Key players in Microsoft vs EU case

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union's Court of First Instance rules on Monday on a challenge by Microsoft Corp. against a 2004 antitrust ruling by the European Commission.

Following are profiles of some main players in the case, in which the Commission found Microsoft had abused its dominance of personal computer operating systems, hurting smaller competitors:

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BO VESTERDORF (b. 1945)

Court of First Instance President Bo Vesterdorf of Denmark became a judge at the court in 1989 and its president in 1999. September 17 is his last day before retirement. Under his leadership the court has increasingly reversed European Commission decisions. In Denmark, he headed the administrative law division in the Justice Ministry and served as a temporary judge in the court of appeal. He was also a university lecturer.

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MARIO MONTI (b. 1943)

Mario Monti of Italy, now the president of Bocconi University, was European Union competition commissioner from 1999 to 2004 and led the investigation into Microsoft. Monti tried to settle the case but concluded he would not. He had served as internal-market commissioner from 1995 to 1999. Monti now also serves as chairman of Bruegel, a European think tank.

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NEELIE KROES (b. 1941)

Neelie Kroes of the Netherlands succeeded Monti as competition commissioner in 2004 and pursued the Microsoft case. She had been on the boards of a number of large companies, before which she served as Dutch minister of transport, public works and telecommunications. She was also president of Nyenrode University and taught economics at Erasmus University.

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BILL GATES (b. 1955)

Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates founded the company with childhood friend Paul Allen and built it from a developer of niche software for hobbyist computer fans to a technology titan that is a player in everything from video games to Web browsers.

Gates' business savvy and technical acumen helped drive Microsoft's stratospheric rise during the 1990s, which made him one of the world's richest men and inspired a generation of technology entrepreneurs. Gates plans to step down from a day-to-day role at Microsoft in 2008 and devote his time to his charitable foundation, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. He will remain the company's chairman.

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