European Union
President of the European Council’s Biography
Mr. Herman Van Rompuy was elected President of the European Council in November 2009 and officially took office on December 1
st
, 2009. ?He is the first full-time president of the European Council.
Mr. Van Rompuy was Prime Minister of Belgium in 2009. Prior to this, he served as President (Speaker) of the Chamber of Representatives. ?The President has held a number of portfolios in the Belgian Government, including Secretary of State for Finance (1988), Vice Prime Minister and Minister for Budget (1993-1999). ?He was Minister of State in 2004.
Mr. Van Rompuy worked as an economist in Belgium’s central bank before entering federal politics in 1975.? He has held a variety of positions within his party and in parliament, where he served in both the Senate (1988-1995) and the Chamber of Representatives (1995-2009).?
President of the European Commission’s Biography
Jose Manuel Durao Barroso took office as President of the European Commission in November 2004. He was re-elected for another five-year term by the European Parliament in September 2009.?
Mr. Barroso served as head of the International Relations Department of Lusiada University in Portugal from 1995 to 1999, and was a visiting professor at Georgetown University in the United States from 1996 to 1998.?
Mr. Barroso was first elected to the Portuguese Parliament in 1985. He served as State Secretary for Home Affairs, State Secretary for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, and Minister for Foreign Affairs in successive governments. In 1999, he was elected President of the Social Democratic Party (PSD) and became the Leader of the Opposition. Mr. Barroso led the PSD to a coalition government in 2002 and served as Prime Minister until 2004.