The post as President of the Council of the European Union is for each separate meeting held by the responsible government minister of the member state holding the Presidency. Separate from the Council of the European Union there is also the European Council, which meets at European summits at about four times per year. The task as President of the assembled European Council, is similarly performed by the head of government or head of state of the member state holding the Presidency. The President is primarily responsible for preparing and chairing Council meetings, and has no executive powers.
The Council of the European Union is presided over for a period of six months by each member state of the European Union in turn, in accordance with a pre-established rota unless the Council makes a new decision.
| year |
|
member state holding presidency |
minister responsible (usually the foreign minister) |
| 1958 | First half-year | Belgium | Victor Larock
|
| Second half-year | Germany | Siegfried Balke
|
| 1959 | First half-year | France | Maurice Couve de Murville
|
| Second half-year | Italy | Giuseppe Pella
|
| 1960 | First half-year | LuxembourgThe Grand Duchy of Luxembourg (also Luxemburg is a landlocked state in the north-west of the continental European Union, bordered by France, Germany and Belgium. Grand-Duche de LuxembourgGrossherzogtum LuxemburgGroussherzogtum (Grand-Duche) Letzebuerg ( I | Eugène Schaus
|
| Second half-year | NetherlandsDutch redirects here. For other uses, see Dutch (disambiguation). The Netherlands ( Dutch: Nederland is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, a constitutional monarchy. It is located in northwestern Europe and borders the North Sea, Belgium | Joseph LunsJoseph Antoine Marie Hubert Luns ( August 28 1911 July 18 2002) was a Dutch politician and former NATO secretary-general. Joseph Luns was foreign minister of the Netherlands in the 1950s and 1960s. He refused to surrender what is now West Papua to the Ind
|
| 19611961 (As MAD Magazine pointed out on its first cover for the year) was the first "upside-down" year i. one that looked the same upside down since 1881, and the last until 6009. Events January January 1 The farthing coin, used since the 13th century, cease | First half-year | Belgium | Paul-Henri SpaakPaul-Henri Charles Spaak ( January 25, 1899 July 31, 1972) was a Belgian Socialist politician and statesman. Born in Schaerbeek, Paul-Henri was the grand-son of the Liberal politician Paul Janson and nephew of another Liberal politician, Paul-Emile Janson
|
| Second half-year | Germany | Gerhard SchröderGerhard Schroder ( September 11, 1910 December 31, 1989) was a German Christian-Democrat politician. He held federal office as Minister of the Interior ( 1953- 1961) and as Minister of Foreign Affairs ( 1961- 1966) in the cabinets of Chancellor Konrad Ade
|
| 1962Events January January 1 Western Samoa becomes independent from New Zealand January 3 Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro January 4 New York City introduces a train that operates without a crew on-board January 8 Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa is e | First half-year | France | Maurice Couve de Murville
|
| Second half-year | Italy | Emilio Colombo
|
| 1963 | First half-year | Luxembourg | Eugène Schaus
|
| Second half-year | Netherlands | Joseph Luns
|
| 1964 | First half-year | Belgium | Hendrik Fayat
|
| Second half-year | Germany | Gerhard Schröder
|
| 1965 | First half-year | France | Maurice Couve de Murville
|
| Second half-year | Italy | Amintore Fanfani
|
| 1966 | First half-year | Luxembourg | Pierre Werner
|
| Second half-year | Netherlands | Barend Biesheuvel
|
| 1967 | First half-year | Belgium | Renaat Van Elslande
|
| Second half-year | Germany | Willy Brandt
|
| 1968 | First half-year | France | Maurice Couve de Murville
|
| Second half-year | Italy | Giuseppe Medici
|
| 1969 | First half-year | Luxembourg | Pierre Grégoire
|
| Second half-year | Netherlands | Joseph Luns
|
| 1970 | First half-year | Belgium | Pierre Harmel
|
| Second half-year | Germany | Walter Scheel
|
| 1971 | First half-year | France | Maurice Schumann
|
| Second half-year | Italy | Aldo Moro
|
| 1972 | First half-year | Luxembourg | Gaston Thorn
|
| Second half-year | Netherlands | Norbert Schmelzer
|
| 1973 | First half-year | Belgium | Pierre Harmel
|
| Second half-year | Denmark | Ivar Nørgaard
|
| 1974 | First half-year | Germany | Walter Scheel
|
| Second half-year | France | Jean Sauvagnargues
|
| 1975 | First half-year | Ireland | Garret FitzGerald
|
| Second half-year | Italy | Mariano Rumor
|
| 1976 | First half-year | Luxembourg | Gaston Thorn
|
| Second half-year | Netherlands | Max van der Stoel
|
| 1977 | First half-year | United Kingdom | Anthony Crosland, then David Owen
|
| Second half-year | Belgium | Henri Simonet
|
| 1978 | First half-year | Denmark | Knud Børge Andersen
|
| Second half-year | Germany | Hans-Dietrich Genscher
|
| 1979 | First half-year | France | Jean François-Poncet
|
| Second half-year | Ireland | Jack Lynch
|
| 1980 | First half-year | Italy | Attilio Ruffini
|
| Second half-year | Luxembourg | Colette Flesch
|
| 1981 | First half-year | Netherlands | Chris van der Klaauw
|
| Second half-year | United Kingdom | Peter Carrington
|
| 1982 | First half-year | Belgium | Léo Tindemans
|
| Second half-year | Denmark | Uffe Ellemann-Jensen
|
| 1983 | First half-year | Germany | Hans-Dietrich Genscher
|
| Second half-year | Greece | Grigoris Varfis
|
| 1984 | First half-year | France | Roland Dumas
|
| Second half-year | Ireland | Peter Barry
|
| 1985 | First half-year | Italy | Giulio Andreotti
|
| Second half-year | Luxembourg | Jacques Poos
|
| 1986 | First half-year | Netherlands | Hans van den Broek
|
| Second half-year | United Kingdom | Geoffrey Howe
|
| 1987 | First half-year | Belgium | Léo Tindemans
|
| Second half-year | Denmark | Uffe Ellemann-Jensen
|
| 1988 | First half-year | Germany | Hans-Dietrich Genscher
|
| Second half-year | Greece | Theodoros Pangalos
|
| 1989 | First half-year | Spain | Francisco Fernández Ordóñez
|
| Second half-year | France | Roland Dumas
|
| 1990 | First half-year | Ireland | Gerard Collins
|
| Second half-year | Italy | Gianni De Michelis
|
| 1991 | First half-year | Luxembourg | Jacques Poos
|
| Second half-year | Netherlands | Hans van den Broek
|
| 1992 | First half-year | Portugal | João de Deus Pinheiro
|
| Second half-year | United Kingdom | Douglas Hurd
|
| 1993 | First half-year | Denmark | Poul Nyrup Rasmussen
|
| Second half-year | Belgium | Willy Claes
|
| 1994 | First half-year | Greece | Karolos Papoulias
|
| Second half-year | Germany | Klaus Kinkel
|
| 1995 | First half-year | France | Alain Juppé
|
|
|
| Second half-year | Spain | Javier Solana
|
| 1996 | First half-year | Italy | Lamberto Dini
|
| Second half-year | Ireland | Dick Spring
|
| 1997 | First half-year | Netherlands | Hans van Mierlo
|
| Second half-year | Luxembourg | Jacques Poos
|
| 1998 | First half-year | United Kingdom | Robin Cook
|
|
|
| Second half-year | Austria | Wolfgang Schüssel
|
| 1999 | First half-year | Germany | Joschka Fischer
|
|
|
| Second half-year | Finland [1] | Tarja Halonen
|
| 2000 | First half-year | Portugal | Jaime Gama
|
|
|
| Second half-year | France | Hubert Védrine
|
| 2001 | First half-year | Sweden [2] | Anna Lindh
|
|
|
| Second half-year | Belgium [3] | Louis Michel
|
| 2002 | First half-year | Spain | Josep Piqué i Camps
|
|
|
| Second half-year | Denmark [4] | Per Stig Møller
|
| 2003 | First half-year | Greece [5] | George Papandreou
|
|
|
| Second half-year | Italy [6]
| Franco Frattini
|
| 2004
| First half-year | Ireland [7]
| Brian Cowen
|
|
|
| Second half-year
| Netherlands [8] | Ben Bot
|
| 2005
| First half-year | Luxembourg [9] [10] |
|
|
|
| Second half-year | United Kingdom |
|
| 2006 | First half-year | Austria |
|
| Second half-year | Finland |
|
