Catherine Lalumière (born August 3, 1935 in Rennes) is a French politician of the Left Radical Party.
Prior to her political career, she taught public law at the University of Rennes and at the University of Paris I. She began her incursion into politics in 1981 as Minister of Consumer Affairs in Pierre Mauroy’s cabinet and held several positions during the 1980s. In 1984, she was appointed Secretary of State for European Affairs in the office of Laurent Fabius. This position led her to sign the Schengen Agreement for France and her political career began to take a European path.
She then held the post of Secretary General of the Council of Europe from 1989 to 1994 and became a member of the European Parliament in 1994, re-elected in 1999. She was chosen to serve as Vice-President from 2001 to 2004.
She was also President of the French Federation of Houses of Europe and Vice-President of the European Movement International, where she chaired the enlargement working group.
She is currently President of the Maison de l’Europe in Paris and Relais Culture Europe and President of the European Association of Schools of Political Studies of the European Council. .
