The Thorn Commission was the European Commission that held office from 6 January 1981 until 5 January 1985. Its President was Gaston Thorn.
Work
It was the successor to the Jenkins Commission and was succeeded by the Delors Commission. With a current economic crisis, it had to speed up enlargement to Greece, Spain and Portugal while making steps towards the Single European Act in 1985.[1] However, with a period of eurosclerosis, due to economic problems and British vetoing over the Community budget, Thorn was unable to exert his influence to any significant extent.[2]
Membership
| Portfolio | Member state | Office-holder |
|---|---|---|
| President (Secretariat-General, Legal Service, Spokesman’s Group, Culture and Security Office) |  Luxembourg | Gaston Thorn |
| Vice-President Economic and Financial Credit and Investments |  France | François-Xavier Ortoli |
| Vice-President External Relations (Nuclear Affairs) |  Germany | Wilhelm Haferkamp |
| Vice-President Mediterranean Policy, Enlargement and Information |  Italy | Lorenzo Natali |
| Vice-President Industrial Affairs, Energy, Research and Science (Euratom Supply Agency and the Joint Research Centre) | .svg.png){kind=small} Belgium | Étienne Davignon |
| Vice-President Budget and Financial Control, Financial Institutions and Taxation |  United Kingdom | Christopher Tugendhat |
| Regional Policy (Coordination of Community Funds) | Italy | Antonio Giolitti |
| Transport, Fisheries and Tourism |  Greece | Giorgios Contogeorgis |
| Internal Market, Industrial Innovation, Customs Union, the Environment, Consumer Protection and Nuclear Safety | Germany | Karl-Heinz Narjes |
| Parliamentary Relations and Competition |  Netherlands | Frans Andriessen |
| Employment and Social Affairs (Tripartite Conference and Education Training) | United Kingdom | Ivor Richard |
| Agriculture |  Denmark | Finn Olav Gundelach (Died 13 January 1981) |
| Agriculture | Denmark | Poul Dalsager (From 20 January 1981) |
| Personnel and Administration (Mandate of 30 May 1980, Joint Interpreting and Conference Service, Statistical Office, Office for Official Publications) |  Ireland | Michael O'Kennedy (Resigned 3 March 1982) |
| Personnel and Administration (Mandate of 30 May 1980, Joint Interpreting and Conference Service, Statistical Office, Office for Official Publications) | Ireland | Richard Burke (From 1 April 1982) |
| Development | France | Claude Cheysson (Resigned 23 April 1981) |
| Development | France | Edgard Pisani (From 26 May 1981; Resigned 3 December 1984) |
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The Thorn Commission
Summary by political leanings
The colour of the row indicates the approximate political leaning of the office holder using the following scheme:
| Affiliation | No. of Commissioners |
|---|---|
| Right leaning / Conservative | 7 |
| Liberal | 1 |
| Left leaning / Socialist | 4 |
| Unknown / Independent | 5 |
References
- ^ Discover the former Presidents: The Thorn Commission, Europa (web portal), Accessed 23 August 2007
- ^ Eppink, Derk-Jan (2007). Life of a European Mandarin: Inside the Commission. Ian Connerty (trans.) (1st ed.). Tielt, Belgium: Lannoo. p. 24. ISBN 978-90-209-7022-7.