Hugo Paemen

Prior to joining Hogan Lovells as senior advisor in the Trade practice, he served as Head of the European Commission’s Washington Delegation and still remains one of the leading promoters of EU-US cooperation through his position as EU Chair of the Trans-Atlantic Business Council. He previously served as the European Commission's Deputy Director-General for External Relations responsible for trade. Ambassador Paemen was also the official spokesman of the European Commission headed by Jaques Delors and Head of Cabinet of the Vice-President of the European Commission Viscount Davignon.

A career diplomat, Ambassador Paemen was the spokesman of the Belgian Foreign Ministry and held positions at the Belgian Embassies in Geneva, Paris and Washington. In 2000, the King of Belgium awarded him the title of Baron in recognition of his contributions as a diplomat to the Belgian State and to the European Union. He has lectured on European Policy and Integration Problems at Georgetown University, the College of Europe and the Catholic University of Leuven. He also authored the book “From the GATT to the WTO: the European Community in the Uruguay Round” and is a regular contributor to several publications in the diplomatic and trade area.