Pascal Lamy (born 8 April 1947) is a French

political consultant Political consulting is a form of consulting that consists primarily of advising and assisting political campaigns. Although the most important role of political consultants is arguably the development and production of mass media (largely tel ...

and businessman. He was the

Director-General of the World Trade Organization The director-general of the World Trade Organization is the officer of the World Trade Organization (WTO) responsible for supervising and directing the organization's administrative operations. Since the World Trade Organization's decisions are ...

(WTO) from 1 September 2005 to 1 September 2013 for 8 years. In April 2009, WTO members reappointed Lamy for a second 4-year term, beginning on 1 September 2009. He was then succeeded by

Roberto Azevêdo Roberto Carvalho de Azevêdo (; born 3 October 1957) is a Brazilian career diplomat who served as Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO) from 2013 until 2020. Since 2020, he has been Executive Vice President and Director of Corpo ...

. Pascal Lamy was also

European Commissioner for Trade The European Commissioner for Trade (sometimes referred to as the ''EU Trade Commissioner'') is the member of the European Commission responsible for the European Union's common commercial policy. Responsibilities The Commissioner heads up the ...

for 5 years, from 13 September 1999 to 22 November 2004 and is an advisor for the transatlantic think-tank

European Horizons European Horizonsis a youth-led atlanticist policy incubator whose stated mission is “to foster a stronger transatlantic bond and a more united Europe,” which the organization sees as cornerstones of a future underpinned by democracy, equality ...

, as well as currently serving as the Honorary President of the Paris-based

think tank A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governmenta ...

Notre Europe The Jacques Delors Institute (french: Institut Jacques Delors), which also uses the name ''Notre Europe'' (French for "Our Europe"), is an independent think tank based in Paris. Founded in 1996 by Jacques Delors, it aims to "think a united Europ ...

Early life

Born in

Levallois-Perret Levallois-Perret () is a commune in the Hauts-de-Seine department and Île-de-France region of north-central France. It lies some from the centre of Paris in the north-western suburbs of the French capital. It is the most densely populated ...

, Hauts-de-Seine, a suburb of Paris, Lamy studied at Sciences Po Paris, from HEC and ÉNA, graduating second in his year of those specialising in economics. He then joined the civil service, and in this role he ended up serving as an adviser to

Jacques Delors Jacques Lucien Jean Delors (born 20 July 1925) is a French politician who served as the 8th President of the European Commission from 1985 to 1995. He served as Minister of the Economy, Finances and Industry (France), Minister of Finance of Fran ...

as Economics and Finance Minister and

Pierre Mauroy Pierre Mauroy (; 5 July 1928 – 7 June 2013) was a French Socialist politician who was Prime Minister of France from 1981 to 1984 under President François Mitterrand. Mauroy also served as Mayor of Lille from 1973 to 2001. At the time of his de ...

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

. Lamy has been a member of the French Socialist Party since 1969.

Career

Member of the European Commission

In 1979 Pascal Lamy was appointed to the post of Secretary General of the "Mayoux Committee". During 1979-1981 he worked as Deputy Secretary General, then Secretary General of the Interministerial Committee for the Remodelling of Industrial Structures (CIASI) in the Treasury Department. In 1981 Pascal Lamy was technical Adviser, then Deputy Director (June 1982), Office of the Ministers for Economic and Financial Affairs (Mr Jacques Delors). Lamy became Deputy Secretary General, then Secretary General of the Interministerial Committee for the Remodelling of Industrial Structures (CIASI) in the Treasury Department. When Delors became President of the European Commission in 1984, he took Lamy with him to serve as

chef de cabinet In several French-speaking countries and international organisations, a (French; literally 'head of office') is a senior civil servant or official who acts as an aide or private secretary to a high-ranking government figure, typically a minist ...

, which he did until the end of Delors' term in 1994. During his time there, Lamy became known as the ''Beast of the

Berlaymont The Berlaymont () is an office building in Brussels, Belgium, which houses the headquarters of the European Commission, the executive branch of the European Union (EU). The structure is located on the Robert Schuman Roundabout at 200, rue de l ...

'', the ''

Gendarme Wrong info! --> A gendarmerie () is a military force with law enforcement duties among the civilian population. The term ''gendarme'' () is derived from the medieval French expression ', which translates to " men-at-arms" (literally, ...

'' and ''

Exocet The Exocet () is a French-built anti-ship missile whose various versions can be launched from surface vessels, submarines, helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft. Etymology The missile's name was given by M. Guillot, then the technical director ...

'' due to his habit of ordering civil servants, even Directors-General (heads of department) "precisely what to do – or else." He was seen as ruling Delors' office with a "rod of iron", with no-one able to bypass or manipulate him and those who tried being "banished to one of the less pleasant European postings". Lamy briefly moved into business at

Crédit Lyonnais The Crédit Lyonnais (, "Lyon Credit ompany) was a major French bank, created in 1863 and absorbed by former rival Crédit Agricole in 2003. Its head office was initially in Lyon but moved to Paris in 1882. In the early years of the 20th c ...

. Promoted to second in command, he was involved in the

restructuring Restructuring is the corporate management term for the act of reorganizing the legal, ownership, operational, or other structures of a company for the purpose of making it more profitable, or better organized for its present needs. Other reasons ...

and privatisation of the bank. Returning to the European Commission in 1999, Lamy was appointed

by Commission President

Romano Prodi Romano Antonio Prodi (; born 9 August 1939) is an Italian politician, economist, academic, senior civil servant, and business executive who served as the tenth president of the European Commission from 1999 to 2004. He served twice as Pr ...

. Lamy served to the expiry of the commission's term in 2004. His ability to manage the powerful civil servants in his department was noted. During his time in office, he pushed for a new Doha round of world trade talks and advocated reform within the WTO.

Director-General of the WTO, 2005–2013

On 13 May 2005, Lamy was chosen as the next director-general of the World Trade Organization, and took office on 1 September 2005 for a four-year term. He had been nominated by the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

and won over candidates including Carlos Pérez del Castillo of

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

and

Jaya Krishna Cuttaree Jaya Krishna Cuttaree, GCSK (June 22, 1941-19 December 2018) was a Mauritian politician. Early life and education The son of a tailor, Jayen Cuttaree grew up in Rose Hill, Mauritius. He was the descendant of Indian immigrants who had landed in ...

Mauritius Mauritius ( ; french: Maurice, link=no ; mfe, label=Mauritian Creole, Moris ), officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean about off the southeast coast of the African continent, east of Madagascar. It incl ...

. On 30 April 2009, Lamy was re-elected unanimously by the WTO General Council for a second term of four years, beginning 1 September 2009. He also served as the chairman of the organization's Trade Negotiations Committee. He was the WTO's fifth director-general. Also in 2009, Lamy served on the High Level Commission on the Modernization of World Bank Group Governance, which – under the leadership of

Ernesto Zedillo Ernesto Zedillo Ponce de León (; born 27 December 1951) is a Mexican economist and politician. He was 61st president of Mexico from 1 December 1994 to 30 November 2000, as the last of the uninterrupted 71-year line of Mexican presidents from t ...

– conducted an external review of the

World Bank Group The World Bank Group (WBG) is a family of five international organizations that make leveraged loans to developing countries. It is the largest and best-known development bank in the world and an observer at the United Nations Development Gr ...

's governance.

Later career

Since 2019, Lamy has been serving as President of the

Paris Peace Forum The Paris Peace Forum is a French non-profit organisation created in March 2018. The organisation hosts an annual gathering of world leaders and heads of international organisations, as well as leaders from civil society and private sectors and t ...

. Pascal Lamy is a member of the advisory board of the

Prague European Summit The Prague European Summit is a platform for a regular high-level strategic debate on the future of the European Union and other European issues. It is the only platform of this kind focused on the European Union in Central and Eastern Europe. It ...

Other activities

Corporate boards

Danone Danone S.A. () is a French multinational food-products corporation based in Paris. It was founded in Barcelona, Spain. It is listed on Euronext Paris where it is a component of the CAC 40 stock market index. Some of the company's products are ...

, Member of the Mission Committee (since 2020) * Bosch, Member of the International Advisory Committee (since 2015)

Non-profit organizations

* Africa Europe Foundation (AEF), Member of the High-Level Group of Personalities on Africa-Europe Relations (since 2020) *

Berggruen Institute The Berggruen Institute is a Los Angeles-based think tank founded by Nicolas Berggruen. History In 2010, Nicolas Berggruen and Nathan Gardels sat down with a group of academics, business leaders, and political veterans in California to discus ...

, Member of the Council for the Future of Europe * Broader European Leadership Agenda (BELA), Member of the Advisory Board * Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR), Distinguished Fellow (since 2019) *

Centre for European Reform The Centre for European Reform (CER) is a London-based think tank that focuses on matters of European integration. It is a prominent source of ideas and commentary in debates about a wide range of EU-related issues, both in the United Kingdom and in ...

(CER), Member of the Advisory Board *

European Climate Foundation The European Climate Foundation (ECF) is an independent philanthropic initiative working to help tackle the climate crisis by fostering the development of a net zero emissions society at the national, European and global level. Its aim is to pro ...

, Member of the Supervisory Board *

Europaeum The Europaeum is a network of eighteen universities in Europe. It was conceived of in 1990–1991 by Lord Weidenfeld and Sir Ronnie Grierson and they persuaded Roy Jenkins, who had just become Chancellor of the University of Oxford, to push t ...

, Member of the Board of Trustees *

European Council on Foreign Relations The European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) is a pan-European think tank with offices in seven European capitals. Launched in October 2007, it conducts research on European foreign and security policy and provides a meeting space for decisi ...

(ECFR), Member *

, Advisor * Fondation européenne d'études progressistes (FEPS), Vice-President of the Bureau * French Institute for International and Strategic Affairs (IRIS]), Honorary President of the Board of Directors * Jacques Delors Centre at

Hertie School The Hertie School (until 2019 Hertie School of Governance) is a German private, independent graduate school for governance (public policy, international affairs and data science) located in Berlin's Friedrichstraße. Hertie School is according ...

, Member of the Advisory Board *

Mo Ibrahim Foundation The Mo Ibrahim Foundation was established in 2006. It was founded by Mo Ibrahim, a Sudanese billionaire businessman and philanthropist, who founded the telecommunications company Celtel International in 1998. Ibrahim is the chairman. Other boar ...

, Member of the Board *

Les Musiciens du Louvre Les Musiciens du Louvre (literally ''The Musicians of the Louvre'') is a French period instrument ensemble, formed in 1982. Originally based in Paris, since 1996 it has been based in the Couvent des Minimes in Grenoble. ''The Guardian'' considers ...

, President of the Board of Directors * Women Political Leaders Global Forum (WPL), Member of the Global Advisory Board *

Transparency International Transparency International e.V. (TI) is a German registered association founded in 1993 by former employees of the World Bank. Based in Berlin, its nonprofit and non-governmental purpose is to take action to combat global corruption with civil ...

, Member of the Advisory Council *

UNAIDS The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS) (, ONUSIDA) is the main advocate for accelerated, comprehensive and coordinated global action on the HIV/AIDS pandemic. The mission of UNAIDS is to lead, strengthen and support an ...

–'' Lancet'' Commission on Defeating AIDS, Member (2013-2015)

Personal life

Lamy is married and has three sons. His hobbies include running and cycling.

Select publications

*Lamy, Pascal
''The Geneva Consensus: Making Trade Work for All''
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2013. *Lamy, Pascal
''The Economic Summit and the European Community''
Bissell Paper No. 5. Toronto: University of Toronto, Centre for International Studies, 1988

Lectures

in the ttp://legal.un.org/avl/lectureseries.html Lecture Series of the United Nations Audiovisual Library of International Law

References

External links

About Pascal Lamy

Notre Europe

"Pascal Lamy – Managing Global Expectations"
''

The Globalist ''The Globalist'' is a daily online magazine that "focuses on the economics, politics and culture"The Globalist: About Us ...

'', 23 February 2006
Pascal Lamy: Free Trade and Interdependence Help Promote Freedom
– video report by ''

Democracy Now! ''Democracy Now!'' is an hour-long American TV, radio, and Internet news program hosted by journalists Amy Goodman (who also acts as the show's executive producer), Juan González, and Nermeen Shaikh. The show, which airs live each weekday at ...

'' , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Lamy, Pascal 1947 births École nationale d'administration alumni Sciences Po faculty French European Commissioners HEC Paris alumni Knights Commander of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Living people Lycée Carnot alumni Officers of the Order of Merit of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg People from Levallois-Perret Sciences Po alumni Socialist Party (France) politicians Directors-General of the World Trade Organization