Name: Sean O’Curneen Cañas

Born: 24 June 1970, at Falls Church, Virginia, outside Washington D.C.

Where am I from: it’s impossible to answer this question in the traditional manner; genetically I am half-Irish half-Spanish.

What do I feel: above all a madrileño and a citizen of the world. My identity is a cocktail mix of Spanish, Irish, European and American, although I am logically more Spanish than anything else.

Why: because I was brought up in Madrid, my cultural and sporting references are Spanish, and it is the country I most feel at home in.

And why European: first of all, because although I have never lived in Ireland, I am partly Irish, it is a magnificent country where I have many relatives, and a country for which I have great affection; secondly, because I have studied and worked in the UK, where my wife is from and where my daughter was born, it is a country I greatly admire and which has given me so much; thirdly, because I studied and worked for nearly five years in France where I was extremely well received and where I felt fully integrated; and finally, because I have been for more than four years in Brussels, where my son was born, working for the European Union, the most ambitious political development in the history of humanity and, being peaceful, no doubt the most inspiring.

And why American: because I was born there, it is a country which my father knows perfectly well having worked there for many years, including having been Chairman of the St Patrick’s Day Parade in Washington D.C. for three years running, and because it is a country which although not perfect (as all other countries) it is capable of real wonders such as the Library of Congress, its best universities, and its ability to mobilise people and resources in order to explore new frontiers of human knowledge.

What do I do: Since October 2004, I am Secretary General of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe in the EU Committee of the Regions.

What did I do before: I worked for four years as an officer in the Greater London Authority for the Mayor of London in the European Affairs team and previously six months in the press office. Prior to that I worked as a journalist, mainly for BBC Television in London and Radio France International in Paris.

Anything else? I am co-author, with my father, of the book “Express Yourself Better in English – Dictionary of Irregular Verbs with Quotations”.

What degrees have I got: A MSc with Distinction (and the highest grade of the class) in European Politics from Birkbeck College London (2002); MSc Journalism from the Ecole de Journalisme de Marseille (1994); and a BSc in Astrophysics from University College London (1991)

What languages do I speak: Spanish, English, French. I am learning Italian.

I love: being with my family; tourism (as in discovering the heritage of a city or rural area); going to the cinema; learning something new; music in general especially rock/pop with good lyrics and classical with wooden wind instruments; and when Spain wins a sporting trophy.