Ana Palacio (Senior Strategic Counsel)
Ana Palacio is a Senior Strategic Counsel to Albright Stonebridge Group, a global strategy firm. Ms. Palacio was the first woman to serve as Foreign Minister of Spain, from 2002-2004.
As the Head of the Spanish Delegation to the Intergovernmental Conference and a member of the Presidium of the Convention, she was at the forefront of the debate on the future of the European Union and drafted and led legal discussions on the European Treaties reform.
Ms. Palacio is the Founding Partner of Palacio y Asociados, a Madrid-based consulting and law firm. She has served as Senior Vice President for International Affairs of AREVA, the international nuclear and renewable energy company (2008-2010); Senior Vice President and General Counsel of the World Bank Group and Secretary General of the International Center for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) (2006-2008).
Prior to serving as Foreign Minister of Spain, Ms. Palacio was a member of the Spanish Parliament, where she chaired the Joint Committee of the two Houses for European Affairs from 2004-2006.
And from 1994-2002, she was a member of the European Parliament, where she chaired the Legal Affairs and Internal Market Committee, the Justice and Home Affairs Committee and the Conference of the Committee Chairs, the most senior decision-making body on legislative policy and programs.
Ms. Palacio is a lawyer by profession, specializing in international and European law, arbitration and mediation. She has held the most senior positions in the governing bodies of the Madrid Bar and the Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe (CCBE), where she was a spokesperson for the Spanish Delegation (1996-2000), First Vice-President and Vice-President-Elect (2000-2002).
Ms. Palacio is a Professor at the Collegio Europeo di Parma. She is also an arbiter at the Arbitration of Madrid’s Chamber of Commerce; a member of the Panel of Arbitrators of the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID); and in February 2010 was appointed special advisor on Justice, Fundamental Rights and Citizenship to the Vice President of the European Commission in charge.
Ms. Palacio is a member of the Board of Directors of Pharmamar, a biopharmaceutical company; and a member of the International Advisory Board of INVESTCORP, an alternative investment products provider, and Anadarko, an independent oil and natural gas exploration and production company.
She is also a member of the Board of Trustees of the Carnegie Corporation of New York, a member of the Commission on the Liberalization of the French Economy, and a member of the International Advisory Board of Instituto de Empresa, one of Europe’s leading business schools.
She is also a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on the Future of the European Union, the Board of the Atlantic Council of the U.S., and the Supervisory Board of Hague Institute for Internationalization of Law.
Ms. Palacio graduated with honors from the Lycée Français (Baccalauréat Mathèmatiques). She holds degrees in Law, Political Science and Sociology, also with honors.