President of the European Commission

The President of the European Commission is the head of the European Commission. It is the executive branch of the European Union. The President of the Commission leads a cabinet of Commissioners. The President, is chosen by the Council and Parliament, and decides (with each country) who the other members are and what they do.

President of the European Commission
Emblem of the commission
Flag of Europe
Incumbent Ursula von der Leyen since 1 December 2019
European Commission
Style	President[1]
Status	Head of an Institution
Member of	European Commission European Council (non-voting)
Reports to	European Parliament European Council
Residence	Berlaymont building
Seat	Brussels, Belgium
Nominator	European Council
Appointer	European Parliament
Term length	Five years, renewable
Constituting instrument	Treaties of the European Union
Formation	1 January 1958
First holder	Walter Hallstein
Deputy	First Vice-President of the European Commission
Salary	€306,655 annually[2]
Website	ec.europa.eu

Background

The President of the Commission also represents the EU abroad, together with the President of the European Council and the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.

The post was established in 1958. Each new President is nominated by the European Council and formally elected by the European Parliament, for a five-year term.

The current President is Ursula von der Leyen, who took office on 1st December 2019. She is a member of the European People's Party (EPP) and is the former minister of defence of Germany.

Headquarters of the European Commission in Brussels (Berlaymont building)

List of presidents

Commission of the European Economic Community (1958–1967)

Portrait		Name (birth–death)	Term of office		Tenure	Commission	Party	Group	Country
		Walter Hallstein (1901–1982)	1 January 1958	5 July 1967	9 years, 185 days	Hallestein	CDU	CD	West Germany

Commission of the European Communities (1967–2009) and European Commission (2009–present)

Parties

  European People's Party   ALDE Party/ELDR Party   Party of European Socialists   European Progressive Democrats

Portrait		Name (birth–death)	Term of office		Tenure	Commission	Party	Group	Country	Electoral mandate
		Jean Rey (1902–1983)	5 July 1967	1 July 1970	2 years, 361 days	Rey	PRL	LIB	Belgium	–
		Franco Maria Malfatti (1927–1991)	1 July 1970	1 March 1972	1 year, 244 days	Malfatti	DC	CD	Italy	–
		Sicco Mansholt (1908–1995)	1 March 1972	5 January 1973	310 days	Mansholt	PvdA	SOC	Netherlands	–
		François-Xavier Ortoli (1925–2007)	5 January 1973	5 January 1977	4 years	Ortoli	UDR	EPD	France	–
		Roy Jenkins (1920–2003)	5 January 1977	19 January 1981	4 years, 14 days	Jenkins	Lab	SOC	United Kingdom	1979
		Gaston Thorn (1928–2007)	19 January 1981	6 January 1985	3 years, 353 days	Thorn	DP	LD	Luxembourg
		Jacques Delors (1925–2023)	6 January 1985	24 January 1995	10 years, 18 days	Delors	PS	SOC	France	1984 1989
		Jacques Santer (born 1937)	24 January 1995	15 March 1999[a]	4 years, 50 days	Santer	CSV	EPP	Luxembourg	1994
		Manuel Marín (interim) (1949–2017)	15 March 1999	17 September 1999	186 days	Santer	PSOE	SOC	Spain
		Romano Prodi (born 1939)	17 September 1999	22 November 2004	5 years, 66 days	Prodi	Dem	ELDR	Italy	1999
		José Manuel Barroso (born 1956)	22 November 2004	1 November 2014	9 years, 344 days	Barroso	PSD	EPP	Portugal	2004 2009
		Jean-Claude Juncker (born 1954)	1 November 2014	30 November 2019	5 years, 29 days	Juncker	CSV	EPP	Luxembourg	2014
		Ursula von der Leyen (born 1958)	1 December 2019	Incumbent	4 years, 353 days	von der Leyen	CDU	EPP	Germany	2019

Notes

1. Santer resigned before his mandate expired. His commission served in caretaker capacity under Marín till September. Replaced by Prodi, who completed Santer's mandate to 22 January 2000, when they were reappointed on their own mandate.

References

1. English Style Guide: A handbook for authors and translators in the European Commission (PDF) (8 ed.). European Commission. October 2019. p. 119. Retrieved 2 December 2019.
2. "European Commission salaries" (PDF). European Voice (Supplement: The Companion to the European Commission). Politico: 56. February 2015. Retrieved 19 June 2015.

Other websites

• Commission President (official website)
• Terms of office Archived 2013-01-06 at Archive.today
• Organisation of the European Commission CVCE (Previously : European NAvigator)
• Presidential candidates debate 2014