Political Leaders of the European Union

The European Union (EU) was created by the Treaty of Maastricht on February 7, 1992. Its institutions are largely based on its predecessor, the European Economic Community (EEC). The latter, founded by the Treaty of Rome on March 25, 1957, created a common market between its original six members which later expanded to twelve. Since 1992, the EU added a significant political dimension to the previous EEC. The 27 member states retain their sovereignty in matters that are not explicitly devolved to the EU - notably in fiscal and social matters. The EU itself has authority in a complex set of exclusive and shared competences. Its institutional powers revolve around:

• The European Council (political arm, based in Brussels), which includes the heads of government of each member state, chaired by a permanent President of the European Council (prior to 2009, the presidency was rotating every six months);
• The European Commission (executive arm, based in Brussels), which comprises a number of appointed commissioners running specific departments, chaired by the President of the European Commission;
• The European Parliament (legislative arm, based in Brussels and Strasbourg), the only institution elected directly by the European citizens;
• The Council of the European Union (semi-legislative), the ad-hoc institution that brings together the ministers of each member state around specific areas and is part of the legislative process (together with the European Parliament, it functions similar to traditional bicameral systems);
• The Court of Justice of the European Union (judicial branch, based in Luxembourg), focuses exclusively on disputes between member states and on the interpretation and application of the foundational treaties of the EU.

Presidents of the European Council

1. 1975 : Liam Cosgrave (Jan–Jun)
2. 1975 : Aldo Moro (Jul–Dec)
3. 1976 : Gaston Thorn (Jan–Jun)
4. 1976 : Joop den Uyl (Jul–Dec)
5. 1977 : James Callaghan (Jan–Jun)
6. 1977 : Jack Lynch (Jul–Dec)
7. 1978 : Anker Jørgensen (Jan–Jun)
8. 1978 : Helmut Schmidt (Jul–Dec)
9. 1979 : Valéry Giscard d'Estaing (Jan–Jun)
10. 1979 : Jack Lynch (Jul–Dec)
11. 1980 : Francesco Cossiga (Jan–Jun)
12. 1980 : Pierre Werner (Jul–Dec)
13. 1981 : Dries van Agt (Jan–Jun)
14. 1981 : Margaret Thatcher (Jul–Dec)
15. 1982 : Wilfried Martens (Jan–Jun)
16. 1982 : Poul Schlüter (Jul–Dec)
17. 1983 : Helmut Kohl (Jan–Jun)
18. 1983 : Andreas Papandreou (Jul–Dec)
19. 1984 : François Mitterrand (Jan–Jun)
20. 1984 : Garret FitzGerald (Jul–Dec)
21. 1985 : Bettino Craxi (Jan–Jun)
22. 1985 : Jacques Santer (Jul–Dec)
23. 1986 : Ruud Lubbers (Jan–Jun)
24. 1986 : Margaret Thatcher (Jul–Dec)
25. 1987 : Wilfried Martens (Jan–Jun)
26. 1987 : Poul Schlüter (Jul–Dec)
27. 1988 : Helmut Kohl (Jan–Jun)
28. 1988 : Andreas Papandreou (Jul–Dec)
29. 1989 : Felipe González (Jan–Jun)
30. 1989 : François Mitterrand (Jul–Dec)
31. 1990 : Charles Haughey (Jan–Jun)
32. 1990 : Giulio Andreotti (Jul–Dec)
33. 1991 : Jacques Santer (Jan–Jun)
34. 1991 : Ruud Lubbers (Jul–Dec)
35. 1992 : Aníbal Cavaco Silva (Jan–Jun)
36. 1992 : John Major (Jul–Dec)
37. 1993 : Poul Nyrup Rasmussen (Jan–Jun)
38. 1993 : Jean-Luc Dehaene (Jul–Dec)
39. 1994 : Andreas Papandreou (Jan–Jun)
40. 1994 : Helmut Kohl (Jul–Dec)
41. 1995 : Jacques Chirac (Jan–Jun)
42. 1995 : Felipe González (Jul–Dec)
43. 1996 : Romano Prodi (Jan–Jun)
44. 1996 : John Bruton (Jul–Dec)
45. 1997 : Wim Kok (Jan–Jun)
46. 1997 : Jean-Claude Juncker (Jul–Dec)
47. 1998 : Tony Blair (Jan–Jun)
48. 1998 : Viktor Klima (Jul–Dec)
49. 1999 : Gerhard Schröder (Jan–Jun)
50. 1999 : Paavo Lipponen (Jul–Dec)
51. 2000 : António Guterres (Jan–Jun)
52. 2000 : Jacques Chirac (Jul–Dec)
53. 2001 : Göran Persson (Jan–Jun)
54. 2001 : Guy Verhofstadt (Jul–Dec)
55. 2002 : José María Aznar (Jan–Jun)
56. 2002 : Anders Fogh Rasmussen (Jul–Dec)
57. 2003 : Costas Simitis (Jan–Jun)
58. 2003 : Silvio Berlusconi (Jul–Dec)
59. 2004 : Bertie Ahern (Jan–Jun)
60. 2004 : Jan Pieter Balkenende (Jul–Dec)
61. 2005 : Jean-Claude Juncker (Jan–Jun)
62. 2005 : Tony Blair (Jul–Dec)
63. 2006 : Wolfgang Schüssel (Jan–Jun)
64. 2006 : Matti Vanhanen (Jul–Dec)
65. 2007 : Angela Merkel (Jan–Jun)
66. 2007 : José Sócrates (Jul–Dec)
67. 2008 : Janez Janša (Jan–Jun)
68. 2008 : Nicolas Sarkozy (Jul–Dec)
69. 2009 : Mirek Topolánek (Jan–May)
70. 2009 : Jan Fischer (May-Jun)
71. 2009 : Fredrik Reinfeldt (Jul-Dec)
72. 2009-2014 : Herman van Rompuy (First permanent President)
73. 2014-0000 : Donald Tusk

Presidents of the European Commission

1. 1958-1967 : Walter Hallstein
2. 1967-1970 : Jean Rey
3. 1970-1972 : Franco Maria Malfatti
4. 1972-1973 : Sicco Mansholt
5. 1973-1977 : François-Xavier Ortoli
6. 1977-1981 : Roy Jenkins
7. 1981-1985 : Gaston Thorn
8. 1985-1995 : Jacques Delors
9. 1995-1999 : Jacques Santer
10. 1999-1999 : Manuel Marin
11. 1999-2004 : Romano Prodi
12. 2004-2014 : José Manuel Barroso
13. 2014-0000 : Jean Claude Juncker

Presidents of the European Parliament

1. 1952–1954 : Paul-Henri Spaak
2. 1954-1954 : Alcide De Gasperi
3. 1954–1956 : Giuseppe Pella
4. 1956–1958 : Hans Furler
5. 1958–1960 : Robert Schuman
6. 1960–1962 : Hans Furler
7. 1962–1964 : Gaetano Martino
8. 1964–1965 : Jean Duvieusart
9. 1965–1966 : Victor Leemans
10. 1966–1969 : Alain Poher
11. 1969–1971 : Mario Scelba
12. 1971–1973 : Walter Behrendt
13. 1973–1975 : Cornelis Berkhouwer
14. 1975–1977 : Georges Spénale
15. 1977–1979 : Emilio Colombo
16. 1979–1982 : Simone Veil
17. 1982–1984 : Piet Dankert
18. 1984–1987 : Pierre Pflimlin
19. 1987–1989 : Charles Henry Plumb
20. 1989–1992 : Enrique Barón Crespo
21. 1992–1994 : Egon Klepsch
22. 1994–1997 : Klaus Hänsch
23. 1997–1999 : José María Gil-Robles
24. 1999–2002 : Nicole Fontaine
25. 2002–2004 : Pat Cox
26. 2004–2007 : Josep Borrell
27. 2007–2009 : Hans-Gert Pöttering
28. 2009–2012 : Jerzy Buzek
29. 2012–0000 : Martin Schulz

Presidents of the European Court of Justice

1. 1952–1958 : Massimo Pilotti
2. 1958–1964 : Andreas Matthias Donner
3. 1964–1967 : Charles Léon Hammes
4. 1967–1976 : Robert Lecourt
5. 1976–1980 : Hans Kutscher
6. 1980–1984 : Josse Mertens de Wilmars
7. 1984–1988 : John Mackenzie-Stuart
8. 1988–1994 : Ole Due
9. 1994–2003 : Gil Carlos Rodriguez Iglesias
10. 2003–0000 : Vassilios Skouris