Miguel Arias Cañete Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids The Most Excellent Miguel Arias Cañete
Arias Cañete in 2017

European Commissioner for Climate Action
In office 1 November 2014 – 30 November 2019
President	Jean-Claude Juncker
Preceded by	Connie Hedegaard
Succeeded by	Frans Timmermans
European Commissioner for Energy
In office 1 November 2014 – 30 November 2019
President	Jean-Claude Juncker
Preceded by	Günther Oettinger
Succeeded by	Kadri Simson
Minister of Agriculture, Food and the Environment
In office 22 December 2011 – 28 April 2014
Prime Minister	Mariano Rajoy
Preceded by	Rosa Aguilar
Succeeded by	Isabel Garcia Tejerina
Minister of Agriculture, Fishing and Food
In office April 2000 – April 2004
Member of the European Parliament
In office 1 July 2014 – 31 October 2014
Constituency	Spain
In office 1 January 1986 – 19 July 1999
Constituency	Spain

Personal details
Born	(1950-02-24) 24 February 1950 (age 75) Madrid, Spain
Political party	People's Party People's Alliance
Spouses	Micaela Domecq y Solís- Beaumont
Children	4
Alma mater	Complutense University

Miguel Arias Cañete (born 24 February 1950) is a Spanish politician. He served as a European Commissioner for Energy and Climate Action from 2014 to 2019. This important role meant he helped guide policies for energy and fighting climate change across Europe.

Before this, Arias Cañete was a member of the Spanish People's Party. He worked as the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Environment in the Spanish government from 2011 to 2014. He also led his party's list in the 2014 European Parliamentary elections.

Early Life and Education
Political Career and Public Service
- Minister of Agriculture, Food and Environment (2011–2014)
- European Commissioner for Climate Action and Energy (2014–2019)
Later Career
Personal Life
Awards and Recognition
See also

Early Life and Education

Miguel Arias Cañete was born in Madrid, Spain. His father was a judge. He went to a Jesuit school in Chamartín, Madrid. Later, he studied Law at the Complutense University.

Political Career and Public Service

After finishing university in 1974, Arias Cañete joined the Spanish Civil Service. He worked as a state lawyer, first in Jerez de la Frontera and then in Cadiz. In 1978, he left this job to become a Law Professor at the University of Cádiz. He taught there until 1982.

Arias Cañete started his political journey in 1982 with the People's Alliance party. He became a member of the Parliament of Andalusia, representing Cadiz, from 1982 to 1986. When Spain joined the European Economic Community (a group of European countries working together) in 1986, he became a member of the European Parliament. He was first appointed, then elected in 1987. He served in the European Parliament until 1999. During this time, he led committees focused on agriculture and regional policies.

From 1993 to 2000, he was a member of the Spanish Senate. In 2000, Prime Minister José María Aznar appointed him as the Minister of Agriculture and Fishing. He also served as a city councilor in Jerez de la Frontera from 1995 to 2000. He was elected Senator for Cadiz again from 2000 to 2004. From 2004 to 2008, he was a Deputy for Cadiz in the Spanish Congress. He also held important roles within the People's Party. In 2008, he was elected to the Spanish Congress and the European Parliament for Madrid. He held these positions until 2014.

Minister of Agriculture, Food and Environment (2011–2014)

In 2011, Mariano Rajoy chose Arias Cañete to be the Minister of Agriculture, Food and Environment in the Spanish Government. He had been the agriculture minister before, but this new role also included environmental issues.

During his time as minister, a law was approved in 2013. This law allowed some building closer to the coast than before. This change caused some concern among environmental groups.

European Commissioner for Climate Action and Energy (2014–2019)

Arias Cañete speaking at a climate change discussion in March 2019

In 2014, Arias Cañete was chosen to lead his party's list for the European elections. After the elections, Spain nominated him for the Juncker Commission. This is like a government for the European Union. In September 2014, Jean-Claude Juncker, the President of the European Commission, gave Arias Cañete the job of European Commissioner for Climate Action and Energy. He was the first person to oversee both these important areas. He started his new role on 1 November 2014.

In this role, he represented the European Union at big international meetings about climate change. These included the 2014 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Lima and COP21 in Paris. At COP21, the important Paris Agreement was signed. After this agreement, a lot of his work involved updating EU policies to meet the goals set in Paris.

Arias Cañete also helped introduce new climate policies. These included rules for emissions not covered by the main carbon trading system (the Effort Sharing Regulation). He also worked on transport initiatives and rules for greenhouse gas emissions from land use and forestry (LULUCF). He was also in charge of plans to improve the European Union Emission Trading Scheme, which is the world's largest system for trading carbon permits.

In 2015, Arias Cañete proposed a plan to make the Mediterranean region a major gas market. This was part of Europe's effort to rely less on gas from Russia. He also helped arrange an agreement between France, Spain, and Portugal for the MidCat gas pipeline. This pipeline aimed to increase gas exports from Algeria to Europe.

In 2016, he met with the Minister of Energy of Turkey, Berat Albayrak. They discussed energy cooperation between Turkey and the European Union. Minister Albayrak invited Commissioner Canete to the World Energy Congress in Istanbul.

Later Career

In June 2019, Arias Cañete announced that he would end his political career. He said he planned to retire to his home in Jerez de la Frontera and spend time with his grandchildren.

He also holds other positions:

Member of the Jury for the Gulbenkian Prize for Humanity.
Independent Member of the board of directors for Balam Agriculture (since 2021).
Member of the Board for Beka Finance (since 2021).

Personal Life

Miguel Arias Cañete comes from a Spanish noble family. He is married to Micaela Domecq y Solís-Beaumont. They have four children. His wife's family has a long history in the Jerez de la Frontera region of Andalusia. They own large farms and raise fighting bulls. They are also known for a famous brand of fortified wines.