President Gil-Robles passed away on 13 February 2023.
He leaves us at the age of 87 after a life of service to the common good, democracy and the union of Europeans.
A Spanish native, he was a lawyer, President of the European Parliament, President of the European Movement International, Professor at the University of Madrid at the Jean Monnet Chair and member of the Royal Academy of Economic and Financial Sciences of Spain.
José María Gil-Robles was President of the Foundation for six years, from 2009 to 2014. He succeeded Bronislaw Geremek and Henri Rieben in this role. His successor at the head of the Foundation is the current President Pat Cox.
President Gil-Robles has hosted many public events during his presidency of the Foundation. During his last visit to Lausanne in 2019, he gave a lecture on 28 March on “The International Role of the Euro”. Click here to watch the lecture again
You can also find here the reference text of President Gil-Robles published by the Foundation in 2015 under the title “The investiture of the European Commission: towards a parliamentary government for the European Union”.
José María Gil-Robles was a great European figure and a personality of immense humanity and kindness whom the members of the Foundation and those involved in its activities had the privilege and joy of meeting in Lausanne. We are inconsolable at his passing.