Karel de gucht biography of albert

Style leader No.41

Elio Di Rupo [BELGIUM]

When Elio Di Rupo became prime minister of Belgium on 6 December 2011, he was instantly a riveting curiosity. Not just because he is the child of impoverished Italian immigrants, or because he is gay, or because he is an atheist, or because he is Belgium’s first socialist prime minister in decades, or because he barely speaks the language of most of his compatriots – but because he was actually prime minister. Before King Albert II swore Di Rupo in, a rancorous deadlock had left Belgium without a functional elected government for 541 days.

Di Rupo would have been a pioneering figure even if he’d arrived in less tumultuous circumstances, if only for his dress sense: he has joined the exclusive club of bow-tie-wearing heads of government.

“He has always been a butterfly,” says Karel Lannoo, ceo of Brussels’ Centre for European Policy Studies, “and he is admired for coming from a poor migrant family and working hard. He is certainly the most stylish of recent Belgian prime ministers.”

None of which necessarily helps him resolve the divisions in Belgium, which could still split into two smaller states. Di Rupo can console himself that his neckwear has distinguished form in adorning leaders confronting struggle: Churchill wore a bow tie and so did Lincoln.

Di Rupo’s sartorial flair

1. For a man of 61 in a reasonably stressful job, Di Rupo flaunts a luxurious, longish thatch of unusual colour and body – and a remarkable absence of facial wrinkles. He’s clearly clever enough to realise that if a politician is going to be vain, he should be unashamed of it and get it done right: not for Di Rupo the spray-on tan and hair of a Berlusconi.
2. Di Rupo favours rimless spectacles in the style of a man who wishes to appear not so professorial as to sport thick rims yet not so vain as to favour contact lenses.
3. Since becoming prime minister, Di Rupo has reined in his defining sartorial quirk slightly – the preferred blazing so

Mr. Karel De Gucht, State Minister, was the European Commissioner for Trade from February 2010 until 31 October 2014, where he was pivotal in negotiating, concluding and managing several European Free Trade and Investment Agreements worldwide.

Previously he served as Belgium’s Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2004 to 2009, Deputy Prime Minister from 2008 to 2009, and as European Commissioner for International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response from 2009 to 2010.

Currently he is the President of the Brussels School of Governance at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) – his alma mater (Masters of Laws, 1976) and where he teaches European Law. He serves as a Director on the Boards of ArcelorMittal SA, of EnergyVision, Youston (Chair), Sprimoglass and is a Member of the Advisory Board of CVC Capital Partners.

He is also the manager of La Macinaia, a family-run wine producing company in the Chianti region (Italy).

Belgium's King Albert II arrived in Riga Monday and will stay for three days in Latvia's capital. This will be the first time that a Belgian monarch has visited Latvia, making it a historic event for the country's citizens. Along with the King will be Queen Paola, Belgian Foreign Minister Karel de Gucht and a delegation of 20 academics and businessmen, all arriving to work towards the goal of strengthening relations between Belgium and Latvia.

The Belgian King will meet with Latvia's Prime Minister Aigars Kalvitis and speaker of the Latvian parliament, Indulis Emsis. In addition, he will take part in several academic and economic forums, including one at the University of Latvia, and will visit several important sites in Riga, including the Freedom Monument and the Museum of Occupations.

Both Latvia and Belgium, as members of the EU, have much to gain from good relations; historically, Belgium has been a supporter of the Baltic state, having diplomatic relations since 1921, though severed by Latvia's incorporation into the Soviet Union, which Belgium did not recognize. In 1991, when Latvia regained its independence, diplomatic relations between the two countries were renewed.