New Commissioners on the Bloc

Prior to moving to Brussels, Jan Figel served in the Slovak foreign ministry and held a seat in the country's parliament. From 1983 to 1987, Figel studied at the polytechnic university in Kosice and finished his studies with a master's degree. In 1994 he complete exchange semesters abroad in Antwerp and Washington, D.C.

Barroso won his first senior government post aged just 29, going on to serve as foreign affairs minister and later -- in April 2002 -- becoming Portugal's prime minister. Barroso supported the war in Iraq and provided the venue for talks between US President George W. Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair in the Azores on the eve of the conflict, thus guaranteeing his approval by the likes of Britain and Italy. But he remained on good terms with the Franco-German camp and had the support of German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder in his bid for the presidency.

Andris Piebalgs worked as "chef de cabinet" for Sandra Kalniete, Latvia's previous commission member, from May 1, when Latvia joined the European Union. He is a former education and finance minister and has been Latvia's ambassador to both Estonia and Brussels. Piebalgs is affiliated with the liberal party Latvia's Way, which is not represented in the Latvian parliament. The 47-year-old diplomat has almost 10 years of experience in the political arena.

Kallas first entered into the world of politics during the Soviet era. Born on Oct. 2, 1948, in Tallinn, Estonia, Kallas became a member of the Estonian Communist Party in 1972. In 1975, he became a finance specialist in the finance ministry of the then Estonian Socialistic Soviet Republic. In 1990, Kallas left the Communist Party, one year before the Baltic state declared its independence. In 1994, Kallas returned to politics and became deputy prime minister after a year. Six years afterwards, he was elected prime minister. During last year's Estonian elections, Kallas chose to step down as prime minister despite the success of his Reform Party in elections.

Born on Jan. 22, 1960, Kyprianou studied law in Athens before crossing the English Channel to Britain, where he obtained a master's degree in tax law at Cambridge University. After completing his studies, Kyprianou went straight into politics as a trainee at the Human Rights Commission of the Council of Europe. In 1986 he became a member of the Central Committee of the Democratic Party (DIKO) in Cyprus. He became a member of parliament representing the Greek Cypriot capital, Nicosia, in 1991. A decade later, in 2001, he was appointed to his first-ever cabinet-level post as Cyprus’s finance minister.

After beginning his career in journalism, Verheugen studied history, sociology and politics in Cologne and Bonn before moving into politics. He first started out in the neo-liberal Free Democrats and rose to the level of secretary general before switching to the Social Democrats in 1982, where he quickly advanced through the ranks, taking the position of deputy foreign minister before being named for the position of commissioner for enlargement.

The Irish chartered accountant made his debut on the political scene in 1977 when he was elected to parliament for the first time. After acting as the front bench spokesperson on finance in the Dail for two years, McCreevy became a member of ECOFIN in 1997, rising to the position of president of the ECOFIN Council in 2004.

For several years, Janez Potocnik has been the point man between EU headquarters in Brussels and Ljubljana. Since January 2002, the doctor of economics has served as Slovenian minister of European affairs. Previously, he served as the negotiator responsible for securing Slovenia's membership in the EU.

Kroes will work closely with Commissioner for Trade Peter Mandelson and Commissioner for Enterprise and Industry Günther Verheugen in her role. Her competition job is a key one. Enforcing Europe’s tough anti-merger and state subsidy rules can involve bruising egos in Paris and Berlin, and Kroes will continue a Dutch tradition of taking jobs which require neutrality.

Almunia graduated with a degree in law and economics from the University of Deusto, Bilbao and went on to work as the chief economist of the UGT, a Spanish trade union, and later as an economist at the Council Bureau of the Spanish Chambers of Commerce in Brussels. He has held a number of ministerial positions in Spain's Socialist Party and ran for prime minister in 2000.

Born in 1956, Grybauskaite studied economics in the Russian cities of St. Petersburg and Moscow. She began her career at a Vilnius economics institute in 1990 and entered politics the following year. As the director of economic relations in the Lithuanian Foreign Ministry, Grybauskaite was also responsible for the creation of a free-trade deal between Lithuania and the EU. In 1994 she moved to Brussels to head the country's representation there. Six years later she was promoted to the position of deputy foreign secretary, and in 2001 she became Lithunia's finance minister.

After obtaining a doctorate in human sciences at the Sorbonne, Reding started a career as a journalist for the "Luxemburger Wort" in 1978. She went into politics in 1979, first holding a seat in the Luxembourg Parliament before entering the European Parliament in 1989, where she was the leader of Luxembourg’s European People's Party delegation. Since joining the commission, she has launched new support programs for culture and audiovisual policy.

Born on March 19, 1952, Borg studied law at the University of Malta and obtained his doctorate in 1975. After finishing his studies, Borg worked for several years as an attorney. Before he took office as minister, Borg served as an advisor for European affairs in Malta's foreign ministry from 1989 until 1995. There he established the European policy department. From 1992 to 1995, he served on the board of directors of the Maltese Central Bank. In 1999, he became foreign minister of Malta, an office he was able to hold onto until after the victory of the Nationalist Party in 2003's parliamentary elections.

Entering politics from a law background, Ferrero-Waldner worked in the Austrian diplomatic service before getting her break in parliamentary politics with the role of deputy chief of protocol at the Federal Ministry for Foreign Affairs in 1993. Within seven years, she was Austria's foreign minister. Four years in that position came to an end with her appointment as EU commissioner in August 2004.

Sweden's Margot Wallström will be the senior of five vice presidents to Commission President Jose Barroso and will act as his deputy in his absence. Wallström will also be in charge of institutional relations and communication strategy, giving her an influential role in liaising with EU member states and the European Parliament as well as being in charge of press relations.

The former language teacher moved into Belgian politics in 1978, first as a representative (1978-1999) and then as a senator (1999-2004). During that time, Michel was Belgian foreign minister and vice prime minister until his government appointed him as its candidate for the Belgian seat on the European Commission.

Fischer Boel began her career in local politics before moving into parliamentary affairs with the liberal party in Denmark. She held the cabinet position of minister for food, agriculture and fisheries from November 2001 to August 2004 before assuming her role as an EU commissioner.

A doctor of philosophy, Olli Rehn will need all his skills in his new job. Rehn must oversee Bulgaria, Romania and Croatia’s bid for EU membership within the lifetime of Barroso’s commission. The Finn must also handle the delicate issue of Turkey and a December debate over Ankara’s attempt to join the EU. His experience includes a number of European and Finnish parliament posts and he is the former commissioner for enterprise and information technology.

Jacques Barrot is a barrister by profession and served as a minister from the late 1970s until securing his last position as French minister for labor and social affairs from 1995 to 1997. Barrot was appointed EU commissioner for regional policy by Romano Prodi. Barrot will replace Loyola de Palacio as EU commissioner for transport and vice president of the commission.

Spidla has a colorful history of employment behind him, including jobs as a construction worker, archaeologist and scene-shifter in a theater. His PhD in history and prehistory and a masters in liberal arts and sciences helped secure his first few political positions and saw him elected to parliament with the Czech Social Democratic Party in 1996. The former dairy worker then became prime minister of the Czech Republic in 2002.

Though Hübner was once a communist, she resigned from the Communist Party in 1987. She was the only politically independent minister in the cabinet of former Polish Prime Minister Leszek Miller. To her conservative critics in Poland, she’s considered too friendly toward the European Union. It’s a charge that brings laughter to the economics professor, who studied in Madrid, worked as a researcher in Berkeley, California, and has also represented Poland at the United Nations in Geneva.

Franco Frattini, the 47-year-old former foreign minister, is a close ally of Prime Minister Berlusconi and member of his Forza Italia party. His ten-year career in Italian politics has seen him gradually move into increasingly powerful positions. A lawyer by trade and Tuscan by origin, Frattini graduated from Rome's La Sapienza University at 22. He was a state attorney in the capital by the age of 24. He then worked as a legal advisor to the treasury before joining Forza Italia in 1996 and rising swiftly to become one of the party's leading lights.

After studying economics and politics in Budapest, Kovacs worked in a number of positions as a consultant before getting his first political job as Hungarian deputy foreign minister. He continued to work at the ministry in various roles before eventually becoming foreign minister in 1994. Kovacs then spent time as a member of parliament before joining the European Commission.

Stavros Dimas studied law and economics in Greece and the US and worked as a lawyer for the World Bank and Sullivan & Cromwell, a Wall Street law firm. He has been elected to the Greek Parliament 10 consecutive times since 1977 and has held leading posts in Greek politics.