Chris Hoornaert (born 24 December 1963 in

Kortrijk Kortrijk ( , ; vls, Kortryk or ''Kortrik''; french: Courtrai ; la, Cortoriacum), sometimes known in English as Courtrai or Courtray ( ), is a Belgian City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Regio ...

) is a Belgian

diplomat A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or internati ...

. Hoornaert served as Head of Mission of the European Union Delegation to Panama between 2018 and 2022. From 2014 to 2018 he was the Ambassador of Belgium to the Netherlands. Between 2011 and 2014, he served as "

Ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or sov ...

of the Port of Antwerp," a position created in 2008. He served as Permanent Representative of Belgium to the

OECD The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; french: Organisation de coopération et de développement économiques, ''OCDE'') is an intergovernmental organisation with 38 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate e ...

from 2007 to 2011, with the rank of

. Until his appointment by the Belgian government as Permanent Representative, he was Diplomatic Advisor to the Belgian Prime Minister from 2004 to 2007. He was Director for EU External Relations at the

Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the government department responsible for the state's diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral relations affairs as well as for providing support for a country's citizens who are abroad. The entit ...

from 2003 to 2004. He holds a degree in political and social sciences from the

Katholieke Universiteit Leuven KU Leuven (or Katholieke Universiteit Leuven) is a Catholic research university in the city of Leuven, Belgium. It conducts teaching, research, and services in computer science, engineering, natural sciences, theology, humanities, medicine, l ...

and a postgraduate degree from the College of Europe (class of 1985–1986).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hoornaert, Chris 1963 births Ambassadors of Belgium to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development Ambassadors of the European Union to Panama College of Europe alumni KU Leuven alumni Living people People from Kortrijk