Walter Hallstein was a German academic, diplomat and statesman who was the first president of the Commission of the European Economic Community and one of the founding fathers of the European Union.
Hallstein in 1957
Hallstein was taken prisoner by American troops in Cherbourg in 1944
The Palais Schaumburg (1950), seat of the Federal Chancellery in 1950, where Hallstein worked before the German Foreign Office was formed
1955 German Foreign Office building
President of the European Commission
The president of the European Commission is the head of the European Commission, the executive branch of the European Union (EU). The president of the Commission leads a cabinet of Commissioners, referred to as the College. The president is empowered to allocate portfolios among, reshuffle, or dismiss Commissioners as necessary. The College directs the commission's civil service, sets the policy agenda and determines the legislative proposals it produces. The commission is the only body that can propose or draft bills to become EU laws.
President of the European Commission
Headquarters of the European Commission in Brussels (Berlaymont building)
Walter Hallstein, the first president of the Commission
President Mansholt opened the first enlargement talks with Denmark, Ireland, Norway and the United Kingdom