| Wilfried Martens | |
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| In office 17 December 1981–7 March 1992 |
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| Preceded by | Mark Eyskens |
| Succeeded by | Jean-Luc Dehaene |
| In office 3 April 1979 – 6 April 1981 |
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| Preceded by | Paul Vanden Boeynants |
| Succeeded by | Mark Eyskens |
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| Born | 19 April 1936 Sleidinge, Belgium |
| Political party | CD&V |
| Spouse(s) | Miet Smet |
| Religion | Catholic |
Wilfried Martens (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈβ̞ɪlfɾiˑt ˈmɑɾtəns] (
listen); born Wilfried Achiel Emma Martens, 19 April 1936) is a Belgian politician. He was born in Sleidinge (East Flanders). Martens has been Prime Minister nine times: four times from 3 April 1979 to 6 April 1981 and five times from 17 December 1981 to 7 March 1992.
Martens was a Chair of the Belgian CVP (now renamed Christen-Democratisch en Vlaams CD&V) from 1972 - 79, sitting as a Deputy in the Belgian Chamber of Representatives (federal parliament) from 1974 - 91, and serving as a Senator from 1991 - 94.
He co-founded the European People's Party (EPP) in 1976 and has been EPP President since 1992.
From 1993 he was President of the European Union of Christian Democrats (EUCD), until its merger with the EPP in 1996. Martens also negotiated with Finnish conservative politician Sauli Niinistö the merger of the European Democrat Union (EDU) into the EPP (formally concluded in 2002). The successful fusion of all center-right European organizations into the EPP - currently the largest transnational European political party with 71 member-parties from 38 countries - is widely recognized as an important achievement of his European political legacy.
From 1994 - 98, he was a Member of the European Parliament, chairing the EPP Group.
From October 2000 to November 2001 he was also the President of the Christian Democrat International (CDI).
He re-appeared on the Belgian political stage on 22 December 2008 to help end the 2007-2008 Belgian political crisis.
Martens holds a doctorate in law, a degree in notarial studies, as well as a baccalaureate in Thomistic philosophy from the Catholic University of Louvain. He also studied international political science at Harvard University. He has practised law at the Ghent Court of Appeal.
Among numerous national and international distinctions, he was honoured in 1998 with the Charles V Prize for his contribution to European Union.
Private life
Martens has five children: two from his first marriage with Lieve Verschroeven (Kris and Anne) and three with Ilse Schouteden (Sarah, Sophie and Simon) whom he met in 1988 while she was an assistant working in his cabinet. After the birth of their twins in 1997 they married on 13 November 1998. Ilse Schouteden has a son from her previous marriage. In 2007 he divorced his second wife. On 27 September 2008 he married his ex-mistress from the 1970s Miet Smet, a former Belgian minister. It was his third marriage and her first.
External links
- European People's Party official site
- Wilfried Martens official site
| Political offices | ||
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| Preceded by Paul Vanden Boeynants |
Prime Minister of Belgium 1979–1981 |
Succeeded by Mark Eyskens |
| Preceded by Mark Eyskens |
Prime Minister of Belgium 1981–1992 |
Succeeded by Jean-Luc Dehaene |
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