Jan Figel

Jàn Figel was born on January 20, 1960 in Slovakia. He is a Slovakian politician who served as European Commissioner for Education, Training, and Culture from 2004 to 2009, as well as being the Vice-President of the National Council of Slovakia.

History

After graduating from the Technical University of Kosice in 1983, Jan Figel started as a research and development scientist. In 1990, he joined the Christian Democratic Movement (KDH). He was elected as Deputy and then served in the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National Council of Slovakia in 1992. A year later, he entered the Slovakian delegation to the Council of Europe. In 1998, Jan Figel was appointed State Secretary for Foreign Affairs and led Slovakia’s negotiations for the accession to the European Union till 2003. He served as Slovakian representative within the European Convention in charge of the drafting of the European Constitution. In 2002, he came back to his Slovakian national office as the chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National Council. In 2004, he was appointed European Commissioner for Education, Training and Culture and served until 2009 in the Prodi and Barroso Commissions. Jan Figel resigned from the Commission in 2009 following his election to the head of the Slovakian Christian Democratic Movement.

External Links and References

http://ec.europa.eu/archives/commission_2004-2009/index_en.htm