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Barroso, president of European Commission
News Date: 29th November 2009
Jose Manuel Durao Barroso, president of the European Commission (EC), will attend the 12th China-EU summit later this month in Nanjing, China's Jiangsu province.
Born in Lisbon, capital of Portugal, on March 23, 1956, Barroso graduated from the Faculty of Law of the University of Lisbon as a law major. He gained a Master's degree of science in Economics and Social Sciences from the University of Geneva in Switzerland. His academic life continues as a teacher and researcher in many universities, including the University of Lisbon.
In December 1980, Barroso became a member of the Portuguese Democratic Popular Party, which was renamed as the Social Democratic Party. He was
elected a member of the Portuguese Parliament and named Under-Secretary of State of the Ministry of Home Affairs in 1985.
Barroso was appointed Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation in 1987, a post which he held for five years. He was promoted to
the office of Minister of Foreign Affairs in 1992.
Elected president of the Social Democratic Party in 1999, Barroso led his party to election victory and became prime minister in April 2002.
In June 2004, proposed as a consensus candidate by the European People's Party, Barroso was appointed president-designate of the European
Commision. He was endorsed by the European Parliament and became the president of EC in July 2004.
On June 17, 2009, the European Union (EU) unanimously backed him for a second five-year term as EC president.
Barroso has visited China three times as Portuguese foreign minister. As EC president, he also traveled to China in 2005 and 2008.
In October 2008, he attended the seventh Asia-Europe Meeting, held in China. He has also attended five China-EU Summits, from the seventh to the 11th.
Source: Xinhua/GNA
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