Valérie Verdier, President and CEO of IRD, appoints Corinne Brunon-Meunier, Deputy Director General of the Institute.

Ambassador of France to Croatia from 2016 to 2019, Corinne Brunon-Meunier has held, throughout her career, responsibilities in the fields of security, cooperation, sustainable development and European affairs. She takes up her duties at the IRD on 2 March 2020.

A graduate of the Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris, Corinne Brunon-Meunier also holds a Master's degree in law and an advanced degree in public and private international relations law.

From 2008 to 2012, she was seconded to the French Development Agency (AFD) as Deputy Director for Africa.

Returning to the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs (MEAE) from 2012 to 2013, she served as Deputy Director for East Africa and then as Deputy Director for Sustainable Development at the Directorate General for Globalization from 2013 to 2016.

Corinne Brunon-Meunier has thus confirmed her commitment to promoting sustainable development in all its economic, social and environmental dimensions, as well as to combating climate change and preserving biodiversity and the environment, in conjunction with a wide range of stakeholders, particularly in the sectors of research and innovation for development, such as CIRAD.

Since joining the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs in 1979, she has successively held the posts of secretary and then embassy counsellor in Abidjan, Rome, Brussels, Nairobi and Ottawa. There she led negotiations on international development cooperation, climate and environment, in conjunction with partner institutions, in Canada, Belgium and Kenya, where she was Deputy Representative to the United Nations Environment Programme.

From 1994 to 1995, Corinne Brunon-Meunier was also seconded to the General Secretariat of the European Council. Between 2000 and 2005, she held the posts of Deputy Director of Military Cooperation and Defence and Deputy to the Deputy Director of Security at the EEAM, developing her expertise in integrated policies for international stability and crisis response.

Corinne Brunon-Meunier was elevated to the rank of Knight of the National Order of the Legion of Honour in 2011 and Officer of the National Order of Merit in 2018.