Herman Van Rompuy He has another sister, Anita Van Rompuy, who is not politically active, married to Arne van der Graesen. Van Rompuy was the chairman of the national Christian People's Party's (CVP) youth council (1973–1977). From 1975 to 1980 he worked in the ministerial cabinets of and . In 1978 he was elected a member of the national CVP's bureau (1978–present). He first was elected to the Belgian Senate in 1988 and served until 1995. In 1988 he shortly served as Secretary of State for Finance and for Small and Medium Enterprises before becoming the national chairman of the CVP (1988–1993). Van
Christen-Democratisch en Vlaams Kris Peeters subsequently became the next minister-president of Flanders. From 30 December 2008 till 25 November 2009, Herman Van Rompuy led his first cabinet before becoming the first permanent president of the European Council. Afterwards, Yves Leterme led his second government. In June 2009, Flemish elections were held and the CD&V remained the largest party of Flanders. Kris Peeters stayed as Flemish minister-president. The party also remained the largest Flemish party in the European Parliament after the 2009 European elections. In 2010, the Open Flemish Liberals and Democrats (Open VLD) decided to step out of the federal coalition, consequently ending