Jacques Santer

Infobox_President
name = Jacques Santer
nationality = Luxembourgian

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order = 22nd Prime Minister of Luxembourg
term_start = 20 July 1984
term_end = 5 January 1995
vicepresident =
predecessor = Pierre Werner
successor = Jean-Claude Juncker
birth_date = 18 May 1937
birth_place = Wasserbillig
death_date =
death_place =
party = Christian Social People's Party
spouse =
religion = Roman Catholic
order2 = 9th President of the European Commission
term_start2 = 1995
term_end2 = 15 March 1999
predecessor2 = Jacques Delors
successor2 = Manuel Marín|

Jacques Santer (born 18 May, 1937) is a politician from Luxembourg.

He was finance minister of Luxembourg from 1979 until 1989, and Prime Minister of Luxembourg from 1984 to 1995, as a member of the Christian Social People's Party, which has been the leading party in the Luxembourg government since 1979. As Prime Minister of Luxembourg he also led the negotiations on the Single European Act, which effectively set aside the 20-year old Luxembourg Compromise.

Santer became head of the European Commission in 1995 as a compromise choice forced by the United Kingdom on the one hand and a Franco-German pre-emptive strategy to force all other EU member states to have Jean-Luc Dehaene (whose nomination UK vetoed) on the other hand.

Allegations of corruption concerning single EU-commissioners led to an investigation into administrative failings (incompetence and malpractice) by an independent group of experts. The report stated that they had not found a single person showing the slightest sense of responsibility. Yet, Jacques Santer and his entire commission resigned on March 15, 1999, the very day of the report's publication (see ).

From 1999 until 2004, Santer was a member of the European Parliament. He also was on General Mediterranean Holdings' board, a financial holding owned by Anglo-Iraqi Nadhmi Auchi.

ee also

* Santer Ministry

s-ttl|title=Minister for Finances
years=1979 – 1989
-s-ttl|title=Prime Minister of Luxembourg
years=1984 – 1995
-s-ttl|title=President of the European Commission
years=1995 – 1999
-s-ttl|title=President of the CSV
years=1974 – 1982