The secretary-general of the Council of the European Union heads the General Secretariat of the Council of the European Union. In October 2022, the Council appointed Thérèse Blanchet as the Secretary-General of the Council for a five-year term, from 1 November 2022 to 31 October 2027.
Previously, the post holder was also the High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy, President of the European Defence Agency and the Western European Union. The Treaty of Amsterdam, which entered into force in 1999, created the office of the High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy and specified that the Secretary-General would occupy that position simultaneously. Javier Solana exercised both functions from 1999 until 2009. The Lisbon Treaty, which took effect on 1 December 2009, redefined the post of High Representative and again separated it from the office of Secretary-General of the Council.
As of 2010, the secretary-general's basic pay is equal to that of a top-tier civil servant: €17,697.68 per month.
List of secretaries-general
| No. | Portrait | Secretary-General | Took office | Left office | Time in office | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Christian Calmes (1913–1995) | 9 September 1952 | 14 June 1973 | 20 years, 278 days | Luxembourg | |
| 2 | Nicolas Hommel (1915–2001) | 1 July 1973 | 7 October 1980 | 7 years, 98 days | Luxembourg | |
| 3 | Niels Ersbøll (born 1926) | 8 October 1980 | 31 August 1994 | 13 years, 327 days | Denmark | |
| 4 | Jürgen Trumpf (1931–2023) | 1 September 1994 | 17 October 1999 | 5 years, 46 days | Germany | |
| 5 | Javier Solana (born 1942) | 18 October 1999 | 1 December 2009 | 10 years, 44 days | Spain | |
| 6 | Pierre de Boissieu (born 1945) | 1 December 2009 | 26 June 2011 | 1 year, 207 days | France | |
| 7 | Uwe Corsepius (born 1960) | 26 June 2011 | 30 June 2015 | 4 years, 4 days | Germany | |
| 8 | Jeppe Tranholm-Mikkelsen (born 1962) | 1 July 2015 | 7 October 2022 | 7 years, 98 days | Denmark | |
| 8 | Thérèse Blanchet (born 1962) | 1 November 2022 | 3 years, 46 days | France |
See also
- President of the European Council
- The General Secretariat of the Council
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