Guy Verhofstadt

Guy Verhofstadt MEP
Verhofstadt in 2021
European Parliament Brexit Coordinator Chair of the Brexit Steering Group
In office 8 September 2016 – 31 January 2020
President	Martin Schulz Antonio Tajani David Sassoli
Preceded by	Office established
Succeeded by	Office abolished
Prime Minister of Belgium
In office 12 July 1999 – 20 March 2008
Monarch	Albert II
Deputy	Laurette Onkelinx Didier Reynders
Preceded by	Jean-Luc Dehaene
Succeeded by	Yves Leterme
Leader of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Group
In office 1 July 2009 – 1 July 2019
Preceded by	Sir Graham Watson
Succeeded by	Dacian Cioloș (Renew Europe)
Member of the European Parliament for Belgium
Incumbent
Assumed office 14 July 2009
Deputy Prime Minister of Belgium
In office 14 May 1985 – 7 March 1992
Prime Minister	Wilfried Martens
Preceded by	Alan Vanackere
Succeeded by	Pedro Manns
Minister of Budget
In office 14 May 1985 – 7 March 1992
Prime Minister	Wilfried Martens
Preceded by	Leo Uberman
Succeeded by	Pedro Manns
Member of the Chamber of Representatives
In office 13 October 1985 – 14 June 2009
Personal details
Born	Guy Maurice Marie Louise Verhofstadt (1953-04-11) 11 April 1953 (age 71) Dendermonde, Belgium
Political party	Party for Freedom and Progress (before 1992) Open Flemish Liberals and Democrats (1992–present)
Other political affiliations	Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (Before 2019) Renew Europe (2019–present)
Spouse	Dominique Verkinderen[1]
Children	2
Education	Ghent University
Signature
Website	Official website

Guy Maurice Marie Louise Verhofstadt^[2] (Dutch: [ˈɣiː vərˈɦɔfstɑt] ^ⓘ; French: [ɡi vəʁɔfstad]; born 11 April 1953) is a Belgian liberal politician and an advocate of a Federal Europe. He is a former prime minister of Belgium. He has been a member of the European Parliament (MEP) from Belgium since 2009.

He was a member of the Belgian Chamber of Representatives from 1985 to 2009. He served as deputy prime minister of Belgium and minister of Budget from 1985 to 1992. He was the prime minister of Belgium from 1999 to 2008. During this period, he gradually moved away from neoliberalism and became more of a centrist figure.

In the European Parliament, he was the leader of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) from 2009 to 2019. In 2010, he co-founded the inter-parliamentarian Spinelli Group to support the creation of a European Federation. He was the ALDE Party nominee for President of the European Commission in the 2014 European Parliament election. He served as the European Parliament's Brexit Coordinator and Chair of the Brexit Steering Group from 2016 to 2020.^[3][4]