President European Trade Union Confederation
Born in Badajoz (Spain) in 1952
Married, two children
Education
He is a Technical Industrial Engineer, specialised in Chemistry.
Career
| 1956 | Cándido Méndez Rodríguez moved to Jaén with his family. |
| 1970 | He became affiliated to the UGT where he began his trade union activity in the Building Federation of Jaén. |
| 1978 | Became a member of the Executive Committee, as a Secretary of Claim Action (Acción Reivindicativa). |
| 1980 | General Secretary of UGT-Jaén. |
| 1980-1986 | Socialist Deputy Member of the Spanish Parliament. |
| 1986 | Elected General Secretary of UGT-Andalucía in its III Regional Congress. |
| 1986-1987 | Socialist Deputy of the Andalusia Regional Parliament. |
| 1990 | Re-elected General Secretary of UGT-Andalucía during the IV Regional Congress. |
| 1994 | General Secretary of the UGT since the XXXVI Confederal Congress. |
He's a member of the Executive Committee of both the European Trade Union Confederation and the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions.
He's keen on reading and films. He practices trekking. He's very fond of football (soccer) and he's a well-known Real Madrid supporter.
Elected President of the ETUC at its congress in Prague May 2003.