Ursula von der Leyen in India: Meet the first woman to lead the European Commission

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is on a two-day bilateral visit to India. Leyen is accompanied by members of European College of Commissioners.

The delegation held talks with Indian officials in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Leyen at the Hyderabad House in the national capital on Friday.

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, and other ministers were present at the meeting. PM Modi and Ursula von der Leyen also held a bilateral meeting at Hyderabad House in Delhi.

Earlier, the European Commission Commissioners arrived at the Hyderabad House venue in the national capital onboard a bus powered by hydrogen fuel cell technology, which was developed and operated in collaboration with Tata Motors and Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL).

‘Two-day bilateral visit’

This is Ursula von der Leyen’s third visit to India. She previously visited India for a bilateral official visit in April 2022 and to attend the G20 Leaders’ Summit in September 2023.

“Touchdown in Delhi with my team of Commissioners. In an era of conflicts and intense competition, you need trusted friends. For Europe, India is such a friend and a strategic ally. I’ll discuss with Narendra Modi how to take our strategic partnership to the next level,” Leyen posted on X upon her arrival in the national capital on Thursday.

Earlier in the day, India and the EU held a bilateral cluster meeting in New Delhi, and discussions focused on connectivity, the India Middle East Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC), green and clean energy, mobility and talent, security, the Mediterranean, and the expansion of the European Union.

” Today, we have decided that we will draft a bold and ambitious roadmap of India-EU partnership from 2025 onward. This will be launched during the next India-EU Summit…Your visit is the biggest catalyst into translating our ambition into action,” Modi said in a joint statement with President Leyen.

Who is Ursula von der Leyen?

Ursula Gertrud von der Leyen is a German politician, serving as the 13th president of the European Commission, the executive branch of the European Union, since 2019. Leyen is the first woman to serve in the role, which is responsible for legislation affecting more than 450 million Europeans.

From 2005 until 2019, von der Leyen served in Angela Merkel’s cabinet – the longest tenure of any cabinet member – holding positions most recently as Minister of Defence. She was re-elected for a second five-year term in July 2024.

Leyen is a member of the centre-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and its affiliated European political party, the European People’s Party (EPP).

Born in Brussels to German parents

Leyen was born in 1958 to German parents and raised in Brussels, Belgium. She moved to Germany in 1971 when her father, Ernst Albrecht, became involved in German politics. She graduated from the London School of Economics in 1978, and in 1987, she acquired her medical licence from Hanover Medical School followed by a doctorate in 1991 and a Master of Public Health in 2001.

After marrying fellow physician Heiko von der Leyen, she lived with her family for four years in the United States in the 1990s. After returning to Germany, she became involved in local politics and served as a cabinet minister in the state government of Lower Saxony from 2003 to 2005.

In 2005, she joined the federal cabinet, first as Minister for Family Affairs and Youth from 2005 to 2009, then as Minister for Labour and Social Affairs from 2009 to 2013, and finally as Minister of Defence from 2013 to 2019. She was the first woman to serve as German defence minister.

British defence secretary Michael Fallon described her in 2019 as “a star presence” in the NATO community and “the doyenne of NATO ministers for over five years”.In 2023, she was again regarded as the favourite to take the role.

On July 2, 2019, Leyen was proposed by the European Council as the candidate for president of the European Commission. She was then elected by the European Parliament on July 16 and became the first woman to hold the office. On July 18, 2024, Leyen was re-elected as President of the European Commission by the European Parliament with an absolute majority of 401 members of the European Parliament out of 720.