Josep Borrell was born on 24 April 1947 in Lleida, Spain. He studied aeronautical engineering at the Technical University of Madrid (UPM) and graduated in 1969. Borrell also holds a Master's Degree in Operational Research from Stanford University in Palo Alto (California), a Master's degree in Energy Economics from the French Institute of Petroleum in Paris and a PhD in Economics from the Complutense University of Madrid.
He began his political career in 1979 when he became a member of the Madrid Parliament. In 1982 he was given a role within the Ministry of Economy with responsibility for fiscal policy. Four years later he was elected to the Spanish Parliament representing the Barcelona Province and remained an MP until 2004.
In 2001, Borrell was appointed the Spanish parliament’s representative on the Convention on the Future of Europe. He was a member of the European Parliament between 2004 and 2009. For the majority of that time, he served as President of the European Parliament (July 2004-January 2007). He was the first newly elected MEP to hold the post since direct elections were held in 1979. While serving as President, Borrell also chaired the Parliament's temporary committee on policy challenges and budgetary means of the enlarged Union 2007-2013. For the final two years serving as an MEP, he was chairman of the Committee on Development, as well as a member of the Parliament’s delegation to the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly.
Following his career in EU politics, Borrell assumed the position of President of the European University Institute in 2010. Two years later, the University of Lleida appointed him to a professorship of competition and regional development. He was also Jean Monnet Chair at the Institute of International Studies at Complutense University of Madrid.
On June 5 2018, he was appointed as Foreign Minister in the government of Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez.
In December 2019 he was appointed as High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.