European Parliament figures have been President of the Parliament and its predecessors. The first President was Paul-Henri Spaak MEP, one of the founding fathers of the Union. Other founding fathers include Alcide de Gasperi MEP and Robert Schuman MEP. The two female Presidents were Simone Veil MEP in 1979 (first President of the elected Parliament) and Nicole Fontaine MEP in 1999, both Frenchwomen. The previous president, Jerzy Buzek was the first East-Central European to lead an EU institution, a former Prime Minister of Poland who rose out of the Solidarity movement in Poland that helped overthrow communism in the Eastern Bloc. During
Petr Buzek then moved to HC Litvínov before moving to the Slovak Extraliga to play for HC Slovan Bratislava. On October 18, 2005, Buzek announced his retirement from hockey, citing personal reasons for his decision. Petr Buzek Petr Buzek (born April 26, 1977 in Jihlava, Czechoslovakia) is a retired Czech ice hockey defenceman. He was drafted in the third round, 63rd overall, by the Dallas Stars in the 1995 NHL Entry Draft. After five seasons in the NHL, he returned to the Czech Extraliga in 2003 until his retirement in 2005. Prior to his selection at the 1995 NHL Entry Draft, Buzek