The men (and very few women) who appoint the Commission president
The men (and very few women) who appoint the Commission president
A look at the composition of the European Councils that have decided who should be the European Commission president.
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The European Council that will meet this week to choose the next president of the European Commission will be a group of 28 national leaders (23 men and five women), with an average age of 52, presided over by a 66-year-old man, Herman Van Rompuy, an ex-prime minister. They are expected to appoint Jean-Claude Juncker, a 59-year-old ex-prime minister.
In March 1999, the European Council chose Romano Prodi, a 59-year-old ex-prime minister, to be the next Commission president. At that stage the European Council included 15 national leaders (15 men and no women) with an average age of 52.8 years.
In June 2004, 24 men and one woman, with an average age of 53.8 years, chose José Manuel Barroso, a 48-year-old serving prime minister. In June 2009, 26 men and one woman, opted to re-appoint Barroso, a 53-year-old ex-prime minister.
Below, we present graphically the membership of the European Council, marked by age, gender and political affiliation, for this week’s meeting and the meetings of June 2009 and June 2004 that decided on Commission presidents. For simplicity’s sake, we exclude the president of the Commission, although he is a member of the European Council.
European Council 26-27 June 2014
Austria Werner Faymann (PES) 54
Belgium Elio Di Rupo (PES) 62
Bulgaria Plamen Oresharski (PES) 54
Croatia Zoran Milanovic (PES) 47
Cyprus Nicos Anastasiades (EPP) 67
Czech Republic Bohuslav Sobotka (PES) 42
Denmark Helle Thorning-Schmidt (PES) 47
Estonia Taavi Rõivas (ALDE) 34
Finland Alexander Stubb (EPP) 46
France François Hollande (PES) 59
Germany Angela Merkel (EPP) 59
Greece Antonis Samaras (EPP) 63
Hungary Viktor Orbán (EPP) 51
Ireland Enda Kenny (EPP) 63
Italy Matteo Renzi (PES) 39
Latvia Laimdota Straujuma (EPP) 63
Lithuania Dalia Grybauskaite (None) 58
Luxembourg Xavier Bettel (ALDE) 41
Malta Joseph Muscat (PES) 40
The Netherlands Mark Rutte (ALDE) 47
Poland Donald Tusk (EPP) 57
Portugal Pedro Passos Coelho (EPP) 49
Romania Traian Basescu (EPP) 62
Slovakia Robert Fico (PES) 49
Slovenia Alenka Bratušek (None) 44
Spain Mariano Rajoy (EPP) 59
Sweden Fredrik Reinfeldt (EPP) 48
UK David Cameron (ECR) 47
(12 EPP, 10 PES, 3 ALDE, 1 ECR, 2 no affiliation)
European Council 18-19 June 2009
Austria Werner Faymann (PES) 49
Belgium Herman Van Rompuy (EPP) 61
Bulgaria Sergei Stanishev (PES) 43
Cyprus Demetris Christofias (EL) 62
Czech Republic Jan Fischer (None) 58
Denmark Lars Løkke Rasmussen (ALDE) 45
Estonia Andrus Ansip (ALDE) 52
Finland Matti Vanhanen (ALDE) 53
France Nicolas Sarkozy (EPP) 54
Germany Angela Merkel (EPP) 54
Greece George Papandreou (PES) 57
Hungary Gordon Bajnai (PES) 41
Ireland Brian Cowen (ALDE) 49
Italy Silvio Berlusconi (EPP) 72
Latvia Valdis Dombrovskis (EPP) 37
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Lithuania Valdas Adamkus (None) 82
Luxembourg Jean-Claude Juncker (EPP) 54
Malta Lawrence Gonzi (EPP) 55
The Netherlands Jan Peter Balkenende (EPP) 53
Poland Donald Tusk (EPP) 52
Portugal José Sócrates (PES) 51
Romania Traian Basescu (EPP) 57
Slovakia Robert Fico (PES) 44
Slovenia Borut Pahor (PES) 45
Spain José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero (PES) 48
Sweden Fredrik Reinfeldt (EPP) 43
UK Gordon Brown (PES) 58
(10 EPP, 9 PES, 5 ALDE, 1 EL, 2 no affiliation)
European Council 29 June 2004
Austria Wolfgang Schüssel (EPP) 59
Belgium Guy Verhofstadt (ALDE) 51
Cyprus Tassos Papadopoulos (PES) 70
Czech Republic Vladimír Špidla (PES) 53
Denmark Anders Fogh Rasmussen (ALDE) 51
Estonia Juhan Parts (EPP) 37
Finland Matti Vanhanen (ALDE) 48
France Jacques Chirac (EPP) 71
Germany Gerhard Schröder (PES) 60
Greece Konstantinos Karamanlis (EPP) 47
Hungary Péter Medgyessy (None) 61
Ireland Bertie Ahern (ALDE) 52
Italy Silvio Berlusconi (EPP) 67
Latvia Indulis Emsis (Green) 52
Lithuania Algirdas Brazauskas (PES) 71
Luxembourg Jean-Claude Juncker (EPP) 49
Malta Lawrence Gonzi (EPP) 50
The Netherlands Jan Peter Balkenende (EPP) 48
Poland Marek Belka (PES) 52
Portugal José Manuel Barroso (EPP) 48
Slovakia Mikuláš Dzurinda (EPP) 49
Slovenia Anton Rop (ALDE) 43
Spain José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero (PES) 43
Sweden Laila Freivalds (PES) 62
UK Tony Blair (PES) 51
(10 EPP, 8 PES, 5 ALDE, 1 Green, 1 no affiliation)