Following the resignation of Mr Steven Vanackere, Mr Koen Geens was appointed Minister of Finance of the Kingdom of Belgium and took office on 6 March 2013. Mr Geens also becomes EIB Governor for the Kingdom of Belgium.
A lawyer by profession, Mr Geens is an attorney at Eubelius, a law firm he co-founded in 1994. He is also professor of corporate and financial law at the University of Leuven. Mr Geens was appointed by the Belgian government as the scientific coordinator for the codification of the Belgian laws on companies and financial accounts, which culminated in the new Belgian company code in 2001.
From 2007 to early 2009, he served as head of cabinet to the Flemish Minister-President Kris Peeters.
Since June 2011, Mr Geens is a Member of the Board of BNP Paribas Fortis.
Mr Geens, born in 1958, holds graduate degrees in law from the University of Leuven (1980) and Harvard Law School (LL.M., 1981). In 1986, he also obtained a Ph.D. in law from the University of Leuven.