Ana Isabel de Palacio y del Valle Lersundi (born 22 July 1948) in Madrid, daughter of Luis María de Palacio y de Palacio, 4th Marqués de Matonte, and wife Luisa Mariana del Valle Lersundi y del Valle, was Spain's minister for foreign affairs in the People's Party (PP) government of José María Aznar from July 2002 to March 2004. Before this she was a lawyer in Madrid and then a Member of the European Parliament from 1994 to 2002. In March 2012, she was appointed an elective member of the Spanish Council of State. She currently is the founding partner of Palacio y Asociados, a Madrid-based consulting and law firm, and a senior strategic counsel at Albright Stonebridge Group, a global business strategy firm. Early life and education Palacio graduated from the Lycée Français (Baccalauréat on Mathematics) with honors granted by the French Government to “the best foreign student who finished studies that year”. She holds degrees in law, and political science and sociology; her performance in her degree studies merited the Award for Academic Achievement (Premio Extraordinario Fin de Carrera). Legal career As a lawyer, Palacio has held the most senior positions in the governing bodies of the Madrid Bar, as well as the European Bar (CCBE). She is an honorary member of the bar of England and Wales. She also served as a member of the board of trustees and former executive president of the Academy of European Law (ERA); and distinguished professor of the European College in Parma. She has worked as a practicing lawyer specializing in EU internal market law. Political career Member of the European Parliament, 1994–2002 Palacio spent eight years (1994–2002) with the European Parliament, where she chaired the Committee on Legal Affairs and Internal Market and the Committee on Justice and Home Affairs, and was elected by her peers to chair in two half legislatures the Conference of Committee Chairmen, the Parliament's most senior body for the coordination of its legislative work. Inspired by legal legitimacy as the mark of identity of the EU, her main addresses and reports have pinpointed the legislation on internal market as well as the security area, especially focused on justice and home affairs and human rights. From 1995 until 1999, Palacio also served on the committee on the Rules of Procedure, the Verification of Credentials and Immunities. In addition to her committee assignments, she was a member