Alexander De Croo facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Alexander De Croo
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De Croo in 2024
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| Prime Minister of Belgium | |
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Caretaker
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| Assumed office 1 October 2020 |
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| Monarch | Philippe |
| Deputy |
See list
Vincent Van Peteghem
Georges Gilkinet Petra De Sutter Sophie Wilmès Vincent Van Quickenborne Pierre-Yves Dermagne Frank Vandenbroucke David Clarinval |
| Preceded by | Sophie Wilmès |
| Minister of Finance | |
| In office 9 December 2018 – 1 October 2020 |
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| Prime Minister | Charles Michel Sophie Wilmès |
| Preceded by | Johan Van Overtveldt |
| Succeeded by | Vincent Van Peteghem |
| Minister of Development Cooperation | |
| In office 11 October 2014 – 1 October 2020 |
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| Prime Minister | Charles Michel Sophie Wilmès |
| Preceded by | Jean-Pascal Labille [fr] |
| Succeeded by | Meryame Kitir |
| Minister for the Digital Agenda, Telecommunications and Postal service | |
| In office 11 October 2014 – 9 December 2018 |
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| Prime Minister | Charles Michel |
| Preceded by | None |
| Succeeded by | Philippe De Backer |
| Minister of Pensions | |
| In office 22 October 2012 – 11 October 2014 |
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| Prime Minister | Elio Di Rupo |
| Preceded by | Vincent Van Quickenborne |
| Succeeded by | Daniel Bacquelaine |
| Deputy Prime Minister of Belgium | |
| In office 22 October 2012 – 1 October 2020 |
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| Prime Minister | Elio Di Rupo Charles Michel Sophie Wilmès |
| Preceded by | Vincent Van Quickenborne |
| Succeeded by | Vincent Van Quickenborne |
| Leader of the Open Flemish Liberals and Democrats | |
| In office 12 December 2009 – 22 October 2012 |
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| Deputy | Vincent Van Quickenborne Patricia Ceysens |
| Preceded by | Guy Verhofstadt (acting) |
| Succeeded by | Guy Verhofstadt (acting) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 3 November 1975 Vilvoorde, Flanders, Belgium |
| Political party | Open Flemish Liberals and Democrats |
| Spouse | Annik Penders |
| Children | 2 |
| Education | Vrije Universiteit Brussel (MSc) Northwestern University (MBA) |
Alexander De Croo (born 3 November 1975) is a Belgian politician and businessman. He is the prime minister of Belgium. He started this important job in October 2020. Currently, he is working as a caretaker prime minister. This means he is in charge until a new government is formed.
De Croo was born in Vilvoorde, Belgium. He studied business engineering at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel. Later, he earned a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree in the United States. Before becoming a politician, he worked for a company called Boston Consulting Group. In 2006, he started his own company, Darts-ip.
Alexander De Croo joined the Belgian political party called Open Vlaamse Liberalen en Democraten (Open VLD). He was the leader of this party from 2009 to 2012. From 2012 to 2020, he served as a deputy prime minister in different Belgian governments. He worked under Prime Ministers Elio Di Rupo, Charles Michel, and Sophie Wilmès.
During his time as deputy prime minister, he held several important roles. He was the Minister of Pensions from 2012 to 2014. From 2014 to 2020, he was the Minister of Development Cooperation. This role involved helping other countries. He also served as the Minister of Finance from 2018 to 2020. On 1 October 2020, Alexander De Croo became the prime minister. His government, called the De Croo Government, was formed after a long time following the 2019 Belgian federal election.
After the 2024 Belgian federal election, De Croo and his party did not win many votes. He announced that he would resign on 9 June 2024. He will continue to serve as a caretaker prime minister until a new government is put together.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Alexander De Croo was born on 3 November 1975 in Vilvoorde, a town in Flemish Brabant, Belgium. He is one of two children. His father, Herman De Croo, is also a well-known politician.
In 1993, Alexander De Croo started studying at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel. He finished his degree in Business Engineering in 1998. He then went to Northwestern University in the United States in 2002. He completed his MBA at the Kellogg School of Management in 2004.
Before starting his political career, De Croo worked as a project leader at Boston Consulting Group in 1999. In 2006, he created his own company, Darts-ip. This company helped professionals who work with intellectual property.
Early Political Career
Alexander De Croo first entered politics in 2009. He ran in the European elections and received over 47,000 votes. On 26 October, he decided to run for the leader of his political party, Open Flemish Liberals and Democrats (Open VLD). He won the election on 12 December, even though he had little political experience before. This was seen as a big achievement.
Government Crisis
About five months after becoming party leader, De Croo's party faced a challenge. He said that Open VLD would leave the government if a solution was not found for a problem with voting rules in the Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde area. When the deadline passed, his party left the government. Because of this, the Prime Minister at the time, Yves Leterme, announced that the government would resign. King Albert II accepted this on 26 April 2010.
During the elections for the Senate in 2010, De Croo received more than 301,000 votes. This was one of the highest numbers of votes in the Dutch-speaking part of Belgium. He served as a senator until 22 October 2012.
Career in Government
Di Rupo Government
On 22 October 2012, Alexander De Croo became a deputy prime minister and Minister of Pensions in the Di Rupo Government. He took over from Vincent Van Quickenborne, who left to become a mayor.
Michel I and II Governments
After the 2014 Belgian federal election, De Croo remained a deputy prime minister in the new Michel I Government. He also became the Minister of Development Cooperation, Digital Agenda, Telecom, and Postal Services. This government started on 11 October 2014.
During his time as Minister of Development Cooperation, Belgium was the first country to stop giving official help to Burundi. This happened after violent problems started in that African country in 2015. In 2017, De Croo promised €25 million to help stop African sleeping sickness, a serious disease. He also helped start the "She Decides" movement. This movement supported women's health rights around the world.
In December 2018, there was a disagreement in the government about a global agreement on migration. Because of this, one party, the N-VA, left the government. The government then became a minority government, known as Michel II. De Croo became the Minister of Finance, taking over from Johan Van Overtveldt.
In December 2018, De Croo spoke at the Global Citizen Festival in Johannesburg, South Africa. This event was part of a campaign called #SheIsEqual, which raised a lot of money for women's rights.
Wilmès I and II Governments
Under the caretaker government of Prime Minister Sophie Wilmès, De Croo helped manage Belgium's finances during the COVID-19 crisis. He also helped make a deal to save Brussels Airlines in 2020.
Prime Minister
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On 23 September 2020, King Philippe asked Alexander De Croo and Paul Magnette to form a new government. On 30 September 2020, it was announced that De Croo would become the prime minister, taking over from Sophie Wilmès.
Forming the new Belgian government, often called the "Vivaldi" government, took a long time. De Croo's government has a special feature: half of its ministers are women. This is more than any previous Belgian government.
In June 2021, he visited the site of a building collapse in Antwerp. He went with King Philippe of Belgium and spoke to the emergency workers there.
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In February 2022, his government passed a law to make the job market more flexible. Employees can now choose to work a four-day week if their company agrees. This means their working days would be longer, about 9.5 hours, but they would still work 38 hours a week. The law also made working hours between 8 p.m. and midnight more flexible.
The government also wants to spend more on the military. They aim to increase military spending to 2 percent of Belgium's total economic output. This is to meet the requests of NATO and the U.S. government. This idea has caused some debate within his government.
On 26 November 2022, De Croo and his foreign minister, Hadja Lahbib, visited Ukraine. They met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and promised that Belgium would continue to support Ukraine.
In November 2023, De Croo said that the Israeli bombing in the Gaza Strip was "disproportionate." However, he also stated that "Belgium will not take sides" in the Israel–Hamas war.
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On 26 February 2024, De Croo traveled to Paris for an emergency meeting about the situation in Ukraine. During this meeting, the Czech Prime Minister suggested buying 500,000 rounds of artillery ammunition for Ukraine's forces. The Dutch government announced it would provide €100 million for this plan. De Croo announced that his government would provide €200 million. Many nations joined this effort to help Ukraine.
After the results of the 2024 Belgian federal election were announced, De Croo and his party faced a big loss. Following the usual rules, De Croo announced his resignation as prime minister, which became effective on 10 June. He will continue to serve as a caretaker prime minister until a new federal government is formed.
De Croo also spoke out against comments made by the Pope. He said he would call the Pope's representative in Belgium to protest these remarks. He called them "unacceptable" interference in Belgium's affairs.
Political Views
Like most political leaders in Belgium, Alexander De Croo believes that the Belgian monarch should have less political power. He thinks the monarch's role should be mostly ceremonial, similar to kings and queens in other Western European countries.
Personal Life
Alexander De Croo is married to Annik Penders, and they have two children. He enjoys horse riding. Each year, he takes part in a formal horse riding event with his father. In 2010, he broke his foot and elbow when he fell from his horse. He speaks Dutch, English, and French fluently. French is his mother's first language.
Other Activities
European Union Organizations
- European Investment Bank (EIB), a member of the Board of Governors (since 2018)
- European Stability Mechanism, a member of the Board of Governors (since 2018)
International Organizations
- African Development Bank (AfDB), a member of the Board of Governors
- Asian Development Bank (ADB), a member of the Board of Governors
- European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), a member of the Board of Governors (since 2018)
Non-profit Organizations
- World Economic Forum (WEF), a member of the Europe Policy Group (since 2017)
Honours
Netherlands: Grand Cross of the Order of Orange-Nassau (2023)
Luxembourg: Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg (2024)
Ukraine: First Class of the Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise (26 August 2024)
Images for kids
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De Croo with Israeli President Isaac Herzog and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez in Jerusalem, Israel, 23 November 2023
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De Croo with IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi and French President Emmanuel Macron in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 2 December 2023
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De Croo with President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv, Ukraine, 24 February 2024
See also
In Spanish: Alexander de Croo para niños
