Speakers & moderators

Pierre Sellal is Ambassador of France. He has been president of the Fondation de France since May 2017. He also works at the August Debouzy law firm as senior counsel.

After studying law in Strasbourg and attending the École Nationale d'Administration, he joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1977. In 1980, he became a diplomatic advisor in the office of the Minister of Foreign Trade.

In 1981, he joined the French Permanent Representation to the European Communities in Brussels. In 1985, he became Deputy Secretary General of the Interministerial Committee for European Economic Cooperation, reporting to the Prime Minister.
In 1990, Pierre Sellal was appointed "Minister-Counsellor" at the French Embassy in Rome. After two years in Italy, he returned to Brussels, this time as Deputy Permanent Representative, from 1992 to 1997.

From 1997 to 2002, he was head of the cabinet of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hubert Védrine. Following the spring 2002 elections, he was appointed for the third time in Brussels as Ambassador, Permanent Representative of France. In this capacity, he actively participated in the French presidency of the European Union in 2008.

At the end of this presidency, he was elevated to the dignity of Ambassador of France. After 7 years in Brussels as Permanent Representative, he was appointed Secretary General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 2009, the highest position in the Quai d'Orsay, which he held for 5 years.

In the summer of 2014, he took up the post of Permanent Representative of France to the European Union for a second time, which he held until the end of 2017.