Solana Madariaga, Javier

Solana Madariaga, Javier (b. 14 July 1942). High Representative of the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) of the EU, 1999–  Born in Madrid, he studied physics and became a lecturer at the Complutense University in Madrid. Solana was appointed to a chair in solid–state physics in 1975, but in the 1977 elections he entered parliament as a member of the Spanish Socialist Party. The Prime Minister, Gonzalez, appointed him to the difficult post of Minister for Culture in 1982. He became Minister of Education and Science in 1988, and Foreign Minister in 1992. As NATO General Secretary from 1995, he promoted the alliance's expansion to include Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic. He also coordinated NATO's response to the Bosnian civil war. As the public representative of the CFSP since 1999, he was limited in his action by an office with few powers and little staff. His position depended on his ability to mediate between the member state governments of the EU. He established excellent relations with the EC Commissioner for Foreign Relations, Patten, ensuring that the EU spoke with one voice on foreign affairs.