Herman Van Rompuy was indeed the first full-time President of the European Council. The position was created by the Lisbon Treaty, which came into force on December 1, 2009. Van Rompuy was elected to the role on November 19, 2009, and took office on December 1, 2009. Prior to this, the European Council was chaired by the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union (i.e., the head of state or government of the member state holding the rotating presidency). The Lisbon Treaty established the permanent, full-time President of the European Council, and Van Rompuy was the first person to hold this position, serving from December 1, 2009, until November 30, 2014. The official website of the Council of the European Union explicitly confirms this. Sources: - Council of the European Union — Herman Van Rompuy, 2009-2014 (https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/european-council/former-euco-presidents/herman-van-rompuy/) - Council of the European Union — Biography of Herman Van Rompuy (https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/european-council/former-euco-presidents/herman-van-rompuy/biography/) - EUR-Lex — European Council Decision of 1 December 2009 electing the President of the European Council (https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX%3A32009D0879) - CVCE — Address by Herman Van Rompuy on his election as President of the European Council, 19 November 2009 (https://www.cvce.eu/en/obj/address_by_herman_van_rompuy_on_his_election_as_president_of_the_european_council_19_november_2009-en-b3930a34-920f-420b-870f-ada796ec2b9c.html)