Ana Palacio

Ana Palacio is Senior Vice President and World Bank Group General Counsel.

"Ana Palacio, a member of the Spanish Parliament and former foreign minister of Spain, joined Carnegie Corporation’s board of trustees in December 2005.

"Palacio, who served as the first woman foreign minister of Spain, has been recognized for strengthening transatlantic relations between Spain and the Americas, particularly with the United States, and for focusing on fighting terrorism and building ties within the Mediterranean area and the Middle East. She represented Spain at the European Convention and the Convention’s Presidium where she was at the forefront of the debate on the future of Europe.

"Palacio currently serves as a member of the Spanish Parliament, where she chairs the Joint Committee for European Union Affairs. She is also a consultant for the World Bank, reporting for the Presidency on the High Level Commission on Legal Empowerment of the Poor.

"She was member of the European Parliament during the 4th and 5th parliamentary terms (1994-2002), where she chaired the Legal Affairs and Internal Market Committee and the Justice and Home Affairs Committee, and was elected by her peers to chair Parliament’s Conference of Committee Chairmen, the senior body for coordinating legislative work. She is also a consultant for the World Bank, reporting for the Presidency on the High Level Commission on Legal Empowerment of the Poor.

"A lawyer by profession, Palacio is a member and past executive president of the Academy of European Law. She has held senior positions in the governing body of European lawyers and is an honorary member of the Bar of England and Wales. She is also a member of the faculty of the European College in Parma, Italy.

"She is a member of the international advisory boards of both the Council on Foreign Relations and the Instituto de Empresa Business School in Madrid, and is a member of the governing boards for both the Fundación Española del Instituto Weizmann de Israel and the Fundación para el Análsis y los Estudios Sociales in Madrid. She is a also member of the International Institute for Strategic Studies and the Center for Strategic and International Studies, where she serves on the steering committee for the Center’s Initiative for a Renewed Transatlantic Partnership. Palacio is a past recipient of the American Jewish Committee Ramer Award for Diplomatic Excellence in recognition of her role in upholding democracy and the values of an open society.

"Palacio is a frequent contributor to international politics journals, including Foreign Affairs, Géopolitique and the Revue de Droit de l’Union euopéenne, where she is also a member of the editorial board. A regular columnist for various newspapers, she has been listed among the Wall Street Journal’s top 75 “global opinion leaders.”

"Palacio received a baccalaureate degree from the Lycée Français with honors granted by the French government to “the best foreign student who finished studies that year.” She holds degrees in law, political science and sociology, and received the Award for Academic Achievement by the Complutense University in Spain." 


 * Advisory Board, American Center for Democracy
 * Honorary Chair, World Justice Project

External resources

 * NeoCon Europe Ana Palacio