Count Herman Achille Van Rompuy (Dutch: [ˈɦɛɾmɑn̪ ˌvɑn̪ ˈrɔmpœʏ]; born 31 October 1947) is a Belgian politician, who formerly served as Prime Minister of Belgium and then as the first President of the European Council.A politician from Belgium's Christian Democratic and Flemish party, Van Rompuy served as the 66th prime minister of Belgium from 30 December 2008 until Yves Leterme (who was also his predecessor) succeeded him on 25 November 2009.