In 2000, Wilmès became a councillor inUccle.[11] From 2006 to 2014, Wilmès was First Alderman in charge of Finance, Budget, Francophone Education, Communication and Local Businesses for the town ofSint-Genesius-Rode. From 2014 to 2015, she was a provincial councillor for the province ofFlemish Brabant.
In September 2015, minister of the budgetHervé Jamar announced that he would resign on 1 October 2015, because he was selected as the governor of the province ofLiège. Wilmès was selected to succeed him in theMichel I Government.[12] In December 2018, she became Minister of Budget, Civil Service, National Lottery and Scientific Policy in theMichel II Government.[9]
On 27 October 2019, Wilmès became the first femalePrime Minister of Belgium, succeedingCharles Michel. She led acaretaker government while negotiations proceeded to form a new coalition government.[12] On 16 March 2020, with negotiations still underway after 15 months, all major parties agreed to grant full legislative powers to the Wilmès government in order to fight theCOVID-19 pandemic. Under the terms of the agreement, Wilmès was granted special powers to deal with the pandemic's economic and social impact. These powers were to last for three months, though they could be renewed once for an additional three months. Wilmès was officially nominated as prime minister by King Philippe later on 16 March,[13] and her reshuffledexecutive government was sworn in the day after.
Wilmès (right) with US Secretary of StateAntony Blinken in March 2021
On 1 October 2020, Wilmès was appointeddeputy prime minister andforeign minister in thenew government formed underAlexander De Croo, becoming the first female foreign minister in Belgian history.[1] For a time beginning on 22 October 2020, she managed the country's foreign relations from her intensive care hospital bed as she suffered fromCOVID-19.[14] It was noted byDeutsche Welle that "Wilmes tested positive for coronavirus" prior to 17 October "after attending an EU summit with her counterparts"[15] at theEuropa building inLuxembourg on 12 October,[16] and 13 October.[17] Her Austrian counterpart,Alexander Schallenberg, also subsequently had a positive test.[15]
On 21 April 2022, Wilmès announced that she would temporarily take a leave of absence and hand over her government responsibilities to spend more time with her family as her husband had been diagnosed with an aggressive brain tumour. Wilmès's responsibilities were shared out between the Prime MinisterAlexander De Croo (foreign affairs),David Clarinval (foreign trade) and Mathieu Michel (federal cultural entities).[18] On 14 July 2022, Wilmès resigned definitively as a member of the De Croo government, but she remained a member of parliament.[19]
On 24 January 2024, she is appointed leading candidate for the MR in theEuropean elections in place of Charles Michel, who had finally decided to withdraw his candidacy following a wave of criticism.[20] She received more than half a million preferential votes, breaking the record for preferential votes in French-speaking Belgium.[21] MR came out as the big winner in this election, well ahead of thePS, which had been given first place in the polls.[22]
In June 2024, Wilmès was considered for the presidency ofRenew Europe but she finally did not submit her candidacy, leaving the job toValérie Hayer.[23]
On July 16, 2024, she was elected Vice-President of the European Parliament during the first round, with 371 votes.[24]
In 2002, Wilmès marriedChris Stone, an Australian businessman and formerfootballer. They had three daughters: Victoria, Charlotte, and Elizabeth. Stone had a son, Jonathan, from a previous relationship.[26]
Shortly after the end of her term as prime minister, on 17 October 2020, she tweeted that she wasCOVID-19-positive.[27] On 22 October, she was admitted to intensive care in stable condition.[14] She was released from hospital on 30 October.[28]
In July 2022, Wilmès announced that she was stepping down from the government to care for her husband, who had been diagnosed with brain cancer.[29] Her husband died from his illness on 24 November 2023.[30]
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