Charles Michel | |
---|---|
51st Prime Minister of Belgium | |
Assumed office 11 October 2014 |
|
Monarch | Philippe |
Preceded by | Elio Di Rupo |
Leader of the Reformist Movement | |
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 Yves Leterme |
Preceded by | Armand De Decker |
Succeeded by | Olivier Chastel |
Personal details | |
Born |
Namur, Belgium |
21 December 1975
Political party | Reformist Movement |
Domestic partner | Amélie Derbaudrenghien |
Children | 2 |
Alma mater |
Free University of Brussels (French) University of Amsterdam |
Charles Y.J.Gh. Michel (French: [ʃaʁl mi.ʃɛl]; born 21 December 1975) is a Belgian politician, and is the current Prime Minister of Belgium. He is the son of Louis Michel, also a prominent politician. Charles Michel was the leader of the francophone liberal party Mouvement Réformateur (MR) since February 2011 until becoming Prime Minister. Michel is the youngest Belgian Prime Minister since 1845.
Michel was born in Namur, Wallonia. Michel started his political career aged 16 when he joined the Young Liberals of Jodoigne (Jeunes Réformateurs Libéraux de Jodoigne); his father Louis Michel was mayor of Jodoigne since 1983. In 1994, at the age of 18, Charles Michel was elected provincial councillor in Walloon Brabant.
He graduated in law at the Université Libre de Bruxelles and the University of Amsterdam in 1998, after which he became lawyer at the Brussels Bar.
Having studied in Amsterdam, he is fluent in Dutch in addition to his native French.
Michel has been elected to the federal Chamber of Representatives since 1999, representing Walloon Brabant, a stronghold of the liberal MR.
In 2000, he became Minister of Home Affairs in the Walloon Government. Aged 25, he became the youngest minister in Belgium's history.
At the local level, he was elected city councillor in Wavre in 2000. In 2006, he became mayor of the city.