Description
For most of its history, the public figurehead of what is now the European Union has been the President of the European Commission. In this volume, the editors have for the first time assembled a complete collection of specially written concise political biographies of all eleven of the Presidents from Walter Hallstein (1958-1967) to José Manuel Barroso (2004-2014), exploring their successes, failures, impact and legacy.
This portfolio of mini-biographies makes fascinating reading in its own right, and to this the editors have added a thematic overview, drawing out the many similarities and contrasts between the Presidents and providing some general conclusions about what one President, Roy Jenkins, termed ‘an impossible job’.
This is a book of relevance to all who are interested in the history of the EU and its institutions and wish to understand how it got to where it is today.
Table of Contents
Introduction, by Jan Werts
- Walter Hallstein (1958-1967): the founding President, by Wilfried Loth
- Jean Rey (1967-1970): Europe whenever possible, by Vincent Dujardin and Marie Scheid
- Franco Maria Malfatti (1970-1972): an uncompleted presidency, by Antonio Varsori
- Sicco Mansholt (1972-1973): high-profile substitute, by Johan van Merriënboer
- François-Xavier Ortoli (1973-1977): ‘drifting with the tide’, by Laurent Warlouzet
- Roy Jenkins (1977-1981): ‘My fear always is that we shall go too slow’, by Melissa Yeager
- Gaston Thorn (1981-1985): a forgotten President, by Klaus Schwabe
- Jacques Delors (1985-1995): navigating the European stream at full flow, by N. Piers Ludlow
- Jacques Santer (1995-1999): President of the Commission in times of transition, by Michael Gehler
- Romano Prodi (1999-2004): so much to do at such a critical time, by Laura Fasanaro and Leopoldo Nuti
- José Manuel Barroso (2004-2014): the cautious reformer in troubled times, by Anjo G. Harryvan and Jan van der Harst
- Conclusion: an impossible job? by Gerrit Voerman and Jan van der Harst
- Index
- 16 pages of illustrations
About Jan van der Harst and Gerrit Voerman
Jan van der Harst is professor in the history and theory of European integration, and holder of the Jean Monnet chair, at the University of Groningen, Netherlands.
Gerrit Voerman is director of the Documentation Centre Dutch Political Parties at the University of Groningen, Netherlands, where he is professor in Dutch and European party systems.
Product Details
- Publication Date
- 7 May 2015
- Format
- Paperback
- Ebook
- Page Count
- 324
- ISBN
- 9780957150164
Buy An Impossible Job? –The Presidents of the European Commission, 1958-2014
- ISBN
- 9780957150164
Ebook (PDF)
£25.00
Do you work in an EU institution, body or delegation? If so, we recommend European Bookshop. They will safely deliver your book via the EU internal mail service free of charge, in Brussels, Luxembourg or anywhere else worldwide. You just need to specify your institution and office details when you order.
European Bookshop (Brussels)