Joaquín Almunia

Joaquín Almunia  link Dbpedia NNDB Powerbase Wikidata (Union leader,politician)
File:Joaquín Almunia.jpeg
Born	Joaquín Almunia Amann 17 June 1948 Bilbao, Spain
Nationality	Spanish
Ethnicity	Jewish
Alma mater	University of Deusto, Practical School for Advanced Studies, Harvard/Kennedy School
Party	PSOE
Spanish politician, European Commissioner for 10 years, 6 Bilderbergs

Joaquín Almunia Amann is a Spanish politician who later was chosen to hold several positions in the European Commission. He is a multi-Bilderberger.

During his tenure in the two Barroso Commissions, he was European commissioner responsible for economic and monetary affairs (2004–2009) and, subsequently, vice-president and the European Commissioner for Competition (2009–2014), where he stalled an antitrust investigation into Google.

Background

He was born in Bilbao on 17 June 1948 to a bourgeois family, son to an engineer (father) of Valencian origin and his mother the daughter of a German physician of Jewish ancestry. His grandfather Isaac Amann was one of the promoters of the Bilbao–Getxo railway.

Education

Almunia attended the Jesuit School of Indautxu in Bilbao. He graduated with degrees in economics and law in 1971 and 1972, respectively, from the also Jesuit University of Deusto in Bilbao, and completed follow-up studies at the École pratique des hautes études in Paris, from 1970 to 1971. He also completed a program at the Harvard Kennedy School at Harvard University for senior managers in government in 1991. He was an associate lecturer on employment and social security law at the University of Alcalá de Henares from 1991 to 1994.

Career

Almunia was chief economist of the Unión General de Trabajadores (UGT), a trade union linked to the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE), from 1976 to 1979. He was economist at the Council Bureau of the Spanish Chambers of Commerce in Brussels from 1972 to 1975.

Almunia was a member of the Congress of Deputies from 1979 to 2004, representing Madrid. He was Minister of Employment and Social Security of the Government of Spain from 1982 to 1986 and Minister of Public Administration from 1986 to 1991. He was replaced by Juan Manuel Eguiagaray in the latter post. He was also the PSOE spokesperson from 1994 to 1997.

Upon the resignation of Felipe González after being defeated in the 1996 elections, the PSOE appointed Almunia as the party leader (Secretary-General), a position he held from 1997 to 2000. He attended the 1998 Bilderberg meeting. In 2000, Almunia was PSOE candidate for prime minister. The party was again defeated by incumbent Prime Minister José María Aznar of the conservative PP.

During his tenure in the two Barroso Commissions, he was European commissioner responsible for economic and monetary affairs (2004–2009) and, subsequently, vice-president and the European Commissioner for Competition (2009–2014), where he stalled an antitrust investigation into Google.

Spied upon by NSA

The US National Security Agency (NSA) tapped the cellphone of European Commission Vice President Joaquín Almunia between 2008 and 2009, when he was commissioner for economic and monetary affairs. Alumnia’s calls and text messages were monitored at the end of 2008 and early 2009 by not only the NSA but also Britain’s intelligence service GCHQ.

Deep state connections

Almunia studied at the Harvard/Kennedy School, a known recruitment ground for the CIA.

He is a member of the Centre for European Reform, European Council on Foreign Relations, Friends of Europe,Centre for European Policy Studies, The European House – Ambrosetti, and Jacques Delors Institute.