Charles Michel (Belgian Politician)

Charles Michel (; 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, 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 1845.

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. 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.

Early life and education

Charles Michel was born in Namur, Wallonia, on 21 December 1975. He is the son of Louis Michel, a former European Commissioner, and Martine Pierre.

Michel began his political career at the age of 16 when he joined the Young Liberal Reformers of Jodoigne (''Jeunes Réformateurs Libéraux de Jodoigne''), affiliated to the MR. In 1994, at the age of 18, he was elected provincial councilor in Walloon Brabant. He graduated in law at the Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB) and the University of Amsterdam in 1998, after which he became lawyer at the Brussels Bar. He is fluent in Dutch and English in addition to his native French.

Early political career

Michel was elected to the federal Chamber of Representatives in 1999, representing Walloon Brabant, a stronghold of the liberal MR.

In 2000, he became Minister of Home Affairs in the Walloon Government aged 25, making him the youngest regional minister in Belgian history. At the local level, he was elected city councillor in Wavre in 2000, and in 2006 became mayor of the city.

In December 2007, Michel became the Minister of Development Cooperation in the Verhofstadt III Government and subsequently in the Leterme I, Van Rompuy I and Leterme II governments.

After poor results in the 2009 regional elections, Michel was part of a group demanding the MR leader Didier Reynders resign. After the party suffered further losses in the 2010 federal election, Reynders resigned, and Michel announced his candidacy to replace him. In January 2011, he was elected President of MR, and resigned from the cabinet.

Prime Minister of Belgium

After the 2014 federal election, Michel became co-formateur in the ensuing coalition negotiations. Initially, CD&V Leader Kris Peeters was expected to be Prime Minister. However CD&V also insisted on Marianne Thyssen being appointed as European Commissioner, and Michel's MR refused to allow the two most important political posts to be held by a single party.

Ultimately, the parties agreed to appoint Thyssen as European Commissioner, with an understanding that the prime ministership would go to either MR or OVLD. As Michel was serving as co-formateur, he quickly won internal support from other parties to lead the next government. On 7 October 2014, an overall agreement was reached between the four parties to form a new government, with Michel proposed as Prime Minister, and Peeters as one of four Deputy Prime Ministers. Michel became the youngest Belgian Prime Minister, and was only the second Francophone liberal to become Prime Minister.

In December 2018, a political crisis emerged over whether to sign the Global Compact for Migration. Michel's coalition partner N-VA, which originally supported the Compact, reversed course to oppose it whereas the other three parties continued to support it. Michel subsequently announced the formation of a minority government, with CD&V, MR and OVLD backing the compact. On 18 December, he presented his government's resignation to the King. The King accepted Michel's resignation on 21 December after consulting party leaders. He remained in office as caretaker Prime Minister during the 2019 federal election, and the ensuing coalition negotiations.

President of the European Council

On 2 July 2019, Michel was elected President of the European Council, one of the most prominent leadership positions of the European Union.

On 20 July 2020, Michel announced a historical deal on the recovery package Next Generation EU and the EU 2021–2027 budget to support member states hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.

In August 2020, Michel expressed "full solidarity" with Greece and Cyprus in their conflict with Turkey, which has occupied the northern part of Cyprus since July 1974. The Aegean dispute between Turkey and Greece escalated when Ankara resumed gas exploration in contested areas of the eastern Mediterranean.

On 27 September 2020, Michel expressed deep concern over the escalation of hostilities in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh and called on Armenia and Azerbaijan to immediately halt fighting and progress towards a peaceful resolution.

After French-U.S. and French-Australia relations suffered a period of tension in September 2021 due to fallout from the AUKUS defense pact between the U.S., the United Kingdom, and Australia. The security pact is directed at countering Chinese power in the Indo-Pacific region. As part of the agreement, the U.S. agreed to provide nuclear-powered submarines to Australia. After entering into AUKUS, the Australian government canceled an agreement that it had made with France for the provision of French conventionally powered submarines. Von der Leyen called the way France was treated "unacceptable" and demanded an explanation. The EU called the way France was treated "unacceptable" and demanded an explanation. Michel denounced a "lack of transparency and loyalty" by the United States.

During his tenure, there were internal expressions of discontent, including from a Prime Minister and diplomats from different EU countries to Michel's administration. The EU summits, for which he is responsible as president, were criticized for being not well organized. During his tenure, he ignored the decisions of the European Commission instead of remaining solution-oriented like his predecessors in office. A diplomatic fauxpas known as the "Sofagate" was described as a symbol of the strained working relationship between Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Michel.

Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, sanctions against Russia also included asset freezes on the Russian Central Bank, which holds $630 billion in foreign-exchange reserves, to prevent it from offsetting the impact of sanctions. On 5 May, Charles Michel said: "I am absolutely convinced that this is extremely important not only to freeze assets but also to make possible to confiscate it, to make it available for the rebuilding" of Ukraine.

Crisis in Georgia

Following the 2020 Georgian parliamentary election, Georgia experienced a political crisis. The ruling Georgian Dream party was deemed the winner, but the opposition parties said that the election was marred by irregularities and violations, they boycotted the results of the elections and refused to enter the parliament.EU brokers deal to end political crisis in Georgia
/ref> After Georgian authorities arrested opposition politician Nika Melia, the chairman of the opposition United National Movement (UNM), the country's prime minister resigned and mass street protests ensued.

In March 2021, Michel visited Georgia and participated in talks between Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili and the opposition.The political crisis is over, says President Michel in Georgia
/ref> Michel and the EU's High Representative Josep Borrell appointed Swedish diplomat Christian Danielsson as the EU envoy to mediate political crisis talks in the country.President Michel Appoints Envoy to Mediate Georgia Crisis Talks
/ref> Michel also met Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili in Brussels later that month, and met political leaders in Tbilisi in April 2021, after an agreement was signed after several weeks of mediation brokered by Michel and the EU. The agreement was welcomed as a success by the international community'Truly European way of resolving crisis': foreign diplomats welcome agreement reached between political parties in Georgia
/ref> and local civil society organizations such as the Europe-Georgia Institute,EGI Statement, April 19, 2021
/ref> and Michel hailed the agreement as being in "a truly European spirit" that takes Georgia towards a "Euro-Atlantic future."
Later the largest opposition party in Tbilisi did not accept the agreement and the ruling party withdrawn from it.

Honours

* Grand Officer in the Order of Leopold (21 May 2014)
* Minister of State (31 October 2019)
* Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise, 1st class (2021)

Personal life

Michel and his partner Amélie Derbaudrenghien have two children. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the couple postponed their wedding, which was supposed to take place in France in August 2020, to avoid quarantine upon return to Belgium.Barbara Moens (August 20, 2020)
Charles Michel postpones wedding to avoid quarantine
''Politico Europe''.

Ancestry

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Michel, Charles
1975 births
21st-century Belgian politicians
Université libre de Bruxelles alumni
Government ministers of Belgium
Living people
Mouvement Réformateur politicians
People from Namur (city)
Presidents of the European Council
Prime Ministers of Belgium
University of Amsterdam alumni
Walloon politicians
Recipients of the Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise, 1st class