New EU job pen portraits
(BRUSSELS) - Incoming European Commission head Jean-Claude Juncker named the team of Commissioners Wednesday who will lead the 28-nation bloc for the next five years.
Herewith pen portraits of the 28 men and women -- one for each member state -- who take the helm of the new Commission, the European Union's executive arm whose powers range across all aspects of the daily lives of its 500 million citizens.
Luxembourg
Jean-Claude Juncker, 59. Head of the European Commission. The former Luxembourg premier is one of the EU's most experienced politicians, widely considered a master operator driven by a passionate commitment to Europe's cause.
Italy
Federica Mogherini, 41. Italian Foreign Minister Mogherini is the new High Representative of the Union for Foreign Policy and Security Policy/Vice President. It is one of the most high-profile and coveted positions.
Austria
Johannes Hahn, 58. A Conservative, the regional policy Commissioner moves to Commissioner of European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement negotiations.
Belgium
Marianne Thyssen, 58. A member of the European Parliament since 1991 and a former head of the Flemish Christian Democrats, Thyssen takes on the Employment, Social Affairs, Skills and Labour Mobility portfolio.
Britain
Jonathan Hill, 54. Leader of the House of Lords, Prime Minister David Cameron caused a surprise when he picked Hill as Britain's Commission candidate as he was not well known for an interest in EU affairs. Lord Hill of Oareford, also said to be mildly eurosceptic, was named to the key job of Commissioner of Financial Stability, Financial Services and Capital Markets Union.
Bulgaria
Kristalina Georgieva, 61. Georgieva moves from humanitarian aid to the coordinating job of Vice President of Budget and Human Resources. From the right, she had a long career at the World Bank and was well regarded, coming to Brussels in 2010 ready to make her mark.
Croatia
Neven Mimica, 60. The EU's newest member gets international cooperation and development for Mimica who served as consumer affairs commissioner since Croatia joined the bloc in July 2013.
Czech Republic
Vera Jourova, 50. A liberal, Jourova is named Commissioner for Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality.
Denmark
Margrethe Vestager, 46. Danish economy minister, she becomes Commissioner of Competition.
Estonia
Andrus Ansip, 57. A liberal Estonian prime minister from 2005-14, he becomes Vice President responsible for the Digital Single Market.
Finland
Jyrki Katainen, 42. Conservative Finnish prime minister from 2011-14, he becomes Vice President of Jobs, Growth Investment and Competitiveness. Well known for his no-nonsense austerity economic policies, critics claim he did more harm than good. Katainen takes office as pressure increases from France and Italy for Brussels to put the stress on growth, not austerity.
France
Pierre Moscovici, 56. Socialist finance minister since March 2014, Moscovici gets the key portfolio of Economic and Financial Affairs, Taxation and Customs.
Germany
Guenther Oettinger, 60. The former Energy Commissioner moves to Commissioner of Digital Economy and Society.
Greece
Dimitris Avramopoulus, 61. A close follower of Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras, Avramopoulos gets Commissioner for Migration and Home Affairs, a key issue for his and other Mediterranean countries which are major destinations for illegal migrants.
Hungary
Tibor Navracsics, 48. Close to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Navracsics is now EU Commissioner for Education, Culture, Youth and Citizenship.
Ireland
Phil Hogan, 54. Irish minister of the environment and local government, he gets the portfolio of Agriculture and Rural Development which Dublin had pushed for.
Latvia
Valdis Dombrovskis, 43. A trained doctor, the centre-right Latvian premier from 2009-13 becomes Vice President of the Euro and Social Dialogue. He helped steer Latvia into the eurozone which it joined in January 2014.
Lithuania
Vytenis Adriukaitis, 63. A social-democrat, surgeon and former health minister, Adriukaitis becomes Commissioner of Health and Food safety.
Malta
Karmenu Vella, 64. A Socialist and long-serving politician, one of the EU's smallest member states gets the post of Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries.
Netherlands
Frans Timmermans, 53. The Dutch foreign minister becomes Juncker's "right-hand man" as First Vice President of Better Regulation, Inter-Institutional Relations, Rule of Law and Charter of Fundamental Rights.
Poland
Elzbieta Bienkowska, 50. Respected as a well organised, competent official, Bienkowska becomes Commissioner of Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and Small and Medium Enterprises.
Portugal
Carols Moedas, 44. A trained engineer and senior aid to the Portuguese prime minister, Moedas gets the job of Research, Science and Innovation.
Slovakia
Maros Sefcovic, 48, moves from institutional relations and administration to Commissioner of Transport and Space.
Slovenia
Alenia Bratusek, 44. Outgoing Slovenian premier, Bratusek becomes Vice President of Energy Union, a hot post given the Russian threat to Europe's gas supplies.
Sweden
Cecilia Malmstroem, 46. A high profile Commissioner of internal affairs, the Liberal-backed Malmstroem takes over at Trade, with a massive EU-US free trade deal on the negotiating table.
Cyprus
Christos Stylianides, 60. An MEP, Stylianides takes on the job of humanitarian aid and crisis management.
Spain
Miguel Arias Canete, 64. A former Spanish agriculture minister, Canete becomes Commissioner of Climate Action and Energy.
Romania
Corina Cretu, 47. A Socialist, gets the job of Regional Policy.