Jacques Santer

Jacques Santer
President of the European Commission
In office 25 January 1995 – 15 March 1999
Preceded by	Jacques Delors
Succeeded by	Manuel Marín
Prime Minister of Luxembourg
In office 20 July 1984 – 26 January 1995
Monarch	Jean
Preceded by	Pierre Werner
Succeeded by	Jean-Claude Juncker
Personal details
Born	(1937-05-18) 18 May 1937 Wasserbillig, Luxembourg
Political party	Christian Social People's
Religion	Roman Catholicism

Jacques Santer (born 18 May 1937 in Wasserbillig) is a Luxembourg politician.

He was finance minister of Luxembourg from 1979 until 1989, and the 22nd Prime Minister of Luxembourg from 1984 to 1995, as a member of the Christian Social People's Party, which has been the leading party in the Luxembourg government since 1979. As Prime Minister of Luxembourg he also led the negotiations on the Single European Act, which effectively set aside the 20-year-old Luxembourg Compromise. He was the President of the European Commission from 1995 to 1999.

Career

He graduated in 1959 from the Paris Institute of Political Studies, and received his doctorate in law in 1961. From 1972 to 1974 he was a junior minister in the government. From 1979 to 1984 he was Minister of Finance, Minister for Work and Minister for Social Security, under Pierre Werner, in the coalition government between the Christian Social People's Party (CSV) and the liberal Democratic Party.

After the general election of 1984, Pierre Werner retired as Prime Minister and from political life in general, and Santer became the new Prime Minister. He and the CSV now formed a new coalition with the Luxembourg Socialist Workers' Party (LSAP), which had come out of the elections as the second-largest party in the legislature, beating the Democratic Party into third place; the CSV remained the largest party. This CSV / LSAP coalition was to last until 1999.

1990s

Revelation of a stay-behind network in Luxembourg

On November 10, 1990 an article appeared in the newspaper vum Lëtzebuerger Vollek, which translates into "Five years of state secret - The bombing NATO terror commando" that caused a parliament inquiry in which Santer was forced to reveal the existence of a stay-behind army in Luxembourg and being politically responsible to call for its dissolution. The organisation was active since its creation by the then prime minister Pierre Werner in 1959 and was organised by the secret service of Luxembourg, the Service de Renseignement de l'Etat (SREL) and coordinated by the NATO. On December 17, 1990 he told the constitutional committee the organisation had never more than 12 members and was only foreseen to handle intelligence operations, as well as escape and evasion manoeuvers. There were weapons caches established in 1973, but direct access would not have been granted, according to Santer. On October 14, 1990 the remaining members of the organisation were informed and requested to return their radio communication equipment.

Presidency of the European Commission

File:Jacques Santer and Yves-Thibault de Silguy presenting the euro.jpg

The euro was introduced as common currency in most member states. (De Silguy and Santer displaying the €1 coin in 1998)

Santer became the ninth President of the European Commission in 1995 as a compromise choice between the United Kingdom and a Franco-German alliance, after the Franco-German nominee Jean-Luc Dehaene was vetoed by British prime minister John Major. Santer selection was barely ratified by a European Parliament upset with the process for which Commission presidents are selected.

In the same year, 1995, Santer became the first recipient of the Vision for Europe Award.

Allegations of corruption concerning individual EU-commissioners led to an investigation into administrative failings (incompetence and malpractice) by an independent group of experts. Despite clearing most commissioners, the report stated that they had not found a single person showing the slightest sense of responsibility. Because the implicated commissioners refused to resign and because the President of the European Commission did not have the power to dismiss individual commissioners, Santer and his entire commission resigned on 15 March 1999, the very day of the report's publication (see Santer Commission: Resignation).

2000 to now

From 1999 until 2004, Santer was a member of the European Parliament. He also was on General Mediterranean Holdings' board, a financial holding owned by Anglo-Iraqi Nadhmi Auchi.

He is currently President of Group Europe, a member section of the Union of European Federalists. He also sits on the board of directors of RTL Group, an international TV broadcasting and production company.

On Monday 23 January 2012, Jacques Santer was appointed to head the board of the Special Purpose Investment Vehicle (SPIV), which is designed to boost the firepower of the European Financial Stability Facility, the eurozone rescue fund.

In May 2013, Santer became Honorary Member of SME Europe, the official pro-business organisation of the European People's Party.

See also

• List of Prime Ministers of Luxembourg
• Santer-Poos Ministry I
• Santer-Poos Ministry II
• Santer-Poos Ministry III
• Santer Commission

References

Political offices
Preceded by Jacques Poos	Minister for Finances 1979–1989	Succeeded by Jean-Claude Juncker
Preceded by Pierre Werner	Prime Minister of Luxembourg 1984–1995	Succeeded by Jean-Claude Juncker
Preceded by Jacques Delors	President of the European Commission 1995–1999	Succeeded by Manuel Marín
Party political offices
Preceded by Nicolas Mosar	President of the CSV 1974–1982	Succeeded by Jean Spautz