Thefounding fathers of the European Union are men who are considered to be major contributors toEuropean unity and the development of what is now theEuropean Union (EU). The number and list of the founding fathers of the EU varies depending on the source. A 2013 EU publication identified 11 men.
Some sources list only a subset of the 11 men as founding fathers. TheCouncil of Europe lists six founding fathers asbuilders of Europe, including the BritonErnest Bevin.[1] The media outletDeutsche Welle presented a different constellation, it listedRichard Coudenhove-Kalergi,Winston Churchill,Robert Schuman,Jean Monnet andPaul-Henri Spaak as the five founding fathers of the EU.[2] Other sources have emphasizedKonrad Adenauer ofWest Germany,Alcide De Gasperi of Italy andRobert Schuman of France as the founding fathers from thethree pioneers countries of the European unification.[3]
The European Union listed 11 people as its founding fathers[4] in a publication from 2013.[5] These are:
| Picture | Name | Country | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Konrad Adenauer |  FR Germany | First chancellor of FR Germany, Adenauer attempted to restore relations with France during his term in office between 1949 and 1963. He was instrumental in bringing about the 1963Élysée Treaty between the two countries. He signed a treaty of friendship with France. |
.jpg) | Joseph Bech |  Luxembourg | As Prime Minister of Luxembourg, Bech was actively involved in the establishment of theBenelux Customs Union and later theEuropean Coal and Steel Community. Played an important role in preparing the 1955Messina Conference which paved the way for the establishment of theEuropean Economic Community in 1958. |
.jpg) | Johan Beyen |  Netherlands | Dutch foreign minister and one of the principal architects of thecommon market after 1955. |
.jpg) | Winston Churchill |  United Kingdom | British prime minister duringWorld War II, Churchill called for a "United States of Europe", organised democratically, to prevent future wars in Europe. He was a driving force behind the creation of theCouncil of Europe. |
 | Alcide De Gasperi |  Italy | First prime minister of theItalian Republic and a skilled mediator creating rapprochement between European states, involved in the creation of theEuropean Coal and Steel Community and of theCouncil of Europe. |
 | Walter Hallstein | FR Germany | German academic and diplomat who served as theEuropean Commission's first president at theEuropean Economic Community and played a notable role in creating thecommon market |
 | Sicco Mansholt | Netherlands | A farmer and member of theDutch Resistance duringWorld War II where he witnessed theDutch famine of 1944, Mansholt's ideas on the need for European self-sufficiency in food formed the basis of theCommon Agricultural Policy. |
 | Jean Monnet |  France | A political and economic advisor, Monnet helped to create theSchuman Declaration of 1950, a milestone Franco-German rapprochement afterWorld War II and the creation of theEuropean Coal and Steel Community, and promoted international industrial cooperation. |
.jpg) | Robert Schuman | France | As French foreign minister between 1948 and 1952, Schuman was responsible for the 1950Schuman Declaration (together withJean Monnet) which agreed to place France and FR Germany's production of coal and steel under a single international authority, a key milestone towards theEuropean Coal and Steel Community. Upon retiring the European Parliament bestowed him the title of Father of Europe[6] |
 | Paul-Henri Spaak |  Belgium | A Belgian prime minister involved in the negotiation of theBenelux Customs Union in 1944 and later appointed to leading roles in theUnited Nations,NATO,Council of Europe andEuropean Coal and Steel Community in the 1950s and 1960s. He played an important role in creating the 1957Treaty of Rome which led to the foundation of theEuropean Economic Community. |
 | Altiero Spinelli | Italy | A left-wing and progressivist politician and convinced federalist, Spinelli was involved in theItalian resistance duringWorld War II and instrumental in the 1941Ventotene Manifesto. He remained an influential federalist and was the author of the 1984Spinelli Plan, beginning a process which would culminate in theMaastricht Treaty and the creation of theEuropean Union. |
Other sources discuss fewer names.[7]
Commentators have pointed out that the founding fathers were all men.
Ada Rossi [it] andUrsula Hirschmann, among other women, played a central role in the dissemination of the ideas of a federal Europe ofVentotene Manifesto; their role remains largely unacknowledged.[8]
A clause of equality between men and women was introduced in the Treaty of Rome for economic reasons because of concerns ofdumping by countries that used low-paid women's labour.[9]
In a new publication from 2021, the European Union listed 21 people labelledEU pioneers, in which 8 women names have been added to the list of the 11 founding fathers.[10]Those who were added to the list ofEU pioneers, including the 8 women, are:
| Picture | Name | Country | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Anna Lindh |  Sweden | Minister of the Environment and of Foreign Affairs, member of the Swedish parliament and cabinet member when Sweden headed the Council of the European Union who was killed in office. |
 | François Mitterrand | France | Social democratic and longest-serving President of France during the end of the Cold War and the creation of the European Union. |
_cropped.jpg) | Helmut Kohl | Germany | Christian democratic politician and longest-serving head of government of Germany besides Bismarck who served as Chancellor of FR Germany and of reunified Germany during the fall of the Berlin Wall, the end of the Cold War and the creation of the European Union. |
.jpg) | Louise Weiss | France | Suffragette and Gaullist politician who served as MEP in the first elected European Parliament. The main Parliament building in Strasbourg bears her name. |
 | Marga Klompé | Netherlands | Chemist and Christian democratic politician who was the first female government minister in the Netherlands and also a member of the European Coal and Steel Community Parliament. |
 | Melina Mercouri |  Greece | Award-winning actress and social democratic politician who served as the Greek Minister of Culture and Sports, helped establish the European Capitals of Culture and won a special prize in the first edition of the Europe Theatre Prize. |
 | Nicole Fontaine | France | MEP for over 20 years and President of the European Parliament from 1999 to 2001. |
 | Nilde Iotti | Italy | Communist politician, first woman and longest-serving president of the Italian Chamber of Deputies. |
.jpg) | Simone Veil | France | French magistrate, Holocaust survivor, and politician who served as the first President of the elected European Parliament from 1979 to 1982. |
 | Ursula Hirschmann | Germany | Anti-fascist activist and an advocate of European federalism. |
CountRichard von Coudenhove-Kalergi (1894–1972) published thePaneuropa manifesto in 1923 which set up the movement of that name. At the start of the 1950sRobert Schuman (1886–1963), based on a plan byJean Monnet (1888–1979), called for aEuropean Coal and Steel Community in his "Schuman declaration". Monnet went on to become the first President of theHigh Authority. Schuman later served as President of theEuropean Parliament and became notable for advancingEuropean integration.[2]
Following its creation, theTreaty of Rome established theEuropean Economic Community. Although not all the people who signed the treaty are known as founding fathers, a number are, such asPaul-Henri Spaak (1899–1972), who also worked on the treaty as well as theBenelux union and was the firstPresident of the European Parliament.[2] Other founding fathers who signed the treaty wereKonrad Adenauer (1876–1967) of FR Germany[11] andJoseph Bech (1887–1975) of Luxembourg.[12]
Further men who have been considered founding fathers are:Giuseppe Mazzini (1805–1872) who founded the association "Young Europe" in 1834 with the vision of a united continent;[13]Victor Hugo (1802–1885) who made a speech where he called forUnited States of Europe in 1849 at theInternational Peace Congress of Paris;Milan Hodža (1878–1944) who was famous for his attempts to establish a democratic federation of Central European states (book:Federation in central Europe, reflections and reminiscences);Jacques Delors (1925–2023), who was a successful Commission President in the 1980s and 90s;Lorenzo Natali (1922–1989);Carlo Azeglio Ciampi (1920–2016);Mário Soares (1924–2017),Portuguese Prime Minister at the time Portugal acceded the EC and also a 'founding father of democratic Portugal';[14] andPierre Werner (1913–2002) aPrime Minister of Luxembourg.[11]
Some have consideredAmerican Secretary of StateGeorge C. Marshall as an influential force in developing the European Union. Hisnamesake plan to rebuild Europe in the wake of World War II contributed more than $100 billion in today's[when?] dollars to the Europeans, helping to feed Europeans, deliver steel to rebuild industries, provide coal to warm homes, and construct dams to help provide power. In doing so, the Marshall Plan encouraged the integration of European powers into the European Coal and Steel Community, the precursor to present-day European Union, by illustrating the effects of economic integration and the need for coordination. The potency of the Marshall Plan caused former Chancellor of FR GermanyHelmut Schmidt to remark in 1997 that "America should not forget that the development of the European Union is one of its greatest achievements. Without the Marshall Plan it perhaps would never have come to that."[15][16]
From resistance fighters to lawyers, the founding fathers were a diverse group of people who held the same ideals: a peaceful, united and prosperous Europe. This collection tells the story behind 11 of the EU's founding fathers.
Und Amerika sollte nicht vergessen, daß die Entstehung der Europäischen Union eine seiner größten Leistungen ist. Ohne den Marshallplan wäre es vielleicht nie dazu gekommen.
Witness the recent words of former German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt: 'The United States ought not to forget that the emerging European Union is one of its greatest achievements: it would never have happened without the Marshall Plan.' [The "vielleicht" in the original quote is missing in this translation.]
