Joaquín Almunia Amann (born 17 June 1948) is a Spanish politician and former member of theEuropean Commission. During his tenure in the twoBarroso Commissions, he was European commissioner responsible for economic and monetary affairs (2004–2009) and, subsequently, vice-president and theEuropean Commissioner for Competition (2009–2014).^[1]

Joaquín Almunia
Almunia in 2007
European Commissioner for Competition
In office 9 February 2010 – 1 November 2014
President	José Manuel Barroso
Preceded by	Neelie Kroes
Succeeded by	Margrethe Vestager
European Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs
In office 24 April 2004 – 9 February 2010 Served withSiim Kallas
President	Romano Prodi José Manuel Barroso
Preceded by	Pedro Solbes
Succeeded by	Olli Rehn
Leader of the Opposition
In office 14 May 1999 – 1 July 2000
Prime Minister	José María Aznar
Preceded by	Josep Borrell
Succeeded by	José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero
In office 22 June 1997 – 24 April 1998
Prime Minister	José María Aznar
Preceded by	Felipe González
Succeeded by	Josep Borrell
Minister of Public Administrations
In office 26 July 1986 – 12 March 1991
Prime Minister	Felipe González
Preceded by	Félix Pons Irazazábal
Succeeded by	Juan Manuel Eguiagaray
Minister of Labor and Nacional Health Service
In office 2 December 1982 – 26 July 1986
Prime Minister	Felipe González
Preceded by	Santiago Rodríguez Miranda
Succeeded by	Manuel Chaves González
Personal details
Born	Joaquín Almunia Amann (1948-06-17)17 June 1948 (age 76) Bilbao,Spain
Political party	Socialist Workers' Party
Alma mater	University of Deusto Practical School for Advanced Studies

Previously, he had beenSpanish Minister for Employment (1982–1986) and Public Administrations (1986–1991). From 1997 to 2000, he was theleader of the opposition as secretary general of theSpanish Socialist Workers' Party, standing in and losing the2000 Spanish general election against the then incumbent Spanishprime minister,José María Aznar.

Born inBilbao on 17 June 1948 to abourgeois family, son to an engineer (father) ofValencian origin and a cultivated mother, daughter of a German physician of Jewish ancestry.^[2] His grandfather Isaac Amann was one of the promoters of the Bilbao–Getxo railway.^[2] Almunia attended the Jesuit School of Indautxu in Bilbao.^[2] He graduated with degrees in economics and law in 1971 and 1972, respectively, from the also JesuitUniversity of Deusto in Bilbao, and completed follow-up studies at theÉcole pratique des hautes études in Paris, from 1970 to 1971. He also completed a program at theHarvard Kennedy School atHarvard University for senior managers in government in 1991. He was an associate lecturer on employment and social security law at theUniversity of Alcalá de Henares from 1991 to 1994.^[3]

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

Almunia was a member of theCongress of Deputies from 1979 to 2004, representingMadrid. He served as Minister of Employment and Social Security of theGovernment of Spain from 1982 to 1986 and as Minister of Public Administration from 1986 to 1991. He was replaced byJuan Manuel Eguiagaray in the latter post.^[4] He was also the PSOE spokesperson from 1994 to 1997.

Upon the resignation ofFelipe González after being defeated in the1996 elections, the PSOE Convention (Congreso federal) appointed Almunia as the party leader (Secretary-General), a position he held from 1997 to 2000.

In 1998, fellow party member and former ministerJosep Borrell decided to run against Almunia,^[5] in the first nationalprimary election ever held in the PSOE since theSecond Republic,^[6] intended to determine who the party would nominate as its prime ministerial candidate vis-à-vis the2000 general election. Borrell ran as the underdog, campaigning as the candidate of the socialist base against the party establishment, which largely supported Almunia, including former Prime Minister González.^{[7][8][9][10][11]} Unexpectedly, Borrell won the primary election,^[12] commanding 114,254 of the member's votes (54.99%), versus the 92,860 (44.67%) obtained by Almunia.^[13][14] Thus began an uneasy relationship and power-sharing —the "bicefalia" (duumvirate)— between the official party leader, Almunia, and the prime ministerial candidate elected by the members in the primaries, Borrell.^{[15][16][17][18]} However, in May 1999, a fraud investigation affecting two former officials appointed by Borrell several years earlier while he was at the Ministry of Finance, led to his resignation as Prime Ministerial candidate.

In2000, Almunia was therefore the PSOE candidate forprime minister. The party was again defeated by incumbent Prime MinisterJosé María Aznar of the conservativePP, suffering its worst result in a general election since theSpanish transition to democracy, which resulted in an absolute majority for Aznar. As a result, Almunia resigned as PSOE leader.

Almunia was the director of the research program on "equality and redistribution of income" at the Fundación Argentaria from 1991 to 1994. In 2002 he founded and served as director of a progressivethink tank calledLaboratorio de Alternativas (Fundación Alternativas).

He first joined theProdi Commission on 26 April 2004 as a successor toPedro Solbes (who had resigned to join the newZapatero government) and was reappointed by Barroso in November 2004.

As EU Commissioner for Competition, Almunia was in charge ofstate aid and antitrust investigations relating to Google^[19] and to the tax planning practices of Apple, Starbucks and Fiat,^[20] as well as Amazon.^[21] The cases were wrapped up in 2016 by his successor Vestager and eventually closed by the CJEU in 2024, which upheld the Commission's decision.^[22]

He is an Honorary Fellow ofSt Edmund's College, Cambridge.^[23]

• European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), Ex-Officio Member of the Board of Governors (2004–2010)^[24]

• Aristide Merloni Foundation, Member of the Scientific Council (since 2019)^[25]
• The European House – Ambrosetti, Member of the Scientific Committee for 'Building the Energy Union to Fuel European Growth' (2015)^[26]
• Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS), Chairman
• Centre for European Reform, Member of the Advisory Board
• European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR), Member
• European Policy Centre (EPC), Member of the Strategic Council^[27]
• Friends of Europe, Member of the Board of Trustees
• Jacques Delors Institute, Member of the Board of Directors

•   Media related toJoaquín Almunia at Wikimedia Commons
• Joaquín Almunia, Official Media Gallery