The normally quiet and serious leader of the European Council Herman Van Rompuy, has a double life as a budding poet.

He revealed his first collection of Haiku poems at a book launch in Brussels on Thursday.

"A poet remains best away from politics," the former Belgian prime minister said. "A haiku poet, in politics cannot be extravagant, nor super-vain, nor extremist," he added, with a nod to his own political style.

Love of haiku

The 62-year-old Belgian politician, economist and philosopher is well known in Brussels for his love of the 17-syllable Japanese poems. He had previously published the haiku on his personal blog, but now a selection will appear in hardback.

The 40 or so poems in the anthology, written over the past six years, are collated under chapter headings such as 'seasons', 'moments' and 'on the road.'

Van Rompuy's love of haiku was noticed by the press, and he said that after his interest became public knowledge, there had been calls for him to publish some of his work.

Only 2,500 copies of the book have been produced. The poems have been published in his native Dutch and translated into English, French and Latin.

'Need for simplicity'

In the preface to the short hardback, Van Rompuy said he was drawn to haiku for its simplicity, compact use of language and its concentration on nature.

"In a nearby ditch / Toads mating passionately / Inaugurate spring," reads one of Van Rompuy's haiku.

"Our time is in need of simplicity," said Van Rompuy at the launch of his haiku anthology. "Moreover, haiku is brief, which is convenient for people who have no time to labour over long poems," he adds in the preface.

Van Rompuy was chosen to be president of the European Council – effectively a president for the 27 countries in the EU – at a summit in November 2009. He was not a prominent European personality before taking on the role and was seen as a surprise choice.

He has been criticized for being boring, however his poems have attracted many Internet fans, including some Japanese masters of the haiku poem.

"I don't think I will set a trend" at the EU, Van Rompuy said of his hobby.

cb/Reuters/AP/dpa
Editor: Chuck Penfold