Jean-Claude Juncker is a Luxembourgish politician who was prime minister of Luxembourg from 1995 to 2013 and president of the European Commission from 2014 to 2019. He also was Finance Minister from 1989 to 2009 and President of the Eurogroup from 2005 to 2013.
By the time Juncker left office as prime minister in 2013, he was the longest-serving head of any national government in the EU and one of the longest-serving democratically elected leaders in the world, with his tenure encompassing the height of the European financial and sovereign debt crisis. In 2005, he became the first permanent President of the Eurogroup.
In 2014, the European People's Party (EPP) had Juncker as its lead candidate, or Spitzenkandidat, for the presidency of the Commission in the 2014 elections.