Briton becomes Europe's first Foreign Minister
Updated on 19 November 2009
Belgian Prime Minister Herman Van Rompuy is named as Europe's first president, while Briton Baroness Ashton becomes EU's first "foreign minister".
EU Trade Commissioner Baroness Cathy Ashton, was seen as a surprise candidate and will become the equivalent of foreign minister.
Downing Street insists Mr Brown only dropped his backing for Mr Blair after finding support had completely faded away among fellow European leaders at a pre-summit meeting.
A spokesman for Mr Brown said: "That being the case, Mr Brown took the initiative to ensure that the High Representative role will go to a UK person - someone who is already in the Commission, someone who is a woman - Cathy Ashton."
Political editor Gary Gibbon said: "Gordon Brown wants to turn the attention away from the fact that he hasn't managed to get Tony Blair into the presidency of the European Council.
"Brown wants to emphasise what a massive acheivement it is, a diplomatic triumph, to get Cathy Ashton into this job, as the person responsible for projecting foreign and security policy from Europe around the world."
The role of EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security takes the rank of Commission vice-president - one of Mr Barroso's deputies.
Mr Barroso has been impressed by Baroness Ashton's performance since she took over as EU trade commissioner from Lord Mandelson a year ago. But few believed she was a serious candidate until now.
Belgium's Herman Van Rompuy was seen as a safe bet because he is not expected to upstage the stronger leaders within Europe, like French president Nicolas Sarkozy, and German chancellor Angela Merkel.
In his own country, the Christian Democrat is seen as a unifying force, bridging the gap between Dutch and French speaking regions in his country.
As Europe tries to recover from the economic downturn, Van Rompuy is seen as the ideal candidate after he took a tough stance on Belgium's public debt during his time as budget minister.
