20 Facts About Joseph Daul

Joseph Alexander Daul was born on 13 April 1947 and is a French politician who served as President of the European People's Party from 2013 to 2019.

Joseph Daul previously served as Leader of the EPP Group in the European Parliament from 2007 to 2014 and a Member of the European Parliament from France from 1999 until 2014.

Joseph Daul is a member of The Republicans, part of the EPP.

Joseph Daul has been mayor of Pfettisheim since 1989, and is an officer of the Agricultural Order of Merit, knight of the National Order of Merit and knight of the Legion of Honour.

Joseph Daul comes from a large family and at the age of 20 he took over a small family farm of 7 ha which he has since managed with his wife and, for the last few years, his son.

Joseph Daul became active in the agricultural trade union movement, through the Centre National des Jeunes Agriculteurs.

Joseph Daul completed his professional training and general education and in 1976 he was appointed national Vice-Chairman of the CNJA with responsibility for European affairs.

Joseph Daul became a member of the Committee of Professional Agricultural Organisations and of the European Economic and Social Committee in Brussels.

Joseph Daul became a member of the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development, appointed chairman in January 2002.

In 2002, Joseph Daul was appointed chairman of the Conference of Committee Chairmen, which is responsible for co-ordinating 'horizontal' issues affecting the 20 parliamentary committees and for preparing the draft agenda for the plenary part-sessions.

Joseph Daul co-chaired, together with the committee chairmen concerned, the hearings of the Commissioners and transmitted the conclusions to the President of the European Parliament.

The 'Lisbon Strategy' Group headed by Joseph Daul explored questions of employment and in this capacity Joseph Daul co-chaired two meetings in 2005 and 2006 between the European Parliament and the national parliaments.

Joseph Daul was involved in the preparatory work for the ministerial conferences by regularly meeting ambassadors in Geneva to represent the position of the European Parliament.

Joseph Daul remains member of the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development and substitute member of the Committee on International Trade and of the Delegation to the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly.

Joseph Daul is chairman of the European Parliamentary Association.

On 12 November 2013, Joseph Daul was elected president of the European People's Party, succeeding the late Wilfried Martens, while remaining chairman of the EPP Group in the European Parliament.

Joseph Daul was re-elected as President of the EPP at the Madrid Congress in October 2015.

Joseph Daul was under investigation for misuse of public funds in France.

Joseph Daul was placed under investigation in 2004 for allegedly diverting money to finance the farmers' union, the FNSEA, and to pay his own staff.

Joseph Daul was not accused of benefiting personally but of "complicity and concealment of the abuse of public funds".