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Javier Solana was born in Madrid in 1942, a bright and politically aware youth who soon became fluent in two languages to study both at home and further afield in America. After a career as first an academic and then a politician in Spain, Dr Solana entered the broader international political spectrum to undertake a number of positions at the multilateral level. Now, as Head of Foreign Policy for the European Union, in these increasingly uncertain times, Dr Solana faces his toughest challenge yet.

Despite his current influence, the first field in which the name of Javier Solana became well known was not international politics but physics. After studying in Spain and, as a Fulbright scholar at several American universities, Dr Solana gained a doctorate in physics, which eventually led to his position as professor of solid-state physics at the Madrid Complutense University in 1975. Perhaps replete with this achievement - and with more than thrity publications to his name - Dr Solana turned to another long-standing interest - politics.

The young Solana had joined the Spanish Socialist Party in 1964 and it was as a long-standing member of this group that he was elected to parliament in 1977. After five years he was given his first cabinet post as Minister for Culture, - a position he held until 1988, simultaneously acting as Government Spokesman from 1985. He later became Minister for Education and Science, as seems fitting for a former professor, before becoming Minister for Foreign Affairs in 1992. Three years later, with a proven track record in co-operation and diplomacy at the international level, Javier Solana left the Spanish parliament to head the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation - NATO.

Dr Solana took office as the ninth Secretary-General of NATO in December 1995; his appointment coinciding with the deployment of the NATO-led multinational Implementation Force (IFOR) in Bosnia. This peace-keeping mission would be Solana's main focus for the next two and a half years before his energies could be turned to other concerns that included the Organisation's structure and international relations.

Under a mandate from NATO's 16 member nations, Dr Solana set out to establish new relationships with a number of previously excluded states. He was responsible for negotiating the Founding Act with the Russian Federation, signed in Paris in May 1997, which established a new partnership of co-operation and dialogue with Russia. A new relationship with Ukraine was also negotiated which culminated in the signing of the Ukraine-NATO Charter on a Distinctive Partnership the same year. Improved co-operation and consultation were also sought in other areas and it was during Dr Solana's term of office that the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council, bringing together the 16 NATO nations and 28 Partner countries, was created. It was also under Dr Solana's leadership that the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland were invited to begin talks to join the Alliance.

Dr Solana completed his four-year term of office in 1999. He took up a new post as Secretary General of the Council of the European Union and High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy the same year. Dr Solana is also Secretary-General of the Western European Union.

It is as the holder of this comprehensive portfolio that the eyes of the European Union will be turned to Dr Solana as the impacts of the American-led 'war on terrorism' unfold. Dr Solana has made clear in recent statements that the European Union has no quarrel with the Afghan people and has pledged that those in need will continue to receive EU support. However, Dr Solana has also pledged full support for the military actions against Afghanistan, declaring that the use of military force against the supporters of terrorism in Afghanistan is legitimate, as part of a comprehensive, global effort to root out and destroy the evil of terrorism. Both policies have noble ends. It is now Dr Solana's task to seek to ensure that both can be met.