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Ana Palacio      

Former Foreign Minister of Spain

Ana Palacio was the first woman in charge of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Spanish Government, a position she held from 2002 to 2004. The Wall Street Journal considered her among the 75 world opinion leaders in 2004, and also among the 12 most influential global players in business.

Between 1994 and 2002, Ana was Member of the European Parliament, where she served as Chairman of the Committee on Legal Affairs and Internal Market and, subsequently, the Committee on Justice and Home Affairs. In 2006, she was appointed Senior Vice President of the World Bank, becoming the highest authority on legal affairs within the financial body, besides being one of the main advisors to the institution in the management area.

In 2008, she was appointed Executive Vice President of the French group AREVA, a world leader in nuclear energy, with broad responsibilities in areas such as marketing and international relations, a position she held until 2009. She also served on the Board of Directors of Pharmamar (2009) and has been member of the Advisory Board of Investcorp (2008); the International Council of Anadarko Petroleum Corporation (2008) and has been member of the Board of Directors of Hidroeléctrica del Cantábrico (2012).

Since 2010, she has been a member of the committee to select judges and advocates general of the Court of Justice and the General Court of the European Union. Since 2012, she has been the Elective Councillor at the Spanish State Council. Beginning in 2013, she became a member of the Advisory Group for Foreign Policy and Security created by Herman Van Rompuy. She also on the board of various think tanks and public institutions including Carnegie Corporation, Council on Foreign Relations, European Council on Foreign Relations, Aspen Institute Italia, and Institute for Strategic Dialogue.

Speech Topics


The European Union

Justice & Human Rights

Legal Legitimacy

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