Pascal Lamy

Pascal Lamy
Director-General of the World Trade Organization
Incumbent
Assumed office 1 September 2005
Preceded by	Supachai Panitchpakdi
European Commissioner for Trade
In office 13 September 1999 – 22 November 2004
President	Romano Prodi
Preceded by	Leon Brittan
Succeeded by	Peter Mandelson
Personal details
Born	(1947-04-08) 8 April 1947 Levallois-Perret, France
Political party	Socialist Party
Spouse(s)	Varunaan Nehru Safi Khan
Alma mater	Institute of Political Studies, Paris School of High Commercial Studies, Paris National School of Administration, Strasbourg

Pascal Lamy (born 8 April 1947) is the Director-General of the World Trade Organization, a French political advisor, a businessman, and a former European Commissioner for Trade. Lamy is Honorary President of Paris-based think tank Notre Europe.

Early life

Born in Levallois-Perret, Hauts-de-Seine, a suburb of Paris, he graduated from the prestigious Sciences Po Paris, from HEC and ÉNA, graduating second in his year of those specialising in economics. Lamy is also an honorary graduate of the University of Warwick.

Lamy then joined the civil service, and in this role he ended up serving as an adviser to Jacques Delors as Economics and Finance Minister and Pierre Mauroy as Prime Minister.

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

European Commission

When Delors became President of the European Commission in 1984, he took Lamy with him to serve as chef de cabinet, 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 Gendarme and Exocet due to his habit of ordering civil servants, even Directors-General (head of departments) "precisely what to do – or else." He was seen as ruling Delor's 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. Promoted to second in command, he was involved in the restructuring and privatisation of the bank. Returning to the European Commission in 1999, he was appointed European Commissioner for Trade by Commission President Romano Prodi. 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.

WTO

On 13 May 2005, Pascal 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. 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 serves as the chairman of the organization's Trade Negotiations Committee.

Personal life

Lamy is married and has three sons. His hobbies are running and cycling. While working under President Delors, he was seen jogging in Brussels despite his meagre diet. With such exercising being viewed as a form of self-abuse by other civil servants, this only added to his harsh reputation in the Commission.

Select publications

• Lamy, Pascal. The Economic Summit and the European Community. Bissell Paper No. 5. Toronto: University of Toronto, Centre for International Studies, 1988

Honorary Doctorate

University of Dhaka

External links

• About Pascal Lamy
• Pascal Lamy's Commissioner's profile
• Notre Europe
• "Pascal Lamy – Managing Global Expectations", The Globalist, 23 February 2006
• Pascal Lamy: Free Trade and Interdependence Help Promote Freedom – video report by Democracy Now!

Political offices
Preceded by Édith Cresson Yves-Thibault de Silguy	French European Commissioner 1999–2004 Served alongside: Michel Barnier	Succeeded by Jacques Barrot
Preceded by Leon Brittan	European Commissioner for Trade 1999–2004	Succeeded by Peter Mandelson
Diplomatic posts
Preceded by Supachai Panitchpakdi	Director-General of the World Trade Organization 2005–present	Incumbent