Danuta Hübner

Danuta Hübner is one of the most dynamic forces behind the drive for European unity. Since she became Polish Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs in 2001, she has masterminded negotiations between Poland and the European Union producing an accession settlement which has been widely acclaimed across Europe – amazing Eurosceptics. In 2003 she has been nominated as statesman of the year by ‘European Voice’ for her role in convincing Poles to vote yes to EU membership.

She had previously worked for the United Nations as Under-Secretary General and Deputy Executive Secretary of the UN Economic Commission for Europe in Geneva (1998-2001). Prior to that, she oversaw many of the key policy changes of the early 1990s that underpinned the Polish economic miracle and set Poland on the path to rapid integration into NATO and – as of May 2004 – the European Union.

Danuta’s political achievements are supported by a remarkable academic talent. Having graduated from the then Central Higher School of Planning and Statistics, now the Warsaw School of Economics, she developed considerable expertise in the political economy of transition. Her studies ranged from the Universidad Autonoma in Madrid in the 1970s to the Centre for European Studies at the University of Sussex. She was a Fulbright scholar at Berkley University, then a Lecturer at California State University and later a Professor in Economics before becoming Editor of ‘Ekonomista’ (The Economist).

Danuta represents the thousands of committed progressives across Central Europe who have worked tirelessly since 1989 in managing their countries return to Europe. ‘Le Monde’ described her as ‘a Europhile in a country of sceptics’. She has faced the mistrust of the public regarding the European Union, the ruling political class and the role of women in politics. Now, the Polish government has named Danuta Hübner as Poland’s first European Commissioner.