Van Rompuy Government secretaries of state. Its initial composition is as follows: On 17 July 2009, as a consequence of the regional elections, the government was reshuffled: Van Rompuy Government The Van Rompuy Government was the federal government of Belgium from 30 December 2008 until 15 November 2009. Herman Van Rompuy was nominated as the first President of the European Council and resigned shortly after as Premier. It took office when the Flemish Christian Democrat Herman Van Rompuy (Christian Democratic and Flemish, CD&V) was sworn in as Prime Minister after the Leterme I Government fell on 22 December 2008. On 18 December 2008,
President of the European Union of the European Union, "President" of the European Council and "Prime Commissioner" would give a clearer indication of their respective roles. During the height of the Commission President's powers in the late-1980s and 1990s, the Commission President was sometimes referred to as the Europe's Prime Minister and the role of the President is similar to that of a national Prime Minister chairing a cabinet. The formulation of titles is not without precedent in Europe; for comparison, the title for the Prime Minister of Spain in Spanish is the "Presidente del Gobierno" ("President of the Government"), not Prime Minister. The Presidents