Leterme gets extended term at OECD

Former Belgian prime minister Yves Leterme (pictured) will remain in his post as Deputy Secretary-General of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) for a further two years. Leterme was appointed to the prestigious Paris-based organisation in 2011 and put in charge of a portfolio that included social affairs, education and entrepreneurship.

Before joining OECD, Leterme held a number of political posts in Belgium at every level of government. He started out with a seat on the council of his home town Ypres before becoming an MP in the House of Representatives. He then went on to serve as minister-president of Flanders, federal minister of foreign affairs and finally prime minister in 2008 and again from 2009-2011.

Leterme, who belongs to the Flemish Christian Democrat party CD&V, had already announced last summer that he had no intention of being a candidate in the 2014 Belgian elections, though he remains a councillor in Ypres.