Viviane Reding

Luxembourg, Vice-President, Justice, Fundamental Rights and Citizenship

Viviane Reding has already served two terms in the Commission, holding first the Education, Culture and Youth portfolio and then, since 2004, taking responsibility for the Information Society and the Media brief. A journalist by profession, Reding holds a doctorate from the Sorbonne and before entering the Commission had served ten years as a member of the European Parliament. She is divorced with three children.

For further information visit Viviane Reding's website.

Siim Kallas

Estonia, Vice-President, Transport

Siim Kallas continues as one of the Vice-Presidents of the Commission but is leaving the Administration, Audit and Anti-fraud portfolio to take charge of Transport. Before coming to Brussels, Kallas had a distinguished political career in his homeland rising to the office of Prime Minister after terms as Foreign Affairs and Finance Minister and President of the Bank of Estonia. He is 62 years old, married with two children and a keen cyclist.

For further information visit the website of Siim Kallas.

Antonio Tajani

Italy, Vice-President, Industry and Entrepreneurship

In the incoming Commission, Tajani moves from Transport to take up the Industry and Entrepreneurship portfolio. A native of Rome, Tajani trained as an officer in the Italian Air Force before becoming a journalist and foreign correspondent with assignments in Lebanon, the Soviet Union and Somalia. He was first elected to the European Parliament in 1994 and rose to become head of the Forza Italia delegation and a Vice-Chair of the European Peoples' Party. He is married with two children.

For further information visit Antonio Tajani's website.

Janez Potočnik

Slovenia, Environment

Janez Potočnik takes up the Environent portfolio after a five-year term in Science and Research in the First Barroso Commission. He trained as an economist at the University of Ljubljana where he was awarded a doctorate and between 1993 and 2001 he was the Director of the Institute of the Macroeconomic Analysis and Development. From 1998 till 2004, Potočnikheaded the Negotiating Team for the Accession of Slovenia to the EU. He is married with two children.

For further information visit Janez Potočnik's website.

Andris Piebalgs

Latvia, Development

Piebalgs served in the First Barroso Commission as well where he held the Energy portfolio. A physics graduate, he worked as a teacher and civil servant before entering politics. In the first half of the 1990's, he was Minister for Education and then Minister for Finance in Latvia before becoming his country's ambassador to Estonia and then to the European Union. He is married and has three children.

For further information visit Andris Piebalgs' website.

Androulla Vassiliou

Cyprus, Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth

Androulla Vassiliou served for two years in the First Barroso Commission (2008-2009) as Commissioner for Health. She was a member of the House of Representatives in Cyprus for ten years, having entered politics after a long career in the legal profession, specialising in banking law. Vassiliou has also held the office of President of the World Federation of United Nations Associations She is married to Dr George Vassiliou, former President of Cyprus, with whom she has three children.

For further information visit Androulla Vassiliou's website.

Karel de Gucht

Belgium, Trade

De Gucht came into the Commission in July 2009 and took over the Development and Humanitarian Aid portfolio. Between 1980 and 1994 he was a member of the European Parliament and since 1995 he has served as a deputy first in the Flemish Parliament and then in the Belgian House of Representatives. A leading figure in the Flemish Liberal and Democratic Party, Karel de Gucht has served as Minister for International Trade, Minister for Foreign Affairs and, more recently, as Deputy Prime Minister of Belgium. He is married with two children.

For further information visit Karel de Gucht's website.

Máire Geoghegan-Quinn

Ireland, Research and Innovation

Máire Geoghegan-Quinn was previously a member of the European Court of Auditors, based in Luxembourg from 2000 onwards. She was first elected to Dáil Éireann in 1975 and in 1979 became the first woman to be appointed to a full Cabinet post since the foundation of the State. In the 25 years she spent in the Irish political scene, she held various offices of State, including Minister for the Gaeltacht, Minister for Education, Minister for European Affairs, Minister for Tourism, Transport and Communications and Minister for Justice. A native Irish speaker, Máire Geoghegan-Quinn is married with two children.

For further information visit Máire Geoghegan-Quinn's website.

Maria Damanaki

Greece, Fisheries and Maritime Affairs

The first ever woman to lead a political party in Greece, Maria Damanaki entered politics as a prominent student leader in the resistance against the 1967-74 military dictatorship. She is a distinguished parliamentarian of long standing, first with the Coalition for Left and Progress and, since 2000, with the Pan-Hellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK). In Europe, she has served as a Member of the Parliamentary Assemblies of the Council of Europe, the Western European Union and NATO. An engineer by training, Damanaki has a strong record on minority rights, social issues and the environment and climate change. She is divorced with three grown-up children.

For further information visit Maria Damanaki's website.

Günther H. Oettinger

Germany, Energy

Oettinger entered local politics in the late 1970's with the Christian Democratic Union and rose to become Prime Minister of the State of Baden-Württemberg, an office he held from 2005 until his recent appointment to the European Commission. He studied Law at Tübingen Universityand in his professional career specialised in auditing and tax matters. He is 57 years old and has one son.

For further information visit Günther H. Oettinger's website.

Connie Hedegaard

Denmark, Climate Action

The Danish Minister for Climate and Energy for the past three years, Hedegaard chaired the 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen. A member of the Conservative Peoples Party She has also served as Minister for the Environment and Minister for Nordic Co-operation. Hedegaard is a journalist by profession and has worked as radio news editor, newspaper columnist and television presenter for current affairs programmes. Born in 1960, she is married with two children.

For further information visit Connie Hedegaard's website.

László Andor

Hungary, Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion

Before his appointment to the Commission Andor has been, since 2005, a member of the Board of Directors of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), based in London. He is an economist with a long track record in academic and applied research and he has acted in various times as an economics advisor to the Hungarian government. He has two children.

For further information visit László Andor's website.

Dacian Cioloş

Romania, Agriculture

Dacian Cioloş was Minister for Agriculture in Romania between 2007 and 2008 and he is a specialist in the field. Born in 1969, he studied horticultural engineering, agronomy and agricultural economics in his native Romania and France. Before entering politics, Cioloş had managed agricultural development programmes and served as spokesman of Romania in the Special Committee on Agriculture of the EU Council.

For further information visit the website of Dacian Cioloş.