Ministry_of_Foreign_Affairs_(France)

Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs (France)

Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs (France)

Foreign affairs government office of France


The Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs (French: Ministère de l'Europe et des Affaires étrangères, MEAE) is the ministry of the Government of France that handles France's foreign relations. Since 1855, its headquarters have been located at 37 Quai d'Orsay, close to the National Assembly. The term Quai d'Orsay is often used as a metonym for the ministry. Its cabinet minister, the Minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs (French: Ministre de l'Europe et des Affaires étrangères) is responsible for the foreign relations of France. The current officeholder, Stéphane Séjourné, was appointed in 2024.

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In 1547, royal secretaries became specialised, writing correspondence to foreign governments and negotiating peace treaties. The four French secretaries of state where foreign relations were divided by region, in 1589, became centralised with one becoming first secretary responsible for international relations. The Ancien Régime position of Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs became Foreign Minister around 1723;[1] it was renamed Minister of Foreign Affairs in 1791 in the aftermath of early stages of the French Revolution. All ministerial positions were abolished in 1794 by the National Convention and reestablished with the Directory.

For a brief period in the 1980s, the office was retitled Minister for External Relations. As of 2024, it is designated as Minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs and occupied by Stéphane Séjourné, who is assisted by Chrysoula Zacharopoulou, Secretary of State for Development and International Partnerships, and Jean-Noël Barrot, Minister Delegate for Europe, and Franck Riester, Minister Delegate for Foreign Trade, Economic Attractiveness, Francophonie and French Nationals Abroad.

Central administration

Foreign Affairs Ministry building on the Quai d'Orsay

There are multiple services under its authority, along with that of some other ministers. Under the authority of the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Development, that of Cooperation and European Affairs, and that of Foreign and European Affairs, there are numerous services directly related to the ministers. Here is a list of those services.

  • The ministers' cabinet
  • The office of cabinets, which gathers a personnel in charge of the administrative and logistics aspects of the three ministers' cabinets
  • The budget control service (CBCM)
  • General inspection of foreign affairs (IGAE)
  • The prospective office (DP)
  • The Protocole, upon which the President's protocol cell relies
  • The Crisis management Department (CDC)

Secretaries of State (1547–1723)

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Minister for Foreign Affairs (1718–1791)

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Ministers of Foreign Affairs (1791–2007)

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Consulate and First Empire

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First Restoration and the Hundred Days

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Second Restoration

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July Monarchy

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Second Republic

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Second Empire

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Third Republic

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Vichy Regime

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Free French Commissioners

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Fourth Republic

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Fifth Republic

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Ministers of Foreign and European Affairs (2007–2012)

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Ministers of Foreign Affairs and International Development (2012–2017)

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Ministers of Europe and Foreign Affairs (2017–present)

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See also


References

  1. (in French) Charles Hélion Marie le Gendre Luçay (comte de), Des origines du pouvoir ministériel en France: les secrétaires d'état depuis leur institution jusqu'à la mort de Louis XV, Librairie de la Société bibliographique, 1881.l

Further reading

  • Feske, Victor H. "The Road To Suez: The British Foreign Office and the Quai D’Orsay, 1951–1957" in The Diplomats, 1939–1979 (2019) pp. 167–200; online

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