Page "President of the European Council" Paragraph 7

On 19 November 2009, Herman Van Rompuy, at that time Prime Minister of Belgium, was chosen to be appointed as the first full-time President of the European Council.

The formal decision on the appointment was made after the Treaty of Lisbon came into force, which was on 1 December 2009.

The British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, said that he had unanimous backing from the 27 EU leaders at the summit in Brussels on the evening of 19 November 2009.

Mr Brown also praised Mr Van Rompuy as " a consensus builder " who had " brought a period of political stability to his country after months of uncertainty ".

Mr Van Rompuy has a reputation as a coalition builder, having taken charge of the linguistically divided Belgian government and steered it out of a crisis.

At a press conference after his appointment, Van Rompuy commented: " Every country should emerge victorious from negotiations.

A negotiation that ends with a defeated party is never a good negotiation.

I will consider everyone's interests and sensitivities.

Even if our unity remains our strength, our diversity remains our wealth ", he said, stressing the individuality of EU member states.