Gaëtane Ricard-Nihoul

Gaëtane Ricard-Nihoul is a Senior Expert and Deputy Head of Unit at the European Commission, responsible for citizen engagement. She previously served as a member of the Joint Secretariat of the Conference on the Future of Europe and as Deputy Head of the European Commission Representation in France.

She holds a degree in political science from the University of Liège, as well as a master’s degree and a PhD in European politics from the University of Oxford. She worked within the Belgian government, contributing in particular to the Belgian EU Council Presidency, the Treaty of Nice, and the Laeken Declaration.

She later joined the European Commission (DG Education and Culture, then DG Communication) and became Secretary General of the Jacques Delors Institute, where she launched key initiatives on European democracy. After a secondment to the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs on citizen consultations, she returned to the European Commission, where she now leads the mainstreaming of citizen engagement. She regularly speaks in public and in the media and has taught at the Sorbonne and at Sciences Po.