Karel De Gucht

Plenary Session 3 - "Future of Alliance"

Professor Karel De Gucht has been the President of the Institute for European Studies (now: Brussels School of Governance) at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) since 2015. Professor De Gucht was the European Commissioner for Trade during President Barroso’s second Commission (2010-2014). From 2009 until 2010 he was also European Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid. Prior to this, Professor De Gucht held numerous senior political positions in the European, Flemish, and Belgian parliaments. He was a member of the Belgian House of Representatives from 2003 until 2009, during which time he held the portfolios of Minister for Foreign Affairs and European Affairs (2004-2009) and Minister for International Trade (2007-2009). From 2008 until 2009 he was Deputy Prime Minister of Belgium. He is also a professor in the LLM in International and European Law programme at the Brussels School of Governance, where he teaches an EU External Relations course. He holds a Master’s Degree in Law from the Vrije University Brussels.