Viscount Etienne Davignon

Viscount Etienne Davignon started his career at the Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and became Head of Cabinet of Ministers Spaak and Harmel.

Playing a key role behind the report on the future of the Atlantic Alliance (Harmel Report), he also presided over the committee responsible for preparing the first proposals for political cooperation between EEC Members (Davignon Report) and became the first President of the International Energy Agency in 1974.

After leaving the civil service in 1977, Mr. Davignon was appointed Vice President of the EEC in charge of industry, research and energy, a role he fulfilled until the end of 1984.
During this period he was active in the restructuring of European industry and in promoting new research cooperative ventures. He negotiated, on behalf of the EEC, key agreements with the US, Japan and China.

In 1985 he joined Société Générale de Belgique, Belgium's largest holding company and became their Executive Chairman in 1989.

Board Mandates

Mr. Davignon is currently Chairman of SN Airholding, Recticel, Compagnie Internationale
de Wagon Lits and Compagnie Maritime Belge. He has been Vice-Chairman of Fortis and Umicore and is a member of the boards of GDF Suez and Sofina.  He is a Non-Executive Director of Gilead Sciences.

His career includes Non-Executive Directorships on the boards of Anglo American, BASF, Solvay, ICL, FIAT, Générale de Banque, Arbed, Pechiney, Toyota, Petrofina and Accor. Mr. Davignon has been one of the longest serving members of the European Round Table of Industrialists.

He has been a member of the Bank of Montreal and Kissinger Associates. He is Chairman of the Advisory Board of Business Network for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Honorary Chairman of the Bilderberg Group.

Awards

Mr. Davignon is Minister of State, amongst others. He received the 'Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun' by the Japanese government and was elected 'European of the Year' by the Economist in 2003.