The European Union has appointed its first president and foreign policy chief following a meeting on Thursday night.<br /><br />Herman Van Rompuy, Belgium's prime minister, was elected president of the European Council while Catherine Ashton, the EU's trade commissioner, was backed for the foreign policy role.<br /><br />Ashton, who has never previously been elected to public office, explained to Hamish Macdonald why she is best suited to the role.
