EU-US Summit Facts Brief No. 1
Attachment
BIOGRAPHIES OF KEY EU PERSONALITIES
ATTENDING THIS SUMMIT
Jean Claude Juncker
Prime Minister of Luxembourg
President of the European Council
Jean Claude Juncker became Prime Minister of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg
in January 1995. He also serves as Minister of Finance and Minister of
Labor, positions he has held since the new government took office in July
1994. In the 1989-1994 government, he was Minister of Finance, Budget
and Labor, and in the previous 1984-89 government, he was Minister of
Labor and Deputy Minister of Finance in charge of Budget Affairs.
Since July 1997, when Luxembourg assumed the EU Council Presidency, Mr.
Juncker has been President of the European Council of Heads of State and
Government. During Luxembourg's previous terms in the presidency, Mr.
Juncker has presided over Council of Ministers meetings on Economic and
Finance, Social Affairs and Budget.
Mr. Juncker became a member of the Luxembourg Government in 1982 when
he became State Secretary for Labor and Social Security. Prior to his
entry into government, he was parliamentary secretary of the Christian
Social Party, of which he was President from 1990-95.
Mr. Juncker is a Governor of the International Monetary Fund, of the
European Investment Bank, and of the European Bank for Reconstruction
and Development.
Prime Minister Juncker graduated in law from the University of Strasbourg
in 1979. He was born in Redange-sur-Attert, Luxembourg on December 9,
1954.
Jacques Poos
Vice Prime Minister of Luxembourg
Minister of Foreign Affairs
President of the EU Council of Ministers
Jacques Poos was appointed for the third time to the positions of Vice
Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Trade and
Cooperation of Luxembourg in 1994. In the previous 1984-1989 and 1989-94
governments, he also held these positions, and served in addition as Minister
of Defense in his second term. He also served as Finance Minister from
1976-1979.
On the parliamentary side, Mr. Poos was elected to the House of Representatives
for the Socialist Labor Party in 1974. He was first elected to local government
in 1969, as Coucilman for the city of Esch-sur- Alzette.
Mr. Poos has also been a commentator of his
country's political life. In 1964, after three years at the Ministry of
Economics, he joined the newspaper "Tageblatt," and was its editor for twelve years. He was elected
President of the Luxembourg Association of Newspaper Editors and remained
in the position until his appointment as Finance Minister in 1976. During
this period, he published many books on economic and financial subjects.
Mr. Poos has also been associated with the promotion of the financial
sector in Luxembourg, and has served as Director of the Continental Bank
of Luxembourg and PARIBAS.
Jacques Poos obtained a Doctorate in Economic and Commercial Sciences
in 1961. For his thesis, he examined the topic "Luxembourg in the
Common Market." He was born in Luxembourg in 1935.
Jacques Santer
President
European Commission
Jacques Santer has been President of the European Commission since January
1995. During his five-year term, he holds overall responsibility in a
number of areas including monetary affairs (in cooperation with Commissioner
de Silguy), institutional affairs and the Intergovernmental Conference
(in cooperation with Commissioner Oreja) and external relations and human
rights (in cooperation with Commissioner van den Broek).
Before becoming President of the European Commission in January 1995,
Jacques Santer had been Prime Minister of Luxembourg since 1985. After
his reelection in 1989, he was also Minister of the Treasury and Minister
for Cultural Affairs. In his first term (1984-1989) he served additionally
as Minister of Finance and Telecommunications.
A Doctor of Laws and a graduate of the Institute of the Political Science
(Paris), Santer has been involved in the highest levels of European as
well as national politics most of his professional life. He has twice
been President of the European Council (in 1985 and 1991). In 1980 he
chaired the Council's meetings on Finance and Social Affairs while he
was Luxembourg's Minister for Finance, Labor and Social Security (1979-1984).
Mr. Santer was appointed to a four-year term at the European Parliament
in 1974 and was reelected in 1979 and 1984. Prior to that he served as
Luxembourg's State Secretary for Social Security and Cultural Affairs
from 1972-1974. His first major appointment in national politics was to
the Cabinet for Labor and Social Security from 1965 to 1972, during which
time he was also Parliamentary Secretary and Secretary-General of the
Christian Social Party. He served as President of the party in 1974.
Jacques Santer is married and has two children. He was born in May 1937.
Sir Leon Brittan
Vice President
European Commission
Sir Leon Brittan began his third term as Member of the European Commission
in January 1995 and was appointed one of its two Vice Presidents in February.
During his current five-year mandate, he will serve as EU External Relations
Commissioner for North America and parts of Asia (including Japan and
China), and is also responsible for the EU's common trade policy, relations
with the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the Organization for Economic
Cooperation and Development (OECD). In his second term (1993-1994), he
was EU Commissioner for External Economic Affairs and was the EU's chief
negotiator in the Uruguay Round. He was first appointed to the Commission
in 1989. In his first term (1989-1992) he was responsible for Competition
and Financial Services.
Sir Leon, who was a Conservative member of the British Parliament from
1974-1988, held several Cabinet posts in the British Government. He served
as Secretary of State for Industry and Trade (1985-1986), Home Secretary
(1983-1985), Chief Secretary to the Treasury (1981-1983), and Minister
of State at the Home Office (1979-1981).
Born in London on September 25, 1939, Sir Leon was educated at Trinity
College, Cambridge, and was a Henry Fellow at Yale University. In 1962,
he was called to the Bar and in 1978 received the prestigious appointment
as Queen's Counsel. In 1983, he became a member of the governing board
of the Inner Temple, one of London's four unincorporated legal societies.
Sir Leon is married and has two stepdaughters. He was knighted in January
1989.
Back to EU-US Summit Index
