French President Emmanuel Macron's Middle East adviser Anne-Claire Legendre has become the new president of the Arab World Institute in Paris, after its former head was forced to resign over his links with Jeffrey Epstein.
The announcement came shortly after Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot announced on X that Ms Legendre, an Arabic speaker, was the government's choice of candidate. She has the “experience, qualities and strategic vision necessary to assume these eminent responsibilities”, Mr Barrot said on X.
“At the suggestion of the French government, Anne-Claire Legendre was appointed to the board of directors and elected President of the Arab World Institute,” the institute said in a statement. She becomes the first woman president, it added.
Ms Legendre, 46, a career diplomat specialising in the Middle East, had the unanimous support of the institute's board of directors, sources told AFP. The board is composed of 14 members – seven representatives from Arab League countries and seven senior French diplomats.
She is a former French ambassador to Kuwait and former spokeswoman at the Foreign Ministry. In her capacity as adviser to Mr Macron, she was heavily involved in France taking the lead among a group of countries that recognised Palestinian statehood in September, before the UN General Assembly.
Other candidates interviewed on Monday by Mr Barrot included former secretary of state for urban development Sabrina Agresti-Roubache, former ambassador for the Mediterranean Karim Amellal, and Olivier Poivre d’Arvor, ambassador for the Poles and Maritime Issues, Le Monde reported.
The Arab World Institute is a cultural and research organisation in Paris that promotes understanding of the Arab world and is supervised by the French Foreign Ministry.
Its building in Paris was searched by police on Monday in connection with an investigation into its former head, Jack Lang, and his ties with the late convicted sex offender Epstein. Mr Lang, 86, resigned this month from the institute he had led since 2013. His three-year mandate had been renewed four times and was set to end in December.
Mr Barrot announced the institute would undergo a financial audit. He also said he would suggest to the board that an age limit of 64 be set for its president, in addition to limiting the number of successive mandates and creating an ethics committee to oversee salaries. Mr Lang's monthly salary of €10,000 ($11,800) was often discussed in French media.
“The state wants the new presidency to study all courses of action to make the Arab World Institute shine beyond its walls and to reaffirm its role in the service of our cultural diplomacy and a renewed dialogue with modern Arab societies,” Mr Barrot said.
