Put forward by President Ursula von der Leyen, the Latvian Ilze Juhansone, current acting Secretary General of the European Commission, was officially appointed to this post on Tuesday 14 January with immediate effect (see EUROPE 12303/18).
Ms Juhansone was preferred over the two other candidates: the Frenchman Jean-Eric Paquet, Director General for Research and Innovation; and the Spaniard Daniel Calleja Crespo, Director General for the Environment.
The eighth person to take up the post, she has been Deputy Secretary-General of the Commission, responsible for relations with other institutions and external relations, since October 2015.
Ms Juhansone joined the Latvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 2008. She was Latvia’s Permanent Representative to the EU from March 2011, including during Latvia’s first EU Council Presidency.
“With her broad experience in the Commission, her leadership and management skills, as well as her excellent connections to the Member States and other European institutions, she will be a key player in helping to deliver our agenda”, said Ursula von der Leyen in a statement. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)