Wilfried Achiel Emma Martens (Dutch: [ˈʋɪlfrit ˈmɑrtəns] ⓘ; 19 April 1936 – 9 October 2013) was a Belgian politician who served as prime minister of Belgium from 1979 to 1981 and from 1981 to 1992.

Martens was born on 19 April 1936 in the village of Sleidinge, East Flanders, the son of modest small farmers.

His period in office was dominated by the economic crisis of the 1980s and the state reforms of 1980 and 1988 which set Belgium on a path to federalism.

Martens also negotiated with Finnish politician Sauli Niinistö the merger of the European Democrat Union (EDU) into the EPP (formally concluded in 2002).

Martens held a doctorate in law, a degree in notarial studies, as well as a baccalaureate in Thomistic philosophy from the Catholic University of Louvain.

Martens had five children: two from his first marriage with Lieve Verschroeven (Kris and Anne) and three with Ilse Schouteden (Sarah, Sophie and Simon).

[3][4] Elio Di Rupo, the Belgian prime minister, described him as a "true statesman and one of the fathers of federal Belgium".