ESA - ESA history - ELDO Secretaries General

Welcome to ESA History of Europe in space ELDO/ESRO/ESA:
Key dates 1960-2012

Key figures

European space pioneers Past Directors General of ESA ESRO Directors General

ELDO Secretaries General

Chairs of ELDO/ESRO/ESA Council

ESA History Project

The History of the European Space Agency Space history on the web Further reading on European space history

Download

ESA Bulletin: The ESA History Project History Study Reports A History of the European Space Agency, Volume I:
The story of ESRO and ELDO, 1958-1973 (pdf)A History of the European Space Agency, Volume II:
The story of ESA, 1973-1987 (pdf)

Overview

ELDO Secretaries General

ESA was created from two different agencies set up in the 1960s, the European Launch Development Organisation (ELDO) and the European Space Research Organisation (ESRO).

Renzo Carrobio di Carrobio

Renzo Carrobio di Carrobio was the first Secretary General of ELDO, from 1964 to 1972. He passed away in 1994.

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Robert Aubinière

General Robert Aubinière was the first Director General of the French space agency, Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES), from its creation in 1962 until 1972, and second Secretary General of ELDO until 1975. He passed away in 2001.

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George Van Reeth

George Pieter Van Reeth was the third and last Secretary General of ELDO, and has spent 27 years with ESA and its predecessors. He passed away in August 2010.

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Last update: 16 July 2009

Past Directors General of ESA

Roy Gibson Erik Quistgaard Reimar Lüst Jean-Marie Luton Antonio Rodotà

ESRO Directors General

Pierre Auger Herman Bondi Alexander Hocker Roy Gibson

ELDO Secretaries General

Renzo Carrobio di Carrobio Robert Aubinière George Van Reeth