 He has served in the local council of Walhain, in the provincial council of Walloon Brabant and as deputy governor of Walloon Brabant.Since 12 July 1999 he has served as Minister of Defence in both governments of Guy Verhofstadt, Verhofstadt I (1999-2003) and Verhofstadt II (2003-07).In 2009, he demanded the recall of the Belgian ambassador to the Holy See after controversy over comments by Pope Benedict XVI, who claimed that condoms promoted AIDS.