Barroso, José Manuel (1965 - )
President of the European Commission, elected in July 2004 to succeed Romano Prodi. Appointed unanimously by the heads of states for a second period from 2009.
Was approved by the European Parliament in September 2009.
Barroso holds degrees in law and political science, and had been Prime Minister of Portugal since 2002 before he resigned following his nomination as Commission President. Barroso was also Vice-President of the European People's Party EPP from 1999 until 2002.
He authored a number of publications on political science, international relations and European Union issues, and published several articles on political science and international relations in various Portuguese and international collections, encyclopaedias and academic journals.
Speaking after his approval by the European Parliament, Mr Barroso emphasised his belief in Europe and his strong European convictions. He promised that he would build bridges beyond the old left-right divide and between the pro and anti-EU factions.
José Manuel Barroso was born in Lisbon on 23 March 1956. He is married to Margarida Sousa Uva and has three children. One of his early actions as Commission President was to deliver a list giving details of 3,094 hitherto secret workgroups advising or set up by the Commission. See Bonde list
Links
http://ec.europa.eu/Commission_Barroso/president/index_en.htm