Anne-Claire Legendre, diplomatic adviser to French President Emmanuel Macron for North Africa and the Middle East since late 2023, was elected on Tuesday as the new president of the Institut du Monde Arabe (IMA, Arab World Institute).
Anne-Claire Legendre © PSI
Anne-Claire Legendre, diplomatic adviser to French President Emmanuel Macron for North Africa and the Middle East since late 2023, was elected on Tuesday as the new president of the Institut du Monde Arabe (IMA, Arab World Institute).
She succeeds Jack Lang and becomes, at 46, the first woman to lead the Paris-based cultural institution.
Her appointment follows a career largely shaped within France’s foreign service. The Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, which contributes half of the IMA’s €12.3 million annual budget, backed her candidacy.
Legendre previously made history in 2016 as the first and youngest woman to serve as France’s Consul General in New York, a post she held for four years. In 2020, she was appointed ambassador to Kuwait before being recalled to Paris in 2021 to serve as spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry, where she played a key role in countering Russian disinformation campaigns.
In December 2023, amid renewed tensions linked to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, she joined the Élysée Palace as adviser on North Africa and the Middle East.
Her election to head the IMA marks a new chapter for the institution, which serves as a cultural bridge between France and the Arab world.
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