Didier Reynders (; born 6 August 1958) is a

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...

politician and a member of the

Mouvement Réformateur The Reformist Movement (french: Mouvement Réformateur, MR) is a liberalism in Belgium, liberal French Community of Belgium, French-speaking Political parties in Belgium, political party in Belgium. MR is traditionally a Conservative liberalism, c ...

(MR) serving as

European Commissioner for Justice The Commissioner for Justice and Commissioner for Equality are posts in the European Commission. The portfolios of Justice and Equality were previously combined as ''Commissioner for Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality'' under commissioner i ...

since 2019. He held various positions in public institutions before becoming a member of the House in 1992. He was a minister without interruption from 1999 to 2019, until resigning to become Belgian European Commissioner. He served as Federal Minister of Finance until December 2011 in six different governments, then Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs, Trade Foreign Affairs and European Affairs in two governments. Following the government crisis of December 2018, he was also appointed to the post of

Minister of Defense A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in som ...

until November 2019.

Early life and education

Reynders was born in

Liège Liège ( , , ; wa, Lîdje ; nl, Luik ; german: Lüttich ) is a major city and municipality of Wallonia and the capital of the Belgian province of Liège. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east of Belgium, not far from b ...

as the youngest in a family of three children. He studied law at the

University of Liège The University of Liège (french: Université de Liège), or ULiège, is a major public university of the French Community of Belgium based in Liège, Wallonia, Belgium. Its official language is French. As of 2020, ULiège is ranked in the 301 ...

Early career

Reynders began his career as a lawyer in 1981, before serving as Chairman of the

National Railway Company of Belgium french: Société nationale des chemins de fer belgesgerman: Nationale Gesellschaft der Belgischen Eisenbahnen , type = Statutory corporation , industry = Rail Transport , foundation = 1926 , founder = Government of ...

from 1986 to 1991.

Political career

Minister of Finance, 1999–2011

Reynders served as Minister of Finance from 1999 to 2011; in 2002, he chaired the G-10 which is the meeting of the main creditor states (Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States). Reynders became Deputy Prime Minister in 2004, in the government of Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt. He was the chairman of the

from 2004 to 2011. Reynders led the MR to a victory in the 2007 general elections, with the MR becoming the largest Francophone party of Belgium. The

King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

appointed Reynders as

informateur A formateur (French for "someone who forms, who constitutes") is a politician who is appointed to lead the formation of a coalition government, after either a general election or the collapse of a previous government. The role of the formateur i ...

, i.e. to start off the informal coalition talks for a new federal government. Stalemate followed the 2010 general election. The King appointed a succession of people to negotiate a coalition from June 2010 onwards, but none succeeded in the task of forming a new government during the following seven months. Reynders was appointed

by the King on 2 February 2011. He reported on 16 February 2011, and his brief was extended through 1 March 2011.

Minister of Foreign Affairs, 2011–2019

Following the appointment of

Elio Di Rupo Elio Di Rupo (; born 18 July 1951) is a Belgian politician who has served as the minister-president of Wallonia since 2019. He is affiliated with the Socialist Party. Di Rupo previously served as the prime minister of Belgium from 6 December 201 ...

as new Belgian Prime Minister in December 2011, Reynders became Minister of Foreign Affairs. During his tenure, Belgium was elected as a non-permanent member of the

United Nations Security Council The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the Organs of the United Nations, six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international security, international peace and security, recommending the admi ...

(2019–2020), as well as of the

United Nations Human Rights Council The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), CDH is a United Nations body whose mission is to promote and protect human rights around the world. The Council has 47 members elected for staggered three-year terms on a regional group basis. ...

(2016–2018).

Minister of Defence, 2018–2019

After the ruling coalition collapsed in 2019, Reynders also held responsibility for the defense portfolio. Following an inconclusive

election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has opera ...

in May 2019,

Philippe asked Reynders and Johan Vande Lanotte to look into the conditions required for forming a coalition government. Didier Reynders (2021) B

European Commissioner for Justice, 2019–present

In the summer of 2019, Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel put Reynders forward as the Belgian nominee for the incoming

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body o ...

. President-elect

Ursula von der Leyen Ursula Gertrud von der Leyen (; Albrecht, born 8 October 1958) is a German politician who has been serving as the president of the European Commission since 2019. She served in the Cabinet of Germany, German federal government between 2005 an ...

nominated him for the Justice portfolio. Reynders' hearing at the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...

was held in September 2019 and his nomination was approved by a large majority. He took office on 1 December 2019. In 2020, Reynders announced plans to develop a legislative proposal by 2021 requiring businesses to carry out

due diligence Due diligence is the investigation or exercise of care that a reasonable business or person is normally expected to take before entering into an agreement or contract with another party or an act with a certain standard of care. It can be a l ...

in relation to the potential

human rights Human rights are Morality, moral principles or Social norm, normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for ce ...

and

environmental impact Environmental issues are effects of human activity on the biophysical environment, most often of which are harmful effects that cause environmental degradation. Environmental protection is the practice of protecting the natural environment on t ...

s of their operations and

supply chain In commerce, a supply chain is a network of facilities that procure raw materials, transform them into intermediate goods and then final products to customers through a distribution system. It refers to the network of organizations, people, acti ...

s. A 2022 report stated that Reynders was one of at least five senior EU officials targeted by Israeli

spyware Spyware (a portmanteau for spying software) is software with malicious behaviour that aims to gather information about a person or organization and send it to another entity in a way that harms the user—for example, by violating their privac ...

in 2021.

Other activities

International organisations

African Development Bank The African Development Bank Group (AfDB) or (BAD) is a multilateral development finance institution headquartered in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, since September 2014. The AfDB is a financial provider to African governments and private companies i ...

(AfDB), Ex-Officio Member of the Board of Governors (1999–2011) *

Asian Development Bank The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is a regional development bank established on 19 December 1966, which is headquartered in the Ortigas Center located in the city of Mandaluyong, Metro Manila, Philippines. The bank also maintains 31 field office ...

(ADB), Ex-Officio Member of the Board of Governors (1999–2011) *

European Bank for Reconstruction and Development The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is an international financial institution founded in 1991. As a multilateral developmental investment bank, the EBRD uses investment as a tool to build market economies. Initially focus ...

(EBRD), Ex-Officio Member of the Board of Governors (1999–2011)

Non-profit organisations

European Council on Foreign Relations The European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) is a pan-European think tank with offices in seven European capitals. Launched in October 2007, it conducts research on European foreign and security policy and provides a meeting space for decisi ...

(ECFR), Member

Controversies

Political activities

In 2015, Reynders drew criticism for having his face painted black during a traditional festival in Brussels. In April 2017, Belgium voted in favour of the entry of Saudi Arabia, yet considered one of the most retrograde countries on the issue of women's rights, in the

United Nations Commission on the Status of Women The Commission on the Status of Women (CSW or UNCSW) is a functional commission of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), one of the main UN organs within the United Nations. CSW has been described as the UN organ promoting gend ...

. This decision raised controversy and questions about the role of Reynders. In 2019, Reynders announced his candidacy to succeed

Thorbjørn Jagland Thorbjørn Jagland (born Thorbjørn Johansen; , 5 November 1950) is a Norwegian politician from the Labour Party. He served as the secretary general of the Council of Europe from 2009 to 2019. He served as the 32nd prime minister of Norway from ...

Secretary General of the Council of Europe The Secretary General of the Council of Europe (french: Secrétaire général du Conseil de l'Europe, links=no) is appointed by the Parliamentary Assembly on the recommendation of the Committee of Ministers for a period of five years. The secreta ...

; the position instead went to

Marija Pejčinović Burić Marija Pejčinović Burić (; born 9 April 1963) is a Croatian politician of the centre-right Croatian Democratic Union party who served as Minister of Foreign and European Affairs and First Deputy Prime Minister of Croatia from 2017 to 2019. Sh ...

Criminal investigation

In September 2019, Belgian police investigated allegations of corruption and money-laundering against Reynders, relating to the construction of the Belgian embassy building in

Kinshasa Kinshasa (; ; ln, Kinsásá), formerly Léopoldville ( nl, Leopoldstad), is the capital and largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Once a site of fishing and trading villages situated along the Congo River, Kinshasa is now one o ...

, the lease of a federal police HQ and other matters. The investigation was dropped soon after.

Honours

National honours

* 2014: Grand Officer of the Order of Leopold

Foreign honours

* 2013: Commander in the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon, ...

* 2014: Knight Grand Cross of the

Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (german: Verdienstorden der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, or , BVO) is the only federal decoration of Germany. It is awarded for special achievements in political, economic, cultural, intellect ...

* 2016: Knight Grand Cross of the

Order of Orange-Nassau The Order of Orange-Nassau ( nl, Orde van Oranje-Nassau, links=no) is a civil and military Dutch order of chivalry founded on 4 April 1892 by the queen regent, Emma of the Netherlands. The order is a chivalric order open to "everyone who has ...

* 2016: Knight Grand Cross in the

Order of Merit The Order of Merit (french: link=no, Ordre du Mérite) is an order of merit for the Commonwealth realms, recognising distinguished service in the armed forces, science, art, literature, or for the promotion of culture. Established in 1902 by K ...

References

External links

* , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Reynders, Didier 1958 births 21st-century Belgian politicians Belgian European Commissioners Finance ministers of Belgium Foreign ministers of Belgium Grand Crosses with Star and Sash of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Orange-Nassau Living people Members of the Belgian Federal Parliament Mouvement Réformateur politicians Politicians from Liège University of Liège alumni Belgian Ministers of Defence European Commissioners 2019–2024