Charles Michel (politician)

Charles Michel ( born December 21, 1975 in Namur) is a Belgian politician of the party Mouvement Réformateur ( MR). He was from 2000 to 2004 and Walloon Minister of the Interior from 2007 to the federal Minister for Development Cooperation (most recently in the government Leterme II). Michel gave but from his post in February 2011 after he was elected chairman of the MR. He is since 2006, Mayor of Wavre.

Curriculum vitae

Charles Michel is the son of former Belgian Foreign Minister and European Commissioner Louis Michel ( MR). He studied law at the Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB ) and the University of Amsterdam ( UvA ). Since 1998 he has been admitted as a lawyer in Brussels.

His brother Michel Mathieu is also active in politics.

Political career

His political activity began Charles Michel in 1994 as a provincial deputy in Walloon Brabant. According to the federal and regional elections of 1999, he was a federal deputy in the Chamber of Deputies. When the Liberals in 1999 formed a coalition with the Socialists (PS ) at the level of the Walloon Region, in 2000 he replaced Jean -Marie Severin ( MR) as Minister for Home Affairs and for Public Administration in the government of Jean -Claude Van Cauwenberghe (PS). After the regional elections of 2004, the MR moved in on Walloon level in the opposition and Michel met again until 2007 as a simple federal deputy.

At the local level Charles Michel moved into the council of Wavre in 2000. He won the local elections in 2006 and became mayor in this city. Since 2007, year in which he was appointed as a federal minister, however, he is prevented in this office.

After the federal elections of 2007 and the long political crisis Charles Michel was given the post of Minister for Development Cooperation under Guy Verhofstadt (Open VLD), and kept him in subsequent governments Yves Leterme (CD & V), and Herman Van Rompuy (CD & V).

Within the MR Charles Michel is part of the " Renaissance Group" that the resignation of the then Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Finance and MR chairman Didier Reynders called for by the federal elections of 2009, in which the MR had to suffer heavy losses. After the internal party elections, Charles Michel was able to prevail against the MR group leaders in the chamber Daniel BACQUELAINE and took the presidency of the MR on February 14, 2011.

Charles Michel is Commander of the Order of Leopold.

Overview of political offices