‘Delighted’ Palacio lands top job and quits as MEP

Date: 11/07/02

By Martin Banks

HIGH-PROFILE MEP Ana Palacio has spoken of her surprise and delight at being appointed as Spain's new foreign affairs minister.

She replaced Josep Piqué after a major cabinet reshuffle by premier José María Aznar late on Tuesday.

Like her younger sister Loyola, the European Commission vice-president, Ana Palacio has been a long-standing ally of the prime minister.

However, speaking to European Voice yesterday (10 July), the new minister admitted that the job offer was unexpected.

'It is a huge challenge and responsibility, a great honour and one which I am really looking forward to. I am absolutely delighted,' she said.

Palacio, who celebrates her 54th birthday later this month, takes up the foreign affairs portfolio with immediate effect. Her promotion means she will relinquish her MEP's job.

She has told friends, however, that she intends to retain her seat on the European Convention, where she represents the Spanish government.

Palacio is one of only two women on the influential praesidium, which is shaping the constitutional Convention's agenda, and was due to attend its plenary session in Brussels today.

A renowned workaholic, Palacio, who chaired the European Parliament's justice and home affairs committee, impressed colleagues with her ability as a negotiator and her foreign affairs know-how.

She is the first woman to hold the foreign affairs job in Spain, but remains relatively unknown in her own country.

One friend, who did not wish to be named, said: 'I spoke to Ana on Tuesday and she told me that Aznar's offer had come as a big shock. She genuinely did not expect it. Although she is very close to Aznar - she has a direct line to him - her promotion will also come as a surprise to many in Spain.

'She told me that she wanted to remain on the Convention and, although she'd now have to give up the job, she had been happy being an MEP.'

For Palacio, single and from a large family, her elevation to one of the top jobs in Spanish politics comes after a 12-month fight against cancer. The Madrid-born politician has since made a full recovery and told European Voice earlier this year that the disease had made her put politics into perspective.

A decision on her replacement as an MEP is expected to be made next week.

Palacio is the second prominent MEP to relinquish her job in the past month. Nicole Fontaine, the former president of the European Parliament, stepped down after being appointed French industry minister.

• As part of Aznar's shake-up, Piqué, who steered Spain's foreign policy during its recently-concluded six-month presidency of the EU, is downgraded to leading the science and technology ministry, which oversees the telecommunications industry.

He is thought to have paid the price for failing to resolve the protracted dispute with the UK over the future of Gibraltar.

Former Justice Minister Angel Acebes, seen as a rising star in Spain's government, replaces Mariano Rajoy as interior minister. Rajoy retains his brief as deputy prime minister and takes on the role as government spokesman and chief of staff.

MEP Ana Palacio was appointed as Spain's new foreign affairs minister on 9 July 2002.