Dr Ana Palacio was the Spanish Minister for Foreign Affairs in the People’s Party government of José María Aznar from 2002-2004. Prior to this she served as a Member of the European Parliament for eight years where she has held the positions of Chairman of the Judicial Affairs and Internal Market Committee, of the Freedom & Civil Rights Committee and of the Justice and Internal Affairs Committee. In February 2010, Ana Palacio was appointed special advisor on Justice, Fundamental Rights and Citizenship to the European Commission.
She has been a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council since July 2008 and a member of the Board of the Atlantic Council of the United States since March 2008. Since September 2004, she has been a Professor at the Collegio Europeo di Parma, where she teaches a course on the EU founding treaties.
She is also a member of the Advisory Board for the European Leadership Network (ELN).
