European Commissioner
Which position did Mario Monti hold from 1995 to Sep 1999?
Mario Monti Mario Monti , ( born 19 March 1943 ) is an Italian economist who served as the Prime Minister of Italy from 2011 to 2013 , leading a government of technocratic government in the wake of the Italian debt crisis . Monti served as a European Commissioner from 1995 to 2004 , with responsibility for the Internal Market , Services , Customs and Taxation from 1995 to 1999 and for Competition from 1999 to 2004 . Monti has also been Rector and President of Bocconi University in Milan for many years . On 12 November 2011 , in the midst of the European sovereign debt crisis , Monti was invited by President Giorgio Napolitano to form a new technocratic government following the resignation of Silvio Berlusconi . Monti was sworn in as Prime Minister on 16 November 2011 , just a week after having been appointed a Lifetime Senator by President Napolitano , and initially became Minister of Economy and Finances as well , giving that portfolio up the following July . From 16 May 2013 to 17 October 2013 Monti was the President of Civic Choice , a centrist political party . Early life . Monti was born in Varese on 19 March 1943 . His mother was from Piacenza . Although his father grew up in Varese , he was born in Luján in the Buenos Aires Province , Argentina , where his grandfather Abramo had emigrated to from Italy in the 19th century and built up a soft-drink and beer-production business . Montis father went back to Argentina during World War II , but later returned to his family home in Varese . Monti studied at the private Leo XIII High School and attended Bocconi University of Milan , where he obtained a degree in economics in 1965 . Later , he won a scholarship to Yale University where he studied under James Tobin , a recipient of the Nobel Prize in Economics . Academic career . Monti began his academic career at the University of Trento , before moving to teach economics at the University of Turin from 1970 to 1985 , and finally to Bocconi University , where he was appointed Rector in 1989 , and President in 1994 . He also served as President of the SUERF ( The European Money and Finance Forum ) from 1982 to 1985 . His research helped to create the Klein-Monti model , aimed at describing the behaviour of banks operating under monopoly circumstances . European Commissioner . Santer Commission . In 1994 , Monti was appointed to the Santer Commission , along with Emma Bonino , by Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi . In his office as a European Commissioner from 1994 to 1999 , he was responsible for internal market , financial services and financial integration , customs , and taxation . His work with the Commission earned him the nickname Super Mario from his colleagues and from the press . Prodi Commission . In 1999 , Prime Minister Massimo DAlema confirmed Montis appointment to the new Prodi Commission and he was given one of the most powerful positions at the Commission , with responsibility for Competition . As Competition Commissioner , Monti led the investigation into a number of high-profile and controversial mergers , including : Scania AB & Volvo ( 1999 ) , WorldCom & Sprint ( 2000 ) , General Electric & Honeywell ( 2001 ) , Schneider Electric & Legrand ( 2001 ) and Carnival Corporation & P&O Ferries ( 2002 ) . His term in office also saw the European Court of Justice , for the first time , overrule the Commissions decision to block a merger in three separate cases , although two were decided by his predecessor . Monti was also responsible for levying the EUs largest ever fine at the time ( €497 million ) against Microsoft for abusing its dominant market position in 2004 . Monti was criticised in the media and by competition lawyers for the perceived inflexibility of the merger oversight process and the high number of cases that were being blocked . On 1 November 2002 , Monti responding to the European Court of Justices ruling which reversed his decision to block the merger between Airtours & First Choice Holidays said , Last week was a tough week for the Commissions merger control policy and of course for me . This ruling in combination with his decision to block the General Electric & Honeywell merger led to criticism in the United States against both the Commissions procedures and accusations that Montis decisions were politically motivated . Monti , however , was defended by supporters who saw his actions as an important step in the development of competition law in the EU . Dan Rubinfeld , economics professor at the University of California who worked on the US Justice Departments antitrust case against Microsoft , said of Monti , There has been a lot of talk of politics in this and other cases , but I believe he has been driven entirely by the desire to do the right thing . On 11 December 2002 , Monti proposed a series of reforms to the EUs merger rules and made structural changes within the Commissions Competition department which aimed to improve transparency for companies throughout the merger review process . The reforms were adopted by the EU as Regulation 139/2004 ( known as ECMR ) . In 2004 , Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi returned to power in Italy and chose not to re-appoint Monti to the Commission when his second term ended . Barroso Commission . In 2010 , Monti was asked by Commission President Manuel Barroso to draft a Report on the Future of the Single Market proposing further measures towards the completion of the EUs Single Market . The published report , adopted by the EU on 13 April 2011 , proposed 12 reforms to the Single Market and was intended to give new momentum to the European economy . Prime Minister of Italy . Appointment . On 9 November 2011 , Monti was appointed a lifetime senator by Italian President Giorgio Napolitano . He was seen as a favourite to replace Silvio Berlusconi to lead a new unity government in Italy in order to implement reforms and austerity measures . On 12 November 2011 , following Berlusconis resignation , Napolitano invited Monti to form a new government . Monti accepted the offer , and held talks with the leaders of the main Italian political parties , declaring that he wanted to form a government that would remain in office until the next scheduled general elections in 2013 . On 16 November 2011 , Monti was sworn in as Prime Minister of Italy , after unveiling a technocratic cabinet composed entirely of unelected professionals . He also chose to hold the post of Minister of Economy and Finances . On 17 and 18 November 2011 , the Italian Senate and Italian Chamber of Deputies both passed motions of confidence supporting Montis government , with only Lega Nord voting against . Austerity measures . On 4 December 2011 , Montis government introduced emergency austerity measures intended to stem the worsening economic conditions in Italy and restore market confidence , especially after rising Italian government bond yields began to threaten Italys financial stability . The austerity package called for increased taxes , pension reform and measures to fight tax evasion . Monti also announced that he would be giving up his own salary as part of the reforms . On 16 December 2011 , the Lower House of the Italian Parliament adopted the measures by a vote of 495 to 88 . Six days later the Upper House gave final approval to the package by a vote of 257 to 41 . Labour market reforms . On 20 January 2012 , Montis government formally adopted a package of reforms targeting Italys labour market . The reforms are intended to open certain professions ( such as taxi drivers , pharmacists , doctors , lawyers and notaries ) to more competition by reforming their licensing systems and abolishing minimum tariffs for their services . Article 18 of Italys labour code , which requires companies that employ 15 or more workers to re-hire ( rather than compensate ) any employee found to have been fired without just cause , would also be reformed . The reforms to Article 18 are intended to make it easier for companies to dismiss or lay-off employees , which would hopefully encourage companies to hire more employees on permanent rather than short-term renewable contracts . The proposals have been met by strong opposition from labour unions and public protests . In early January 2012 , consultations between the government and labour unions commenced and on 13 February it was reported in the Italian media that a compromise on the proposals was very close and the government was hopeful that reforms could be approved by the Italian parliament in March . 2013 election . On 21 December 2012 , Monti announced his resignation as Prime Minister , having made a public promise to step down on 8 December , after the passing of the 2013 Budget . He initially stated that he would only remain in office until an early election could be held . However , on 28 December , he announced that he would seek to remain Prime Minister by contesting the election , as the leader of a centrist coalition , the Civic Choice . The election was held on 24 February 2013 , and Montis centrist coalition was only able to come fourth , with 10.5% of the vote . Monti remained Prime Minister until a coalition was formed on 28 April led by Enrico Letta . Political career . Lifetime Senator . On 9 November 2011 , Monti was appointed a Lifetime Senator by Italian President Giorgio Napolitano , in accordance with the second paragraph of Article 59 of the Constitution , which merits national honor distinguished in science and society . He was a member of the Commission for Industry , Commerce and Tourism from 30 November 2011 to 14 March 2013 in the sixteenth legislature . Monti was a member of the independents mixed parliamentary group until 19 March 2013 , when he joined the Civic Choice ( SC ) parliamentary group , becoming the first lifetime senator aligned with a party group . On 7 May 2013 , he became a member of the Commission for Foreign Affairs and Emigration . President of Civic Choice . On 4 January 2013 , Monti launched Civic Choice as an electoral list of the civil society , to realize the implementation of his agenda in a future government . SC was announced as part of the With Monti for Italy ( CMI ) centrist coalition , alongside Union of the Centre ( UdC ) and Future and Freedom ( FLI ) . In the 2013 general election , the party obtained 8.3% of the vote , 37 deputies ( on own lists ) and 15 senators ( within CMI ) . On 12 March 2013 , Civic Choice was turned into a political party as Monti took office as acting SC president in the Provisional Committee of the party and appointed senator Andrea Olivero as provisional political coordinator . On 16 May 2013 , Mario Monti was unanimously elected president of the Civic Choice . On 17 October 2013 he resigned and was replaced by his deputy Alberto Bombassei as acting president . Monti cited his disagreement with 12 senators ( out of 20 ) , including Mario Mauro , Andrea Olivero , Gabriele Albertini , Pier Ferdinando Casini ( UdC leader ) , Maria Paola Merloni , Luigi Marino and Lucio Romano . Particularly , Monti criticized Mauros line of unconditioned support to the government and of transforming SC in a larger centre-right political party , open to The People of Freedom . Other activities . Monti actively participates in several major think tanks . He was the founding chairman of Bruegel , another European think tank , which was formed in 2005 . Monti is a leading member of the exclusive Bilderberg Group . He has also been an international advisor to Goldman Sachs and The Coca-Cola Company . In 2007 , Monti was one of the first supporters of the first European civic forum , États Généraux de lEurope , initiated by European think tank EuropaNova and European Movement . He was also a member of the French governments Attali Commission from 2007 to 2008 , appointed by Nicolas Sarkozy to provide recommendations to enhance economic growth in France . Monti is a founding member of the Spinelli Group , an organization launched in September 2010 to facilitate integration within the European Union ( other members of the steering group include Jacques Delors , Daniel Cohn-Bendit , Guy Verhofstadt , Andrew Duff and Elmar Brok ) . In January 2014 , Monti became Chairman of the High Level Group on Own Resources , a consultative committee of the European Union aimed at proposing new forms of revenue for the European Unions budget . The final report of the group was adopted in December 2016 and published in January 2017 . It argued for new tax sources , such as on carbon and fuel . In 2019 , Monti chaired a search committee which recommended to the European Commission the appointment of Mauro Ferrari as the next President of the European Research Council ( ERC ) . In 2020 , he was appointed by the World Health Organization’s Regional Office for Europe to chair the Pan-European Commission on Health and Sustainable Development to make recommendations on investments and reforms to improve the resilience of health and social care systems . Other activities include : - Center for Economic and Policy Research ( CEPR ) , Distinguished Fellow ( since 2019 ) - European Investment Bank ( EIB ) , Member of the Appointment Advisory Committee - Friends of Europe , Member of the Praesidium - Moodys , Member of the Senior European Advisory Council - Atlantic Council , Member of the Business and Economics Advisors Group - Transparency International , Chairman of the European Advisory Board ( since 2015 ) - Trilateral Commission , European Chairman ( -2011 ) Personal life . Since 1970 Monti has been married to Elsa Antonioli ( born 1944 ) , an Italian Red Cross volunteer , with whom he has two children , Federica and Giovanni . Known for his reserved character , Monti acknowledges not being especially sociable . He said that his youth was given over to hard study ; spare-time activities included cycling and keeping up with world affairs by tuning into foreign short-wave radio stations . In addition to his native Italian , Monti also speaks English . Awards and decorations . National honours . - Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic ( 29 November 2004 ) - Commander of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic ( 27 December 1992 ) Foreign honours . - Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun ( 3 November 2015 )