Helmut Freiherr von Verschuer (born 6 December 1926), sometimes referred to as ''Helmut van Verschuer'' in Dutch, was a European civil servant who was a high-ranking official of the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body ...

from 1958 until 1987. He was born in

Tübingen Tübingen (, , Swabian: ''Dibenga'') is a traditional university city in central Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated south of the state capital, Stuttgart, and developed on both sides of the Neckar and Ammer rivers. about one in three ...

. A member of the noble Dutch Verschuer family, which was closely connected to the

Trott zu Solz The Trott zu Solz family is a Hessian noble family and a member of the Hessian Protestant ''Uradel'' and the . It is descended from the knight Hermann Trott, who was mentioned in 1253. The family seat is in Solz, where the family has a manor, a ...

family, Verschuer attended the

Musterschule The Musterschule ("model school") is a Gymnasium (Germany), gymnasium in Frankfurt, Germany. It was founded on 18 April 1803 by Wilhelm Friedrich Hufnagel as a ''Realschule'' and is Frankfurt's second oldest higher school after the Lessing-Gymna ...

in Frankfurt. He then studied agriculture at the

Technical University of Munich The Technical University of Munich (TUM or TU Munich; german: Technische Universität München) is a public research university in Munich, Germany. It specializes in engineering, technology, medicine, and applied and natural sciences. Establis ...

and the

University of Giessen University of Giessen, official name Justus Liebig University Giessen (german: Justus-Liebig-Universität Gießen), is a large public research university in Giessen, Hesse, Germany. It is named after its most famous faculty member, Justus von ...

, and earned an M.Sc. in agriculture in 1950 and a PhD in agriculture at the

University of Göttingen The University of Göttingen, officially the Georg August University of Göttingen, (german: Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, known informally as Georgia Augusta) is a public research university in the city of Göttingen, Germany. Founded ...

in 1956. He was a civil servant in the

Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture The Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (german: Bundesministerium für Ernährung und Landwirtschaft, ), abbreviated BMEL, is a cabinet-level ministry of the Federal Republic of Germany. Its primary headquarters are located in Bonn with ...

in West Germany from 1952 to 1958. He was also a member of the West German permanent delegation to the negotiations on a European agricultural union 1952–1954 and participated in the Val Duchesse negotiations on the Rome Treaties, their compatibility with the

GATT The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is a legal agreement between many countries, whose overall purpose was to promote international trade by reducing or eliminating trade barriers such as tariffs or quotas. According to its prea ...

, and the free-trade area (1956–1958). From 1958 to 1987 he worked for the

's Directorate-General for Agriculture. He was the

executive assistant A secretary, administrative professional, administrative assistant, executive assistant, administrative officer, administrative support specialist, clerk, military assistant, management assistant, office secretary, or personal assistant is a wh ...

(i.e.

private secretary A private secretary (PS) is a civil servant in a governmental department or ministry, responsible to a secretary of state or minister; or a public servant in a royal household, responsible to a member of the royal family. The role exists in ...

) for the first director-general for agriculture Louis-Georges Rabot from 1958 to 1967, Director of General Affairs responsible for international negotiations from 1967 to 1972, and Deputy Director-General from 1972 to 1986. He played a key role in the EU's membership negotiations with

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

and

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

. He was also President of the ''Association œcuménique européenne pour église et société'' in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

. He was also the author of several works on the

Common Agricultural Policy The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is the agricultural policy of the European Union. It implements a system of agricultural subsidies and other programmes. It was introduced in 1962 and has since then undergone several changes to reduce the ...

.Helmut von Verschuer
CVCE

Publications

*Helmut von Verschuer,
Wie ich zur Landwirtschaft kam und die Entstehung der europäischen Agrarpolitik erlebt habe
', memoirs,

Historical Archives of the European Union The Historical Archives of the European Union (HAEU), located in Florence (Italy), is the official archives for the historical documents of the Institutions of the European Union. It is also a research centre dedicated to the archival preservation a ...

, 2014

External links

Archives and interviews
by Helmut von Verschuer are deposited at th
Historical Archives of the EU

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Verschuer, Helmut von 1926 births Living people German officials of the European Union German people of Dutch descent 20th-century German civil servants

Publications

See also

External links

References