Anne-Claire Legendre was named president of the Arab World Institute on Tuesday by members of the board of directors of the Paris-based institution. The diplomat, close advisor to President Emmanuel Macron, succeeds Jack Lang, pushed out because of his links with Jeffrey Esptein.
Published on: 02/17/2026 - 10:09 Modified on: 02/18/2026 - 08:34
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A close advisor to Emmanuel Macron at the head of the Arab World Institute (IMA). Diplomat Anne-Claire Legendre was appointed on Tuesday February 17 as head of the IMA to replace Jack Lang, who resigned, the Parisian institution announced.
“Madame Anne-Claire Legendre has the experience, qualities and strategic vision necessary to assume these eminent responsibilities,” the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jean-Noël Barrot, underlined earlier in a press release. He also specified that if elected, “she will become the first woman to chair the board of directors of the IMA.”
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His candidacy was approved at a meeting Tuesday morning. Anne-Claire Legendre, an Arabic-speaking career diplomat specializing in the Maghreb and the Middle East, was unanimous among the members of the IMA board of directors, where seven representatives from Arab countries sit, according to corroborating sources.
After 13 years at the head of this hybrid institution, cultural place and diplomatic instrument, Jack Lang, 86, was forced to let go of the reins on February 7 after the discovery of his numerous exchanges with the American financier and sex criminal, who died in prison in 2019.
“Expert on issues in the Arab world”
Anne-Claire Legendre is currently North Africa and Middle East advisor to the diplomatic cell of the Élysée, after having been spokesperson for the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Originally from Brittany, this 46-year-old career diplomat speaks Arabic, which she learned at the National Institute of Oriental Languages and Civilizations (Inalco). She also graduated from Sciences Po Paris and the Sorbonne (modern literature).
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“She is an exceptional woman,” underlines an ambassador sitting on the IMA board of directors to AFP. “An expert on issues in the Arab world, a remarkable interlocutor and negotiator, she was able to impose herself through her competence and finesse.”
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Anne-Claire Legendre is "competent, substantial and committed with an acute knowledge of each country that makes up the Arab world, whether the Maghreb or the Middle East", believes another ambassador who is also a member of the board of directors.
“Implementation of an ambitious and structuring reform”
“As the 40th anniversary of the institution approaches, the new presidency will have as its roadmap the implementation of an ambitious and structuring reform,” explained Jean-Noël Barrot in his press release. “The State wishes the new presidency to study all the modalities of action allowing the IMA to shine beyond its walls and to reaffirm its role in the service of our cultural diplomacy and a renewed dialogue with contemporary Arab societies.”
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According to the minister, the IMA will have to modernize its governance and be “more efficient” and get back on “a sustainable financial trajectory”.
To ensure the success of the new presidency, he decided "to immediately initiate an inspection mission in order to carry out an audit of the financial management of the IMA and its human resources issues".
Finally, it will propose, "in the short term, a modification of the statutes aimed at setting the age limit of the president at 64 years upon his appointment, to limit the number of complete successive mandates, to create a committee responsible for ethics and remuneration, as well as to strengthen the rules for preventing conflicts of interest and breaches of probity".
It thus provides in particular for the establishment of a declaration of interests and strict rules regarding the acceptance of gifts and benefits.
With AFP
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