Étienne Davignon, born October 4, 1932, is a Belgian politician, businessman, and former vice-president of the European Commission. October 4 is the 277th day of the year (278th in Leap years). ... 1932 is a leap year starting on a Friday. ... The European Commission (formally the Commission of the European Communities) is the executive of the European Union. ...

After receiving a Doctorate of Law from the Université catholique de Louvain, Davignon joined the Belgian Foreign Ministry, in 1959, and within two years had become an attaché under Paul-Henri Spaak, then Minister of Foreign Affairs. He remained in Belgian government until 1965. In 1970, he chaired the committee of experts which produced the Davignon report on foreign policy for Europe. The Université catholique de Louvain, sometimes known as UCL, is Belgiums largest French-speaking university. ... 1959 was a common year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ... An attaché is a person who is assigned to the staff of a diplomatic mission and often has special responsibilities or expertise. ... Paul-Henri Charles Spaak  listen (January 25, 1899 - July 31, 1972) was a Belgian Socialist politician and statesman. ... The Belgian Minister of Foreign Affairs have been: ... 1965 was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1965 calendar). ... 1970 was a common year starting on Thursday. ...

Davignon later became the first head of the International Energy Agency, from 1974 to 1977, before becoming a member of the European Commission, of which he was vice-president from 1981 till 1985. From 1989 to 2001, he was chairman of the Belgian arm of Société Générale. He is the current co-chairman of the EU-Japan Business Dialogue Round Table, chairman of the Paul-Henri Spaak Foundation, president of the Royal Institute for International Relations and current chairman of the annual Bilderberg conference. The International Energy Agency (IEA, or AIE in Romance languages with a curiously similar pronunciation) is a Paris-based governmental organization founded by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in 1974 in the wake of the oil crisis. ... 1974 is a common year starting on Tuesday (click on link for calendar). ... 1977 was a common year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1977 calendar). ... 1981 is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1985 is a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1989 is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 2001 is a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Société Générale is one of the main banks in France (one of the three oldest). ... The Bilderberg Group is an informal, secretive and international association of powerful people, meeting every year. ...

Étienne's grandfather, Julien Davignon, also served in the government of Belgium, being Minister for Foreign Affairs in 1914, at the outbreak of World War I. 1914 is a common year starting on Thursday. ... Ypres, 1917, in the vicinity of the Battle of Passchendaele. ...

External links

• Biography (http://www.belgium.be/eportal/application?languageParameter=en&pageid=contentPage&docId=5369) at the Belgian Federal Portal
• Profile (PDF) (http://www.isc-symposium.org/ISC/cv_theses_etienne_davignon.pdf) at the ISC-Symposium