Nine months after Ursula von der Leyen’s new team took office, the class of 2019 commissioners are busy reinventing themselves. Some landed prestigious posts, others circled back to academia or diplomacy, and a few are still figuring out what to do next.
For Margrethe Vestager, once the powerful Executive Vice President for Europe Fit for the Digital Age, the transition looks almost seamless. She now chairs the board of the Technical University of Denmark and serves as a World Leader Fellow at Oxford’s Blavatnik School of Government.
Former High Representative Josep Borrell also returned to familiar ground, taking the helm at Barcelona’s CIDOB think tank and joining Madrid’s Elcano Institute as a Distinguished Fellow. Věra Jourová, meanwhile, moved back to Prague. Since January she has been serving as vice-rector of Charles University for human resources and new technologies, while also advising President Petr Pavel on foreign policy.
Others have stayed close to EU policymaking. Ex-budget chief Johannes Hahn was appointed EU Special Envoy for the Cyprus issue. Former innovation commissioner Iliana Ivanova joined the European Court of Auditors, while Ylva Johansson, who previously oversaw migration and home affairs, became the EU’s new special envoy for Ukrainians. Her job now is to implement the EU’s coordinated approach to temporary protection while overseeing the setting up of Unity Hubs across the EU. In health policy, Stella Kyriakides is co-chairing the European School of Oncology’s 2026–2028 strategic plan.
An avid petition-sender
Not all post-Commission careers shine equally bright. Nicolas Schmit, who handled jobs and social rights, was reported unemployed at the end of last year. Didier Reynders, former justice commissioner, is under investigation for alleged corruption and money laundering in Belgium, clouding his next steps. Poland’s Janusz Wojciechowski, once commissioner for agriculture, has taken to sending petitions to the Sejm—at least according to the Polish outlet Rzeczpospolita, which wrote in late July, that Wojciechowski has sent four petitions to the Polish Sejm regarding the topic he once presided over: agriculture.
Some opted for academia or international organisations. Portugal’s Elisa Ferreira returned to teaching economics at the University of Porto. Former economy chief Paolo Gentiloni now co-chairs a UN working group on global debt. Kadri Simson, Estonia’s ex-energy commissioner, joined Columbia University’s Institute of Global Politics as a Carnegie Distinguished Fellow and sits on the Global Council for Responsible Transition Minerals.
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Once a politician, always a politician
Others have gone back to electoral politics. Romania’s Adina-Ioana Vălean and Lithuania’s Virginijus Sinkevičius secured seats in the European Parliament. Ireland’s Mairead McGuinness was a frontrunner to become president after being nominated by her Fine Gael party, but unexpectedly withdrew from the race this month citing health concerns.
Finally, not all former colleagues are “former” just yet. Dubravka Šuica, Maroš Šefčovič, Valdis Dombrovskis, Wopke Hoekstra and Olivér Várhelyi remain at the Commission, continuing their work in von der Leyen’s second team.
