and blue as their political colours...
.
In the
FlemishFlanders is the community of the Flemings but also one of the institutions in Belgium, and a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France and the Netherlands. "Flanders" can also refer to the northern part of Belgium that contains Brussels, Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp...
regional elections of 13 June 2004, his party lost votes, slipping into third place in
FlandersFlanders is the community of the Flemings but also one of the institutions in Belgium, and a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France and the Netherlands. "Flanders" can also refer to the northern part of Belgium that contains Brussels, Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp...
. Though this has had no direct impact upon his position as Prime Minister, there were rumours that the Christian Democratic and Flemish (CD&V) party that won the elections, would participate in federal government. Verhofstadt was suggested as a candidate to replace
Romano ProdiRomano Prodi is an Italian politician and statesman. He served as the Prime Minister of Italy, from 17 May 1996 to 21 October 1998 and from 17 May 2006 to 8 May 2008...
as the next President of the
European CommissionThe European Commission is the executive body of the European Union. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of the Union....
, but his candidacy was opposed and rejected by a coalition led by
Tony BlairAnthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
and
Silvio BerlusconiSilvio Berlusconi , also known as Il Cavaliere – from knighthood to the Order of Merit for Labour which he received in 1977 – is an Italian politician and businessman who served three terms as Prime Minister of Italy, from 1994 to 1995, 2001 to 2006, and 2008 to 2011. Berlusconi is also the...
.
Since then, Verhofstadt has been faced with internal crisis after crisis. The first crisis coming to a head in the autumn of 2004 was the question whether
DHLDHL Express is a division of the German logistics company Deutsche Post providing international express mail services. DHL is a world market leader in sea and air mail....
would invest in
Brussels AirportBrussels Airport is an international airport northeast of Brussels, Belgium. The airport is partially in Zaventem and partially in the Diegem area of Machelen, both located in the Flemish Region of Belgium.Brussels Airport currently consists of 54 contact gates, and a total of 109 gates...
, located in the Flemish municipality of
ZaventemZaventem is a municipality in the province of Flemish Brabant, in Flanders, one of the three regions of Belgium. The municipality comprises the towns of Nossegem, Sint-Stevens-Woluwe, Sterrebeek and Zaventem proper. On January 1, 2006 Zaventem had a total population of 28,651...
. The question which nearly caused the collapse of the cabinet was whether to grant DHL extra landing rights during the night, this being a hot topic of public debate and various court cases. In the end the split between employment and night rest was for nought as DHL had only used the Zaventem option in order to get better conditions from
LeipzigLeipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
.
After the DHL crisis, Verhofstadt was faced with a communautary crisis with regard to dividing the administrative arrondissement
Brussels-Halle-VilvoordeBrussels-Halle-Vilvoorde is a Belgian electoral and judicial arrondissement in the center of the country, encompassing:* the officially bilingual Brussels-Capital Region, which coincides...
commonly abbreviated to BHV. The dividing was an issue that the parties forming the Flemish regional government had written in their government agreement. This caused a veto to be posed by the Walloon parties. The crisis dragged on until spring 2005 when the matter was shelved until after the federal elections of 2007 as the Flemish parties forming the government, given the for them disastrous opinion polls, didn't have the nerve to collapse the government. The constitutional court of Belgium ruled that all elections held after 10 June 2007 are invalid with the constitution because of the non-separation of
Brussels-Halle-VilvoordeBrussels-Halle-Vilvoorde is a Belgian electoral and judicial arrondissement in the center of the country, encompassing:* the officially bilingual Brussels-Capital Region, which coincides...
.
In the autumn of 2005, Verhofstadt managed to score a success when he was able to negotiate a "Generation Pact" with regard to employment and social reforms, regardless of the opposition and actions of the unions.
Verhofstadt was sworn in as municipal councilor in Ghent in January 2007, as a result of the
2006 municipal electionsThe Belgian provincial and municipal elections, 2006 took place on Sunday 8 October 2006. The electors have elected the municipal counsellors of 589 cities and towns as well as the ten provincial councils...
. In the council, he is seated next to another cabinet minister,
Freya Van den BosscheFreya Van den Bossche is a Belgian, Flemish politician and daughter of prominent former Belgian politician Luc Van den Bossche. She is member of the SP.a political party, and she was Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Budget and Consumer Protection in the Belgian federal government...
, who was elected a municipal councillor as well.
He even postponed a visit to the Russian President
Vladimir PutinVladimir Vladimirovich Putin served as the second President of the Russian Federation and is the current Prime Minister of Russia, as well as chairman of United Russia and Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Union of Russia and Belarus. He became acting President on 31 December 1999, when...
to be able to go to the first session of the newly elected council.
Verhofstadt III
Verhofstadt led the VLD into the
2007 general electionThe 2007 Belgian general election took place on Sunday 10 June 2007. Voters went to the polls in order to elect new members for the Chamber of Representatives and Senate.Eligible voters were Belgian citizens 18 years and older...
. Already with the
2006 municipal electionsThe Belgian provincial and municipal elections, 2006 took place on Sunday 8 October 2006. The electors have elected the municipal counsellors of 589 cities and towns as well as the ten provincial councils...
, the VLD showed signs of fatigue with the Flemish voter, who seem to have had enough of eight years of Verhofstadt, and the purple coalition governments. In an evening speech on election day, Verhofstadt conceded defeat and asked for a new generation to lead the VLD; he was to step down as prime minister after a new government has been formed. However, the formation of a new government was complicated, and in the end, CD&V politician
Yves LetermeYves Camille Désiré Leterme is a Flemish Belgian politician, a leader of the Christian Democratic and Flemish party , and the 48th Prime Minister of Belgium.Leterme was the Prime Minister of Belgium from March 2008 to December 2008...
failed to bring about a new government. Yet certain policy matters became politically urgent. The King therefore asked Verhofstadt to mediate an "interim government" that would be in office for three months and could propose a 2008 budget. A deal was struck in December, and the "interim government" was set for inauguration on 21 December 2007. On 23 December 2007 this interim government won a vote of confidence in parliament, with 97 votes in favor, 46 opposed, and one abstention, assuring it legitimacy for three months.
A "permanent government" under leadership of
Yves LetermeYves Camille Désiré Leterme is a Flemish Belgian politician, a leader of the Christian Democratic and Flemish party , and the 48th Prime Minister of Belgium.Leterme was the Prime Minister of Belgium from March 2008 to December 2008...
assumed office 20 March 2008.
One of the first decisions of the new government, on 21 December 2007, was to raise the security level after it foiled an attempted jail break of an Al Qaeda operative.
After his premiership
After his premiership he took up the seat of Senator to which he had been elected in 2007. In the
2009 European Parliament electionThe European Parliament election of 2009 in Belgium was on Sunday 7 June 2009 and was the election of the delegation from Belgium to the European Parliament...
, Verhofstadt was elected a member of the
European ParliamentThe European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
for the term 2009–2014. He also has been put forward as the possible candidate for replacing José Manuel Barroso as the
president of the European CommissionThe President of the European Commission is the head of the European Commission ― the executive branch of the :European Union ― the most powerful officeholder in the EU. The President is responsible for allocating portfolios to members of the Commission and can reshuffle or dismiss them if needed...
by a coalition of
greensThe Greens European Free Alliance is one of the parliamentary groups in the European Parliament....
,
socialistsThe Party of European Socialists is a European political party led by Sergei Stanishev, former Prime Minister of Bulgaria. The PES comprises social-democratic national-level political parties primarily from Member state of the European Union, as well as other nations of the European continent. The...
and
liberalsThe Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe is a transnational alliance between two European political parties: the European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party and the European Democratic Party. It has political groups in the European Parliament, the EU Committee of the Regions, the...
.
On July 1, 2009 he was elected President of the
Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for EuropeThe Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe is a transnational alliance between two European political parties: the European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party and the European Democratic Party. It has political groups in the European Parliament, the EU Committee of the Regions, the...
group in the European Parliament. On July 14, 2009 he took up his seat in the newly sworn-in
European ParliamentThe European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
to which he had been elected in June 2009.
On 15 September, 2010 Verhofstadt supported the new initiative
Spinelli GroupThe Spinelli Group is a pro-European initiative that was founded with a view to reinvigorate the strive for federalisation of the European Union , by creating a network of citizens, think tanks, NGOs, academics, writers and politicians who support the idea of a federal and united Europe...
, which was founded to reinvigorate the strive for federalisation of the European Union (EU). Other prominent supporters are:
Jacques DelorsJacques Lucien Jean Delors is a French economist and politician, the eighth President of the European Commission and the first person to serve three terms in that office .-French Politics:...
,
Daniel Cohn-BenditDaniel Marc Cohn-Bendit is a Franco-German politician, active in both countries. He was a student leader during the unrest of May 1968 in France and he was also known during that time as Dany le Rouge...
,
Joschka FischerJoseph Martin "Joschka" Fischer is a German politician of the Alliance '90/The Greens. He served as Foreign Minister and Vice Chancellor of Germany in the cabinet of Gerhard Schröder from 1998 to 2005...
,
Andrew DuffAndrew Duff OBE is a Liberal Democrat politician, president of the Union of European Federalists, and a Member of the European Parliament for the East of England region of the UK....
,
Elmar BrokElmar Brok is a German Member of the European Parliament and the former Chairman of the European Parliament Committee on Foreign Affairs. He was elected on the CDU ticket and sits with the European People's Party group...
.
Honours and awards
- Grand Cordon of the Order of Leopold (Belgium) (April 21, 2008)
- Grand Cross of the Order of the Crown (Belgium)
The Order of the Crown is an Order of Belgium which was created on 15 October 1897 by King Leopold II in his capacity as ruler of the Congo Free State. The order was first intended to recognize heroic deeds and distinguished service achieved from service in the Congo Free State - many of which acts...
(June 5, 2007)
- Grand Cross of the Order of Honour (Greece) (2005)
- Grand Cross of the Order of the White Rose of Finland (30 March 2004)
- Grand Cordon of the Royal Norwegian Order of Merit (2003)
- Grand Cross of the Order of the Dannebrog
The Order of the Dannebrog is an Order of Denmark, instituted in 1671 by Christian V. It resulted from a move in 1660 to break the absolutism of the nobility. The Order was only to comprise 50 noble Knights in one class plus the Master of the Order, i.e. the Danish monarch, and his sons...
(2002, Denmark)
- Grand Cross of the Royal Order of the North Star (2001, Sweden)
- Grand Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic (2000, Spain)
- Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic
The Order of Merit of the Italian Republic was founded as the senior order of knighthood by the second President of the Italian Republic, Luigi Einaudi in 1951...
(February 20, 1985,)
See also
- Dirk Verhofstadt
Dirk Verhofstadt is a Belgian social liberal theorist and brother of former Belgian prime minister Guy Verhofstadt. He has a keen interest in political philosophy, and his philosophical outlook is influenced by Karl Popper, John Stuart Mill, Thomas Paine, Amartya Sen and Martha Nussbaum...
, his brother
- United States of Europe
Since the 1950s, European integration has seen the development of a supranational system of governance, as its institutions move further from the concept of simple intergovernmentalism. However, with the Maastricht Treaty of 1993, new intergovernmental elements have been introduced alongside the...
- Crown Council of Belgium
The Crown Council of Belgium is composed of the King of the Belgians, the Ministers and the Ministers of State. The King chairs the Crown Council...
External links
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