Nadia María Calviño Santamaría (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈnaðja kalˈβiɲo]; born 3 October 1968) is a Spanish economist and civil servant serving as the President of the European Investment Bank since January 2024.

Nadia Calviño
Official portrait, 2023
President of the European Investment Bank
Assumed office
1 January 2024
Preceded byWerner Hoyer
First Deputy Prime Minister of Spain
In office
12 July 2021 – 29 December 2023
MonarchFelipe VI
Prime MinisterPedro Sánchez
Preceded byCarmen Calvo
Succeeded byMaría Jesús Montero
Chair of the International Monetary and Financial Committee
In office
3 January 2022 – 4 January 2024
Managing DirectorKristalina Georgieva
Preceded byMagdalena Andersson
Succeeded byMohammed Al-Jadaan
Second Deputy Prime Minister of Spain
In office
31 March 2021 – 12 July 2021
MonarchFelipe VI
Prime MinisterPedro Sánchez
Preceded byPablo Iglesias Turrión
Succeeded byYolanda Díaz
Third Deputy Prime Minister of Spain
In office
13 January 2020 – 31 March 2021
MonarchFelipe VI
Prime MinisterPedro Sánchez
Preceded byManuel Chaves
Succeeded byYolanda Díaz
Minister of Economy, Trade and Enterprise
In office
21 November 2023 – 29 December 2023
Prime MinisterPedro Sánchez
Preceded byHerself (Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation)
Succeeded byCarlos Cuerpo
Minister of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation
In office
13 January 2020 – 21 November 2023
Prime MinisterPedro Sánchez
Preceded byHerself (Economy and Enterprise)
Succeeded byHerself (Economy, Trade and Enterprise)
José Luis Escrivá (Digital Transformation)
Minister of Economy and Enterprise
In office
7 June 2018 – 13 January 2020
Prime MinisterPedro Sánchez
Preceded byRomán Escolano
Succeeded byHerself (Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation)
Director-General of the European Commission for Budget
In office
5 May 2014 – 7 June 2018
Preceded byHervé Jouanjean
Succeeded bySilvano Presa
Personal details
Born (1968-10-03) 3 October 1968 (age 56)
A Coruña, Spain
Political partyIndependent
SpouseIgnacio Manrique de Lara
Children4
EducationComplutense University (BA Economics)
National University of Distance Education (BA Law)

From June 2018 to December 2023, Calviño was part of the cabinets led by prime minister Pedro Sánchez, holding the office of Minister of Economy. During her tenure, the portfolio was renamed three times: Economy and Business from 2018 to 2020, Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation from 2020 to 2023 and Economy, Trade and Business in the last period—. Since 2020 she was also Deputy Prime Minister of Spain, first as Third Deputy Prime Minister (January 2020 to March 2021), later as Second (March–July 2021) and finally, First Deputy Prime Minister (July 2021 to December 2023).

Calviño started her career in different positions within the Ministry of Economy and in 2006 took up a post at the European Commission. She worked in several directorates-general and in 2014 was appointed Director-General for Budget (DG BUDG).[1] She held this post until June 2018, when prime minister Pedro Sánchez offered her a cabinet position.

Early life and education

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Nadia María Calviño Santamaría was born in A Coruña, Galicia, Spain on 3 October 1968.[2] Her father, José María Calviño, was a former director general of the Radio Televisión Española (RTVE).[2] She graduated with a degree in economics in 1991 from the Complutense University of Madrid and a law degree in 2001 from the National University of Distance Education (UNED).[3]

Career

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Calviño is a member of the Senior Corps of State Economists and Trade Advisors. In the Spanish administration, she served as general director of the National Competition Commission.

After more than a decade working in the Spanish Ministry of Economy, Calviño moved to the European Commission in 2006. There she held the posts of Deputy Director-General attached to the Directorate-General for Competition (DG COMP) and Deputy Director-General in the Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs (DG MARKT), as well as Deputy Director-General in the Directorate-General for Financial Stability, Financial Services and Capital Markets Union.

From 2014 to 2018 Calviño served as Director-General for Budget, under the leadership of European Commissioner Günther Oettinger.[4] She has also worked as a professor at the Complutense University.[5]

Minister of Economy of Spain

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In June 2018 Calviño was chosen by Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez to be part of his new government as Minister of Economy and Business of Spain, following the motion of censure that the PSOE presented against the previous government of Mariano Rajoy (PP) and that was approved by the Congress of Deputies on 1 June 2018.[6] Thus, on 7 June she took office as Minister of Economy and Business before the King at Palace of Zarzuela.[7][8]

Following the resignation of Christine Lagarde as managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in 2019, Calviño was one of the candidates considered by European governments as potential successor;[9] she withdrew after a first round of voting among representatives of the EU's 28 member states and the post went to Kristalina Georgieva instead.[10]

Deputy prime minister

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During the electoral debate of 5 November 2019, Pedro Sánchez announced that Calviño would be appointed economic vice-president if he were elected president,[11] office she assumed as third deputy prime minister and Minister of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation[12][13] on 13 January 2020 before the King.[14][15] On 31 March 2021, she was promoted to Second Deputy Prime Minister[16] and on 12 July 2021 to First Deputy Prime Minister.[17]

 
Calviño (left) presiding over a meeting of the Spanish Macroprudential Authority in 2019

In this new stage, Calviño's powers on new technologies and digital transformation expanded, creating in her department new positions related to this affairs, such as the Secretary of State for Digitization and Artificial Intelligence.[18]

COVID-19

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In early 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic expanded to Europe, reaching Spain in late January. In March, Calviño announced a 200-billion-euro package to fight the economic effects of coronavirus, which included loans and guarantees to self-employed and to small and medium-sized entreprises and large companies.[19]

Although Calviño initially opted for Eurobonds,[20] due to the reluctance of some European countries, she adopted a more pragmatic position and she proposed to use the European Stability Mechanism but without conditions, an option accepted by the European Council which allowed the unlocking of €500 billion funds to the most affected European states.[21][22] However, Calviño stated that neither she nor the government renounced Eurobonds and that they will continue to work on them in the medium term.[23]

In mid-April, Calviño proposed to its European counterparts a 1.5 trillion euro recovery fund, that would be financed through perpetual debt issued by the European institutions.[24][25]

Eurogroup candidacy

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Calviño and Eurogroup president, Mário Centeno, in a meeting in 2019

In mid-June 2020, rumors increased about a possible candidacy of Calviño to be the next president of Eurogroup.[26] Spanish Prime Minister declared that Spain would be "very interested" on it.[27] The Spanish government officially proposed Calviño on 25 June.[28][29] Calviño quickly received the support of the majority of the opposition in the Spanish Parliament.[30]

The first European government to show support to Calviño's candidature was the German government through its chancellor, Angela Merkel, who stated that "It is no secret that there is support for Nadia Calviño's candidature in the German government." She also added that she was "pleased when women get leading political roles, and the Eurogroup has never been headed by a woman."[31] On 28 June Portuguese PM António Costa also supported Calviño.[32] On 8 July Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte publicly supported her.[33] A day later, French finance minister Bruno Le Maire did the same.[34]

Voting took place on 9 July. As no candidate obtained an absolute majority in the first round, Calviño and Donohoe (with 9 and 5 votes, respectively) went to the second round after the withdrawal of Pierre Gramegna. In the second round Donohoe won the support of the majority of finance ministers, becoming Eurogroup president (10 votes to 9).[35][36]

Bank consolidation

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In early September 2020, state-controlled bank Bankia and Caixabank announced that they were very close to a deal to merge both banks. That merge would have created the biggest domestic bank in Spain, surpassing Santander and BBVA.[37] Unidas Podemos, the coalition partner of the second Sánchez government and its leader, Second Deputy Prime Minister Pablo Iglesias rejected the merger describing it as a "privatization" and criticized that Calviño never revealed to them the existence of this talks.[38]

Calviño, whose signature was more than enough to authorize the merger,[39] received the support of the prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, who described the merger as something "positive" for the Spanish economy and the "territorial cohesion" since the bank would extend its influence from two to four Spanish regions.[40][41][42] Days later, Calviño described the banking consolidation as "probably inevitable" to keep the solvency and competitiveness of the banking sector in the future, but at the same time she warned that this type of operations should be carried out respecting competition and the interests of consumers and that the CNMC would be watching.[43] On 17 September 2020 the boards of both banks approved the merger.[44] The new bank, which maintains the Caixabank brand, has the Spanish government as the second largest shareholder, with 16.1% of the shares.[45] In December 2020, Calviño defended before the Congressional Economic Affairs Committee that the merger was the best option for the "social interest" since it is the one that contributes the greatest value to investors, including the State, one of the main shareholders.[46]

Apart from this merger, other mergers were negotiated that same year. On the one hand, BBVA and Sabadell broke off negotiations in November 2020 due to the impossibility of reaching an agreement.[47] On the other hand, other minor banks such as Unicaja and Liberbank reached an agreement in December 2020 to create the fifth bank in the country.[48] In March 2021, both banks approved the merger.[49]

IMFC Chair

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On 7 December 2021, Calviño was proposed by the Eurogroup as the European candidate for the Presidency of the International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC),[50] a position compatible with her post as minister of the Spanish government. She was elected for the post on 24 December.[51]

President of the European Investment Bank

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Calviño, as President of the European Investment Bank, with Wopke Hoekstra during a visit to the European Commission in Brussels in 2024

In August 2023, the Spanish government nominated Calviño as Spain's candidate to succeed Werner Hoyer as president of the European Investment Bank.[52] After gathering relevant and public support from the German —one of the biggest shareholders—[53] and Belgian —chair of the EIB’s Board of Governors at the moment— governments,[54] the Economic and Financial Affairs Council agreed to the candidacy in early December 2023.[55][56]

Other activities

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European Union organizations

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International organizations

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Non-governmental organizations

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Personal life

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Calviño is mother to four children. Among her hobbies are 1950s cinema and cooking. She speaks Spanish, Galician, English, French and German.[68]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "DIRECTOR GENERAL Nadia Calviño". Archived from the original on 16 July 2019. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
  2. ^ a b Iglesias, Leyre (10 June 2018). "El 'pecadiño' de juventud de Nadia Calviño, la ministra estrella que vino de Europa". El Mundo (in Spanish). Unidad Editorial. Archived from the original on 19 December 2022. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
  3. ^ "CV Nadia Calviño" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 5 June 2018. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
  4. ^ Nadia Calviño: "La Comisión Europea no quiere recortes drásticos en los fondos regionales" Archived 28 July 2019 at the Wayback Machine (in Spanish)
  5. ^ "La ministra Nadia Calviño-antigua alumna y profesora UCM- participa mañana en los actos del 75 aniversario de la Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y Empresariales" (PDF). Universidad Complutense Madrid (in Spanish). 5 November 2019. Archived (PDF) from the original on 18 June 2020. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
  6. ^ Pérez, Claudi; Abellán, Lucía (5 June 2018). "Nadia Calviño: de Bruselas a Madrid para ser la nueva ministra de Economía". El País (in Spanish). Prisa. Archived from the original on 14 June 2018. Retrieved 12 November 2019.
  7. ^ "Los 17 del "Consejo de Ministras y Ministros" de Sánchez prometen ante el Rey". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 7 June 2018. Archived from the original on 11 January 2022. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
  8. ^ R., Felipe (7 June 2018). Sánchez Pérez-Castejón, Pedro (ed.). "Real Decreto 357/2018, de 6 de junio, por el que se nombran Ministros del Gobierno". Agencia Estatal Boletín Oficial del Estado (in Spanish) (138): 58729. Archived from the original on 12 July 2018. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
  9. ^ Parker, George; Giles, Chris (2 August 2019). "Europe down to two candidates to replace Lagarde at IMF". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 16 December 2019. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
  10. ^ "IMF names Kristalina Georgieva as new head". BBC News Online. BBC News. BBC. 25 September 2019. Archived from the original on 6 October 2019. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
  11. ^ "Sánchez anuncia que Nadia Calviño será su vicepresidenta económica si gobierna" (in Spanish). El País. 5 November 2019. Archived from the original on 4 November 2019. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
  12. ^ "Real Decreto 6/2020, de 12 de enero, por el que se nombra Vicepresidenta Tercera del Gobierno a doña Nadia María Calviño Santamaría". Boletín Oficial del Estado (in Spanish). 12 January 2020. Archived from the original on 17 January 2020. Retrieved 17 January 2020.
  13. ^ "Real Decreto 8/2020, de 12 de enero, por el que se nombran Ministros del Gobierno". Boletín Oficial del Estado (in Spanish). 12 January 2020. Archived from the original on 17 January 2020. Retrieved 17 January 2020.
  14. ^ "Toma de posesión de los ministros del Gobierno Sánchez Últimas noticias y reacciones, en directo". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 13 January 2020. Archived from the original on 14 January 2020. Retrieved 17 January 2020.
  15. ^ "La toma de posesión del nuevo Gobierno de Pedro Sánchez, en imágenes". El País (in Spanish). 13 January 2020. Archived from the original on 7 May 2020. Retrieved 17 January 2020.
  16. ^ "Sánchez reshuffles Cabinet to have 4 women in top jobs". ABC News. Archived from the original on 31 March 2021. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
  17. ^ "Spanish foreign minister goes, economy minister stays in cabinet reshuffle". Reuters. 10 July 2021. Archived from the original on 4 November 2021. Retrieved 12 July 2021.
  18. ^ Sala, Laura (15 January 2020). "El Gobierno crea dos Secretarías de Estado para potenciar la digitalización". Cuadernos de Seguridad (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 11 July 2021. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  19. ^ "Spain to guarantee up to 80% of SME bank lending to ease coronavirus impact". Reuters. 24 March 2020. Archived from the original on 26 April 2020. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  20. ^ "Spain pushes for joint European debt issuance to fight coronavirus impact". Reuters. 1 April 2020. Archived from the original on 5 April 2020. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  21. ^ "EU finance ministers reach agreement on coronavirus rescue deal". France 24. 9 April 2020. Archived from the original on 22 April 2020. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  22. ^ "De los coronabonos al MEDE 'light': los riesgos de la insuficiente respuesta europea". www.elconfidencial.com. 8 April 2020. Archived from the original on 23 April 2020. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  23. ^ "Calviño: España no va a renunciar a los "coronabonos" para mutualizar deuda". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 10 April 2020. Archived from the original on 24 April 2020. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  24. ^ "Spain seeks 1.5 trillion euro recovery fund using EU perpetual debt". Reuters. 20 April 2020. Archived from the original on 21 April 2020. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  25. ^ "Spain calls for €1.5tn EU recovery fund to 'protect internal market'". Financial Times. 21 April 2020. Archived from the original on 22 April 2020. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  26. ^ "Spain says would be 'good news' if Economy Minister Calvino became Eurogroup chief". Reuters. 10 June 2020. Archived from the original on 14 June 2020. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
  27. ^ "Spain backs its economy minister to head eurogroup". Financial Times. 14 June 2020. Archived from the original on 14 June 2020. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
  28. ^ "Spain to propose Economy Minister Calvino as Eurogroup chief". Reuters. 25 June 2020. Archived from the original on 25 June 2020. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
  29. ^ Smith-Meyer, Bjarke (25 June 2020). "Spain nominates Calviño for Eurogroup president". POLITICO. Archived from the original on 25 June 2020. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
  30. ^ RTVE.es/Agencias (25 June 2020). "PP, Ciudadanos y Vox respaldan la candidatura de Calviño a presidir el Eurogrupo". RTVE.es (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 3 July 2020. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
  31. ^ Oltermann, Philip (26 June 2020). "'For Europe to survive, its economy needs to survive': Angela Merkel interview in full". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 2 July 2020. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
  32. ^ "Portugal PM backs Spain's Calvino as candidate to head Eurogroup". Reuters. 29 June 2020. Archived from the original on 19 September 2020. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
  33. ^ "Italy's Conte backs Spain's Calvino for Eurogroup job". Reuters. 8 July 2020. Archived from the original on 12 July 2020. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
  34. ^ "La France soutient l'Espagnole Nadia Calviño pour la présidence de l'Eurogroupe". euronews (in French). 9 July 2020. Archived from the original on 9 July 2020. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
  35. ^ Kennedy, Eleisha (9 July 2020). "Spain Loses Out To Ireland On Eurogroup Chair". Euro Weekly News Spain. Archived from the original on 26 October 2020. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
  36. ^ Chadwick, Lauren (9 July 2020). "Ireland's Paschal Donohoe wins Eurogroup presidency". euronews. Archived from the original on 13 August 2020. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
  37. ^ Cordero, Ramón Muñoz, Dani (4 September 2020). "CaixaBank, Bankia in talks for merger that would create Spain's biggest lender". EL PAÍS. Archived from the original on 6 September 2020. Retrieved 17 September 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  38. ^ "Podemos se desmarca y rechaza la fusión como una "privatización"". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 5 September 2020. Archived from the original on 12 May 2021. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
  39. ^ "Bankia esquiva a Podemos: Sánchez no necesita al Consejo de Ministros para aprobar la fusión". ELMUNDO (in Spanish). 7 September 2020. Archived from the original on 16 September 2020. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
  40. ^ "Spain's PM Sanchez sees positive aspects in Bankia-Caixabank merger". Reuters (in Spanish). 7 September 2020. Retrieved 17 September 2020.[dead link]
  41. ^ "Spain Premier Backs State-Owned Bankia Merger With Caixabank". Bloomberg.com. 7 September 2020. Archived from the original on 15 September 2021. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
  42. ^ "Sánchez califica como "positiva" la posible fusión de CaixaBank y Bankia". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 8 September 2020. Archived from the original on 20 April 2021. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
  43. ^ "Calviño ve inevitable la consolidación bancaria para mantener su solvencia". www.efe.com (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 18 September 2020. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
  44. ^ Larrouy, Diego (17 September 2020). "Los consejos de CaixaBank y Bankia dan vía libre a la creación del mayor banco español". ElDiario.es (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 18 September 2020. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
  45. ^ "Caixa, Bankia Form Spain's Biggest Lender in $4.5 Billion Deal". www.bloomberg.com. 18 September 2020. Archived from the original on 18 September 2020. Retrieved 18 September 2020.
  46. ^ Sánchez, Álvaro (9 December 2020). "Calviño defiende el "interés social" de la fusión de Bankia y Caixabank". EL PAÍS (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 15 December 2020. Retrieved 29 December 2020.
  47. ^ Dombey, Daniel; Morris, Stephen (27 November 2020). "Spain's BBVA and Sabadell scrap merger talks over price dispute". www.ft.com. Archived from the original on 13 December 2020. Retrieved 29 December 2020.
  48. ^ "Unicaja y Liberbank aprueban "in extremis" su fusión para crear el quinto banco de España". abc (in Spanish). 29 December 2020. Archived from the original on 29 December 2020. Retrieved 29 December 2020.
  49. ^ "Unicaja y Liberbank darán luz verde a la creación del quinto banco del país". Cinco Días (in Spanish). 30 March 2021. Archived from the original on 31 March 2021. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
  50. ^ Gil, Andrés (7 December 2021). "Calviño, candidata europea a la presidencia del comité monetario y financiero del FMI". ElDiario.es (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 7 December 2021. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
  51. ^ Sánchez-Vallejo, María Antonia (24 December 2021). "El FMI elige a Nadia Calviño presidenta del comité responsable de las políticas de la institución". El País (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 24 December 2021. Retrieved 24 December 2021.
  52. ^ Paola Tamma (11 August 2023), Spain nominates Nadia Calviño to run European Investment Bank Archived 13 August 2023 at the Wayback Machine Politico Europe.
  53. ^ Paola Tamma (11 August 2023), Spain nominates Nadia Calviño to run European Investment Bank Archived 13 August 2023 at the Wayback Machine Politico Europe.
  54. ^ "Way cleared for Nadia Calviño to become EIB chief". POLITICO. 30 November 2023. Retrieved 8 December 2023.
  55. ^ "Spain's Nadia Calviño secures European Investment Bank presidency". www.ft.com. Retrieved 8 December 2023.
  56. ^ "Nadia Calviño named EIB chief". POLITICO. 8 December 2023. Retrieved 8 December 2023.
  57. ^ Board of Governors Archived 16 June 2018 at the Wayback Machine European Investment Bank (EIB).
  58. ^ Board of Governors: Nadia Calviño Archived 27 April 2021 at the Wayback Machine European Stability Mechanism.
  59. ^ Board of Governors Archived 29 October 2017 at the Wayback Machine Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).
  60. ^ Board of Governors Archived 21 August 2018 at the Wayback Machine Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI).
  61. ^ Board of Governors Archived 28 February 2017 at the Wayback Machine European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).
  62. ^ Board of Governors Archived 2018-11-04 at the Wayback Machine Inter-American Investment Corporation (IIC).
  63. ^ Members Archived 18 March 2011 at the Wayback Machine International Monetary Fund (IMF).
  64. ^ Members Archived 13 October 2018 at the Wayback Machine Joint World Bank-IMF Development Committee.
  65. ^ Board of Governors Archived 21 August 2018 at the Wayback Machine Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), World Bank Group.
  66. ^ Board of Governors Archived 4 March 2019 at the Wayback Machine World Bank.
  67. ^ Board of Trustees Archived 15 April 2021 at the Wayback Machine Elcano Royal Institute for International and Strategic Studies.
  68. ^ "Nadia Maria CALVIÑO SANTAMARIA" (PDF). europa.eu. Archived (PDF) from the original on 5 June 2018. Retrieved 10 May 2020.
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Political offices
Preceded by Director-General of the European Commission for Budget
2014-2018
Succeeded by
Preceded by Minister of Economy, Trade and Business
2018–2023
Succeeded by