Article 06-05-2019 - 10:20 Reference No: 20190418STO42639 EU Presidential Debate: lead candidate Margrethe Vestager (ALDE) Margrethe Vestager profile https://multimedia.europarl.europa.eu/en/eu-presidential-debate-lead-candidate-margrethe-vestager-alde_NO1-PUB-190510- VEST_ev Margrethe Vestager will be one of the candidates for the presidency of the European Commission taking part in a live Eurovision debate at the Parliament in Brussels on 15 May. About Vestager Name: Margrethe Vestager European political party: Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) Nationality: Danish Age: 51 Career: 2014 - European Commissioner for Competition 2011-2014 Minister for Economic and Interior Affairs 2001-2014 MP Directorate General for Communication 1 I 3 European Parliament - Spokesperson: Jaume Duch Guillot EN Contact: [email protected] Article 1998-2001 Minister for Education 1993 - MSc in economics, University of Copenhagen About the debate Political parties put forward candidates for the post of president of the European Commission ahead of the European elections. The lead candidate nominated by the Council, and able to command a majority in Parliament, will be elected President of the European Commission by a vote of Parliament. The lead candidates are sometimes referred to by the German term spitzenkandidaten. This system was first used in 2014 to select current Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker. The Presidential Debate - EU Elections 2019 on 15 May at 21.00 CET is an opportunity to discover where the lead candidates stand on a range of issues. Some political parties have nominated more than one lead candidate, but have nominated a single candidate to represent them in the debate. Three TV moderators will host the debate. Lots were drawn to determine the speaking order. ALDE’s nominated a team of seven lead candidates, including: Nicola Beer (49), German MP Emma Bonino (71) Senator of Rome; former minister, MEP and commissioner Violeta Bulc (55) European commissioner for Transport, former deputy Prime Minister of Slovenia Katalin Cseh (30) Hungarian doctor in obstetrics and gynaecology, founder and former leader of Momentum Movement Luis Garicano (52) Spanish economist, vice-president of ALDE party Guy Verhofstadt (66) chair of ALDE group in the European Parliament, former Belgian Prime Minister ALDE is aligned with the ALDE group in Parliament. Directorate General for Communication 2 I 3 European Parliament - Spokesperson: Jaume Duch Guillot EN Contact: [email protected] Article Margrethe Vestager Find out more Facebook live on 29 April Profile Streaming link Multimedia: European elections Video: preparation of the EE2019 Presidential Debate Directorate General for Communication 3 I 3 European Parliament - Spokesperson: Jaume Duch Guillot EN Contact: [email protected].