Louis Michel
Louis Michel (born September 2, 1947) was until July 2004 the Belgian foreign minister. He currently is on the Belgian seat on the European Commission. He is also the mayor of the municipality of Jodoigne in Walloon Brabant. He is member and the most prominent figure of the Belgian French-speaking liberal party, the Mouvement Réformateur (MR).
Early professional career
From 1968 to 1978, before dedicating his life to his political career, Louis Michel taught English, Dutch and German in the Provincial School of Jodoigne, a rural town 25 miles from Brussels.
Political career
From 1967 to 1977, he was chairman of the Young Liberals in the district of Nivelles. Then he became alderman in Jodoigne from 1977 to 1983, "secretary-general" of the Parti Réformateur Libéral (PRL) political party from 1980 to 1982 and chairman of the PRL from 1982 to 1990 and from 1995 to 1999.
He has been member of the Belgian federal parliament from 1978 to 2004, first as a representative (1978-1999) and then as a senator (1999-2004).
He was the Belgian foreign minister and Vice Prime Minister from 1999 to 2004, until in July 2004, the Verhofstadt government appointed Michel as its candidate for the Belgian seat on the European Commission led by José Durão Barroso, to replace former commissioner Philippe Busquin. And he has been nominated on August 12, 2004 to become EU commissioner starting November 2004.
He is also the mayor of the municipality of Jodoigne in Walloon Brabant since 1983.
Titles
In 1995, he has been appointed Minister of State, a honorific title given to prominent Belgian politicians.
See also
- Antoine Dusquene
- Jean Gol
- Charles Michel, his son
- Dutch only)
