Herman Van Rompuy (Pronunciation-Herman Van Rompuy.ogg (help·info), born 31 October 1947 in Etterbeek, Brussels), is a Belgian Flemish politician, currently serving as the President of the European Council. As a member of the Christian Democratic and Flemish party, he previously served as Prime Minister of Belgium from 30 December 2008 to 25 November 2009. He was succeeded by Yves Leterme, who was also his predecessor. On 19 November 2009 Van Rompuy was designated the first permanent President of the European Council under the Treaty of Lisbon. He took up this position on 1 December 2009, and is elected to chair the institution until 31 May 2012.