Amélie de Montchalin, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of France to the OECD, was appointed, Chair of the OECD Development Centre’s Governing Board on 11 March 2024. The Development Centre brings together 54 member countries – both OECD and non-OECD –to advance mutual understanding on key development issues through analysis and policy dialogue. Ambassador de Montchalin succeeds outgoing Chair Manuel Escudero, former Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Spain to the OECD. She will exercise this presidency in her personal capacity without receiving remuneration for it.

Ragnheiður Elín Árnadóttir, Director of the OECD Development Centre, welcomed the new Chair, who has placed the advancement of development and climate objectives and their financing as the priority of her work at the OECD and beyond.

Upon taking up her responsibilities, Ambassador de Montchalin emphasised the importance of the Development Centre as a forum for in-depth policy dialogue, undisputed expertise, shared solutions and openness to all stakeholders. She stressed how the work of the Centre and its approach to social, ecological and economic issues are a key asset for the OECD, as they enable member and non-member countries to work together, learn from each other and reach greater policy coherence in their respective choices.

In her vision statement, she called for the Development Centre to further contribute to upcoming multilateral and global meetings at the UN, the G20, the G7 as well as to the debate on the post-2030 Agenda and the preparation of the 2025 4th Conference on Financing for Development, hosted by Spain. One of her key priorities is to promote the ambition that all OECD Committees should explicitly study the consequences of OECD countries’ policies and recommendations on developing and emerging economies, to avoid unintended or unanticipated negative spillovers.

An economist by training, Ambassador de Montchalin holds degrees in economics from the University of Paris-Dauphine and HEC Paris, in history from the University of Paris IV-Sorbonne and in public administration from the Harvard Kennedy School. She worked in the financial sector on inflation, financing, and risk management during the Eurozone crisis at Exane BNP Paribas and then in the management of the AXA Group as Director of Foresight and Public Policy. She has actively participated in the work on the financing of the ecological transition by private investors, notably within the Task Force on Climate Financial Disclosure (TCFD) and the European Commission's High-Level Expert Group on Sustainable Finance.

Elected in June 2017 as Députée for Essonne, member of the Finance Committee, she was in charge of the budget for the presidential majority in the National Assembly and special rapporteur for the Research and Innovation budget for 2018 and 2019. She joined the French Government in March 2019 as Deputy Minister for European Affairs, where she led, among other things, the negotiations on Brexit and the preparatory negotiations for the French Presidency of the Council of the European Union. She became Minister for Public Service and Public Sector Reform in July 2020, where she led the reform of the senior civil service and the transformation of public services during COVID pandemic. She was then appointed Minister for the Environment in May 2022.

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About the OECD Development Centre: www.oecd.org/dev