João Vale de Almeida (born 29 January 1957 in Lisbon) is a former senior European diplomat and Portuguese national. Vale de Almeida was Ambassador of the European Union to the United Nations from 2015 to 2019 and Ambassador of the European Union to the United States from 2010 to 2014. He was appointed "the first head of the future EU delegation to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland" on 1 February 2020.

Biography

Vale de Almeida read history at the

University of Lisbon The University of Lisbon (ULisboa; ) is a public university, public research university in Lisbon, and Portugal's largest university. It was founded in 1911, but the university's present structure dates to the 2013 merger of the former Universit ...

before pursuing further studies in journalism and management in France, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States. After working as a journalist for seven years, in 1982 he joined the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the primary Executive (government), executive arm of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with a number of European Commissioner, members of the Commission (directorial system, informall ...

delegation in Lisbon. During his time in the Commission he worked under presidents

Jacques Delors Jacques Lucien Jean Delors (; 20 July 192527 December 2023) was a French politician who served as the eighth president of the European Commission from 1985 to 1995. Delors played a key role in the creation of the single market, the euro and th ...

, Jacques Santer,

Romano Prodi Romano Prodi (; born 9 August 1939) is an Italian politician who served as President of the European Commission from 1999 to 2004 and twice as Prime Minister of Italy, from 1996 to 1998, and again from 2006 to 2008. Prodi is considered the fo ...

and

José Manuel Barroso José Manuel Durão Barroso (; born 23 March 1956) is a Portuguese politician and law professor. He previously served from 2002 to 2004 as the List of Prime Ministers of Portugal, 114th prime minister of Portugal and from 2004–2014 as the 11 ...

. Under Santer, in 1995, he became deputy chief spokesman for the EC. In 1997 he was promoted Director for Information, Communication, Culture and Audiovisual. When EC President

took office in 1999, Vale de Almeida was a member of his transition team before being nominated as director for Education and Culture. Between 2004 and 2009, Vale de Almeida was the Head of Cabinet (Chief of staff and principal adviser) for EC President

. He accompanied Barroso in all

European Council The European Council (informally EUCO) is a collegiate body (directorial system) and a symbolic collective head of state, that defines the overall political direction and general priorities of the European Union (EU). It is composed of the he ...

meetings and ensured coordination with the private offices of Heads of State and Government in all 28 Member States of the EU. He was also the President's Personal Representative for the negotiations on the

Treaty of Lisbon The Treaty of Lisbon (initially known as the Reform Treaty) is a European agreement that amends the two treaties which form the constitutional basis of the European Union (EU). The Treaty of Lisbon, which was signed by all EU member states o ...

and acted as his personal representative (''sherpa'') for G8 and G20 summits. From November 2009 until July 2010 he served as Director-General for External Relations of the European Commission. Vale de Almeida then served as the first Ambassador of the European Union to the United States of America, from 2010 to 2014, after the

increased the delegation's powers to speak for the whole of the EU (previously, they represented only the commission).Rettman, Andrew (11 August 2010
EU envoy to US flaunts new powers
EU Observer In Washington, he actively engaged in strengthening EU/U.S. relations and was critical to the launching of negotiations of the

Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) was a proposed trade agreement between the European Union (EU) and the United States, with the aim of promoting trade and multilateral economic growth. According to Karel De Gucht, Euro ...

agreement (TTIP).EUROPEAN CURRICULUM VITAE: VALE DE ALMEIDA, JOÃO
European Commission From 2015 to 2019, Vale de Almeida was the European Union Ambassador to the United Nations.Ambassador João Vale de Almeida: Biography
, Delegation of the European Union to the United Nations Since 1 February 2020, Vale de Almeida has been the European Union's Ambassador to the UK and has been recognised by the UK as an Ambassador as of 5 May 2021. Vale de Almeida retired on 31 January 2023.

Honours and decorations

PRT Order of Prince Henry - Grand Cross BAR

Grand Cross Grand Cross is the highest class in many orders, and manifested in its insignia. Exceptionally, the highest class may be referred to as Grand Cordon or equivalent. In other cases, there may exist a rank even higher than Grand Cross, e.g. Gran ...

of the

Order of Prince Henry The Order of Prince Henry () is a Portuguese order of knighthood created on 2 June 1960, to commemorate the quincentenary of the death of the Portuguese ''infante'' Prince Henry the Navigator, one of the main initiators of the Age of Discovery. M ...

Cidadãos Nacionais Agraciados com Ordens Portuguesas
/ref> * MelitensiCivili

Cross of Merit, Order ''pro Merito Melitensi''.

References

External links

Delegation of the European Union to the United Nations
João Vale de Almeida: “Nações Unidas são mais precisas hoje do que há trinta anos”
Observador(12 Abril 2016)
External relations role for João Vale de Almeida
European Voice (3 June 2009)
Noticias Magazine
Noticias Sunday Magazine (29 November 2015)
Vale de Almeida – A Superb Diplomat with Portuguese Passion
Portuguese American Journal (5 February 2015)
Interview: João Vale de Almeida, European Union Ambassador to United States
Diplomatic Courier (5 December 2014)
Interview with Joao Vale de Almeida, EU Ambassador to the UN
UNTV Global Connection (April 2016)
Interview with EU Ambassador João Vale de Almeida
USA Today (October 2014)
European Union Has Power to Address Continental Problems
PBS NewsHour (October 2012)
Ambassador João Vale de Almeida speaks at UNC
University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill (October 2013)
Interview with Amb. João Vale de Almeida
Global Journalist (April 2014)
João Vale de Almeida: Stay cool over war of words, says EU envoy
The Times (22 February 2020) *
EU's first ambassador to UK settles in for a testing year ahead
The Guardian (1 March 2020)

El Mundo (9 May 2020)
Europe Day we send a message of solidarity and friendship to British people
The Guardian (9 May 2020)

Die Welt (12 July 2020)
EU Ambassador to the U.K. Sees New Momentum Toward Negotiations
(16 July 2020)
EU’s first ambassador to London: "We want a Brexit deal with the UK. But the European Union is ready for No Deal"
La Repubblica (12 October 2020)
UK and EU can now dominate G7 – first ever EU ambassador to Britain hails new 'special relationship'
Daily Telegraph (16 January 2021)
COVID-19: EU warns of consequences if vaccine orders not delivered
Sky News (2 February 2021)

The Belfast Telegraph (11 March 2021)
EU Ambassador to the UK João Vale de Almeida full interview with Peston
ITV (11 March 2021) {{DEFAULTSORT:Vale De Almeida, Joao Ambassadors of the European Union to the United States Ambassadors of the European Union to the United Nations Diplomats from Lisbon Portuguese diplomats Portuguese male journalists University of Lisbon alumni 1957 births Living people Portuguese officials of the European Union European civil servants

Biography

Honours and decorations

See also

References

External links