Hugo Paemen

Former EC Ambassador to the United States

Hugo Paemen is a senior advisor on international trade and investment and EU regulatory affairs at the international law firm Hogan Lovells.

Before joining Hogan Lovells, Ambassador Paemen served as head of the European Commission’s delegation in Washington (1995-99) and as deputy director-general for external relations at the European Commission responsible for trade (1987-95). He was the EC’s chief negotiator during the Uruguay Round, which resulted in a number of international trade agreements including the creation of the World Trade Organization.

From 1985 to 1987, Ambassador Paemen was the official spokesman of the European Commission, headed by Jaques Delors. Before that, he was “chef de cabinet” of the EC Vice-President Viscount Davignon.

Ambassador Paemen began his diplomatic career holding positions in the Belgian embassies in Paris (1965-69) and Washington (as economic minister, 1974-77). From 1969 to 1974, he was the spokesman of the Belgian Foreign Ministry.

He has lectured on European policy and integration problems at Georgetown University, the College of Europe in Natolin (Poland) and the Catholic University of Leuven.

He is the author of “From the GATT to the WTO: The European Community in the Uruguay Round,” and has contributed articles on diplomatic and trade issues to many publications. He is the co-author of “A New Era for Transatlantic Leadership: A Report from the Transatlantic Task Force on Trade and Investment.”