Irène Mingasson is a senior EU official, of French and German background, educated as a lawyer in France and Germany. She is married to a British citizen and the mother of three daughters. She has held various roles with the European Commission’s services in charge of the Internal Market & Industry; of Information, Culture & Audio-Visual; of Enlargement and Neighbourhood policies. Her career in EU external relations started in the Balkans, as the EU spokesperson of the UN Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) in 1999. Back in Brussels, she ran the EU information and communication strategies in the run-up to the 2004 EU Enlargement. In a first posting in Africa, she was Head of Governance and Human Rights at the EU Delegation to Ethiopia (Addis Ababa). Thereafter she became Head of Cooperation at the EU mission to Jordan (Amman). She later took up the role of Head of Unit in charge of EU regional cooperation with the Southern Neighbourhood, building up a vast experience in Euro-Mediterranean relations and the dynamics at regional and continental level. Most recently, Irène Mingasson was the EU Ambassador to Senegal. Today, she is the Head of Unit for ‘Rapid Response in Asia, Americas and Europe’ at the European Commission’s Service for Policy Instruments.