Catherine Colonna

Catherine Colonna
Minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs
Incumbent
Assumed office 20 May 2022
Prime Minister	Élisabeth Borne
Preceded by	Jean-Yves Le Drian
Ambassador of France to the United Kingdom
In office 2 September 2019 – 20 May 2022
President	Emmanuel Macron
Preceded by	Jean-Pierre Jouyet
Succeeded by	TBD
Permanent Representative of France to OECD
In office 4 October 2017 – 2 September 2019
President	Emmanuel Macron
Preceded by	Pierre Duquesne
Succeeded by	Jean-Pierre Jouyet
Ambassador of France to Italy
In office 1 September 2014 – 21 September 2017
President	François Hollande Emmanuel Macron
Preceded by	Alain Le Roy
Succeeded by	Christian Masset
Permanent Representative of France to UNESCO
In office 26 March 2008 – 22 December 2010
President	Nicolas Sarkozy
Preceded by	Joëlle Bourgois
Succeeded by	Rama Yade
Minister for European Affairs
In office 2 June 2005 – 15 May 2007
Prime Minister	Dominique de Villepin
Preceded by	Claudie Haigneré
Succeeded by	Jean-Pierre Jouyet
Personal details
Born	(1956-04-16) 16 April 1956 Tours, France
Alma mater	University of Tours Sciences Po École nationale d'administration

Catherine Colonna (French pronunciation: ​[katʁin kɔlɔna], born 16 April 1956) is a French diplomat and politician who has served as Minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs in the government of Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne since 20 May 2022.

During her time in the diplomatic service, Colonna served as Ambassador of France to the United Kingdom (2019–2022), Ambassador of France to Italy (2014–2017), Permanent Representative to OECD (2017–2019) and Permanent Representative to UNESCO (2008–2010).

Family and education

Born in Tours, Colonna is the daughter of a farmer of Corsican origin.

After obtaining a master's degree in public law at the Université François-Rabelais of Tours, she continued her studies at the Institut d'études politiques de Paris (public service) and then joined the École nationale d'administration (ENA) in the class of 1983 (Promotion Solidarité).

Career in the diplomatic service

In 1983, Colonna opted for a diplomatic career and was appointed at the Embassy of France in the United States, first in the political department, then in the press and information department.

Upon her return to Paris, Colonna was entrusted with European law at the Legal Affairs Directorate of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 1986 to 1988. In 1988, she became a technical advisor in Minister of Public Works Maurice Faure's cabinet, under the presidency of François Mitterrand. In 1989, shortly before the fall of the Berlin Wall, she joined the Analysis and Forecasting Centre at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where she was put in charge of European affairs. She later became spokeswoman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1990, in the department of Communication and Information, a position she kept for five years.

In 1993, Minister of Foreign Affairs Alain Juppé and Cabinet Director Dominique de Villepin named Colonna deputy spokeswoman. Two years later, in May 1995, newly-installed President Jacques Chirac appointed her spokeswoman for the Élysée. For the following nine years, she served as the official voice of the French Republic's presidency, then left office to work as Director General of the National Centre of Cinematography (CNC) in September 2004.

Following the European Constitution referendum, Colonna returned to diplomacy, being appointed Minister Delegate for European Affairs in the new government formed by Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin on 2 June 2005. She remained in position for two years, until 15 May 2007. From autumn 2007 until summer 2008, Colonna participated in the Commission on the White Paper on Foreign and European policy of France, led by Alain Juppé.

On 26 March 2008, Colonna was appointed as the French permanent representative to UNESCO.

Career in the private sector

Since May 2008, Colonna is a member of the Fondation Chirac's board of directors, and a member of the Franco-British Council.

Since May 2010, Colonna also chairs the board of governors of the École du Louvre.

In December 2010, Colonna decided to join the Paris office of international financial communications firm Brunswick as managing partner.

Return to the diplomatic service

Colonna was appointed as the French ambassador to Rome on 14 August 2014. She became permanent representative to OECD in 2017, before being appointed as the French ambassador to London in 2019.

Amid a 2021 dispute between the United Kingdom and France over post-Brexit fishing licenses, UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss instructed Minister of State for Europe Wendy Morton to summon Colonna "to explain the disappointing and disproportionate threats made against the UK and Channel Islands."

Minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs, 2022–present

Colonna with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, 2022

In May 2022, Colonna was named Foreign Minister in the Borne government. She is the second woman in that position after a short stint by Michèle Alliot-Marie in 2010.

Early in her tenure, Colonna and Minister of the Armed Forces Sébastien Lecornu travelled to Niger together to seal a regional redeployment, making the country the hub for French troops in the Sahel region.

Honours

National honours

• France: Officer of the Legion of Honour
• France: Officer of the National Order of Merit
• France: Commander of the Order of Arts and Letters

Foreign honours

• Uruguay: Medal of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay (1997)
• Italy: Grand Officer of the Order of the Star of Italy (2 June 2018)

External links

• Media related to Catherine Colonna at Wikimedia Commons