Political Leaders: Western European Union

Leaders of the
Western European Union (WEU, 1954-2011)

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Note: the Western European Union (WEU) was established by the Paris Agreements, to modify the 1948 Treaty of Brussels, on October 23, 1954 as the successor of the failed European Defence Community (EDC). The Agreements entered into force on May 5, 1955. Transfer of WEU tasks to the Common Security and Defence Policy (element of the Common Foreign and Security Policy of the European Union) was completed on December 1, 2009 (upon entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon), the Modified Treaty of Brussels was terminated on March 31, 2010 and WEU was officially declared defunct on June 30, 2011.

Look for biographies of the leaders (in Spanish) at CIDOB website.

Secretaries-general

Louis Goffin                  7 May 1955 - 14 Dec 1962 (†1975) Belgium
Maurice Iweins d'Eeckhoutte  15 Dec 1962 - 31 Dec 1970 (†1976) Belgium
Georges Heisbourg             1 Jan 1971 - 30 Sep 1974 (†2008) Luxembourg
Frederik-Karl von Plehwe     20 Oct 1974 - 24 Feb 1977 (†1989) West Germany 
Edouard Longerstaey           1 Mar 1977 - 31 May 1985 (†1986) Belgium
Alfred Cahen                 17 Jun 1985 - 11 May 1989 (†2000) Belgium
Willem-Frederik van Eekelen  15 May 1989 - 15 Nov 1994         Netherlands
José Cutileiro               16 Nov 1994 - 24 Nov 1999 (†2020) Portugal 
Javier Solana Madariaga      25 Nov 1999 -  1 Dec 2009         Spain
Arnaud Jacomet                1 Dec 2009 - 30 Jun 2011 (†2011) France (*)

(*) Secretary-General of the WEU Secretariat-General.

Presidens of the Assembly

Presidents of the WEU Assembly
John Maclay                   5 Jul 1955 -  6 May 1957 (†1992) United Kingdom
Sir James Hutchison           6 May 1957 - 15 Jun 1959 (†1979) United Kingdom 
Vittorio Badini Confalonieri 15 Jun 1959 - 29 May 1961 (†1993) Italy 
Arthur Conte                 29 May 1961 - 15 Jan 1963 (†2013) France 
Carlo Schmid                  4 Jun 1963 - 13 Dec 1966 (†1979) West Germany 
Vittorio Badini Confalonieri 13 Dec 1966 - 17 Jun 1969 (†1993) Italy
Georges Housiaux             17 Jun 1969 -  5 Jun 1972 (†1988) Belgium 
John Peel                     5 Jun 1972 - 18 Jun 1974 (†2004) United Kingdom 
Edmond Nessler               18 Jun 1974 - 20 Jun 1977 (†2004) France 
Kai-Uwe von Hassel           20 Jun 1977 -  2 Jun 1980 (†1997) West Germany 
Fred Mulley                  20 Jun 1980 -  6 Jun 1983 (†1995) United Kingdom 
Alfredo De Poi                6 Jun 1984 - 15 Mar 1984 (†2010) Italy
Lucien Pignion               15 Mar 1984 - 18 Jun 1984 (†1989) France (acting)
Jean-Marie Caro              18 Jun 1984 -  1 Jun 1987 (†2014) France
Charles Goerens               1 Jun 1987 -  5 Jun 1990         Luxembourg
Robert Pontillon              5 Jun 1990 - 20 Mar 1992 (†1992) France
Giuseppe Sinesio             20 Mar 1992 -  1 Jun 1992 (†2002) Italy (acting)
Hartmut Soell                 1 Jun 1992 - 14 Jun 1993         Germany
Dudley Smith                 14 Jun 1993 - 31 Dec 1996 (†2016) United Kingdom
Lluís María de Puig i Olivé   1 Jan 1997 - 31 Dec 1999 (†2012) Spain

President of the Interim European Security and Defense Assembly
Klaus Bühler                  1 Jan 2000 - 31 Dec 2002 (†2021) Germany

Presidents of the Inter-parliamentary European Security and Defense Assembly
Jan Dirk Blaauw               1 Jan 2003 -  2 Jul 2003 (†2020) Netherlands
Marcel Glesener               3 Jul 2003 -  2 Dec 2003         Luxembourg (acting)
Armand De Decker              2 Dec 2003 - 19 Jul 2004 (†2019) Belgium
Marcel Glesener              20 Jul 2004 -  1 Dec 2004         Luxembourg (acting)
Stef Goris                    1 Dec 2004 -  7 Dec 2005         Belgium
Jean-Pierre Masseret          7 Dec 2005 -  3 Dec 2008         France

President of the European Security and Defense Assembly
Robert Walter                 3 Dec 2008 - 10 May 2011         United Kingdom

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