Former President of the European Commission (7 January 1985 – 24 January 1995)
Member State: France
Political Party: Socialist Party
Date of birth: 20 July 1925

From 1945 to 1962, Delors worked for the Bank of France before joining the General Planning Agency. He also served as an advisor to Prime Minister Jacques Chaban-Delmas and as Economics and Finance Minister.  At European level, he served in the European Parliament from 1979 to 1981. He was also behind the European Social Charter (1961) and the Erasmus programmes.

The Delors Commission oversaw important budgetary reforms and gave new momentum to the process of European integration, notably presiding over the signature of the Single European Act in February 1986. Jacques Delors and his commissioners are considered as the “Founding Fathers of the Euro”. They also completed the foundation of the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) established by the Treaty of Maastricht (1992). The end of its mandate was marked by the EU’s third enlargement. In 1995 the EU-12 added three new Member States (Austria, Finland and Sweden).