Polish Minister Danuta Hübner, who is guiding Poland’s entry into the European Union (E.U.), will discuss her country’s perspective on E.U. expansion during an address at DePaul University May 1. Co-sponsored by the Consulate General of Poland and DePaul, Hübner’s presentation for students, faculty and invited guests will begin at 1:30 p.m. in the DePaul Club on the 11th Floor of the DePaul Center, 1 E. Jackson Blvd.

Poland was one of 10 nations that signed a historic treaty April 16 to join the E.U., a European economic, monetary and policy collaboration that currently includes 15 member countries. The formal entry of the 10 new countries on May 1, 2004, represents the largest-ever expansion of the E.U. and will extend its reach to include many eastern European countries.

Hübner has played a vital role in transforming Poland economically and politically into a candidate for E.U. membership since her appointment as Poland’s Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and Secretary of the Committee for European Integration in November 2001. Her work earned recent recognition from the Warsaw Voice, which named her its 2002 Chair of the Year, an award that recognizes individuals and institutions that exert the largest influence on Polish society.

Before assuming her current duties, Hübner was one of the highest-ranking women working for the United Nations (U.N.) and the first woman to lead its Economic Commission for Europe in Geneva, which oversees initiatives involving the transition of developing nations to market economies.

Hübner served as deputy executive secretary of the Economic Commission from 1998 to 2001 and was named under secretary general of the U.N. and executive secretary of the commission in May of 2000.

Prior to this, Hübner held a number of government posts, including minister, head of the Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland and under-secretary of state in the Polish Ministry of Industry and Trade. She conducted the negotiations for Poland’s membership in the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), which Poland joined in November of 1996.

Hübner was a longtime deputy editor-in-chief of the bimonthly publication Ekonomista and editor-in-chief of the monthly magazine Gospodarka Narodowa. She was a member of the Scientific Board of the Economic Sciences Institute at the Polish Academy of Sciences; deputy director of the Institute of Development and Strategic Studies; deputy director of the Research Institute for Developing Countries; and a member of the Polish Statistics Council.

Hübner graduated from the Warsaw School of Economics in 1971. She received her doctoral degree in 1974, followed by a post-doctoral degree in international economics in 1980. She continued her research as a Fulbright scholar at the University of California, Berkeley, from 1988 to 1990, and was awarded the title of Professor of Economics in 1992.

Editor’s Note: Hübner’s address at DePaul is an invitation-only event but is open for media coverage. Journalists interested in covering the event or interviewing Hübner during her visit to DePaul should make prior arrangements by contacting Robin Florzak, DePaul Media Relations: 312/362-8592.