Former President of the European Commission (6 January 1966 – 19 January 1981)
Member State: United Kingdom
Political Party: Socialists (Labour)
Date of birth: 11 November 1920
Died: 5 January 2003

As a member of the Labour Party, Jenkins served as a Member of the House of Commons, Minister of Aviation, Home Secretary and Chancellor of the Exchequer. He later left the Labour Party and founded the Social Democratic Party (SDP). He led the new party from 1982 to 1987, while serving as a Member of Parliament. From 1987 to 1997, Jenkins led the Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords. In 1987, he became Chancellor of Oxford University. Jenkins was the author of 19 books, including biographies of Gladstone and Winston Churchill.  He died of a heart attack in 2003.

The Jenkins Commission held office from 1977 to 1981 and took the first steps toward the establishment of economic and monetary union (EMU) (1977-1979), as well as toward the creation of the European Monetary System (EMS) (1978), a forerunner to the Single Currency (2002).