Robert Schuman

Robert Schuman was a French politician who initiated the European Community of Coal and Steel, the predecessor of the European Economic Community and the European Union. In 1940 he was deported to Germany; after his escape in 1942 he was active in the French resistance. He studied law, economy, statistics, political science and theology at the universities of Bonn, Munich, Berlin and Strasbourg and was minister of Foreign Affairs. Schuman was president of the European Parliament from 1958 till 1960. May 9th, the birthday of the Schuman-declaration that provided the foundations for the European cooperation in 1950, is annually celebrated as Europe Day.