Michel, Charles Yves Jean Ghislaine, 1975–, Belgian political leader, b. Namur, grad. Free Univ. of Brussels and Univ. of Amsterdam (1998). A French-speaking Liberal, he served (1994–99) on the Walloon Brabant provincial council before he was first elected to the Belgium's parliament in 1999. From 2000 to 2004 he was Walloon minister for interior affairs and civil service. In 2006 he became mayor of Wavre. Federal minister for development cooperation (2007–11), he became leader (2011–14) of the Reformist Movement. In 2014 he became prime minister, heading of a four-party center-right coalition. In late 2018 his coalition collapsed after the New Flemish Alliance withdrew over the government's support for a nonbinding UN compact on migration, but he remained prime minister, heading a caretaker cabinet. In 2019 he succeeded Donald Tusk as European Council president.
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2024, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
See more Encyclopedia articles on: Benelux History: Biographies
