de Boissieu, Pierre (1945 - )
Deputy Secretary-General in the Council who leads the Council Secretariat and assists the shifting presidencies. At present the presidency changes every 6 months.
Javier Solana is formally the secretary-general in the Council. His main job is to be the High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy and he has therefore no time for the ordinary Council work.
De Boissieu is a former permanent representative of France in Brussels and he is the grand-nephew of the former French president Charles de Gaulle.
Notes
- De Boissieu was appointed as a result of a Franco-German deal. When he was elected 13 member states preferred thet hen Danish permanent representative, Poul Skytte Christoffersen. Only two, Germany and France, wanted de Boissieu. The Frenchman won the post with these 2 supporters - against 13.
The future
This post may be appointed by a qualified majority according to the Lisbon Treaty.
