Ambassador Jean De Ruyt (born September 14, 1947) retired from the

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...

diplomatic service Diplomatic service is the body of diplomats and foreign policy officers maintained by the government of a country to communicate with the governments of other countries. Diplomatic personnel obtains diplomatic immunity when they are accredited to o ...

in March 2012 after some 40 years. Now a
independent consultant and political analyst
Jean De Ruyt currently consults for

Covington & Burling Covington & Burling LLP is an American multinational law firm. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the firm advises clients on transactional, litigation, regulatory, and public policy matters. In 2021, Vault.com ranked Covington & Burling as ...

LLP as Senior Advisor and was formerly a member of the Board of Counselors of McLarty Associates in Washington.

Career

Ambassador Jean De Ruyt was the Permanent Representative of Belgium to the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...

until September 2011. He was then appointed to advise the European Union's High Representative / Vice-President Catherine Ashton on specific foreign policy issues. He was previously Ambassador to Italy, covering also, from Rome, the FAO (UN Food and Agricultural Organization), Albania and the Republic of San Marino. From April 2001 until August 2004 he was the Permanent Representative of Belgium to the United Nations in New York. In this capacity and as the Representative of the European Union Presidency in 2001, he contributed actively in the UN reaction to the events on September 11. His first diplomatic postings were in Kinshasa, Algiers and the Industrial Development Office in New York. He served from 1982 until 1987 in the Permanent Representation of Belgium to the EU as the assistant to the Ambassador (Antici). In 1987, he was appointed deputy Chief of Mission in the Belgian Embassy in Washington where he served until mid-1991. During the 1990s, his diplomatic career allowed him to participate closely in the shaping of the new European Security Architecture emerging after the end of the cold war. First as Senior official to the CSCE and Ambassador to the

Western European Union The Western European Union (WEU; french: Union de l'Europe occidentale, UEO; german: Westeuropäische Union, WEU) was the international organisation and military alliance that succeeded the Western Union (WU) after the 1954 amendment of the 1948 ...

(WEU), then as Ambassador to Poland (1994–1996), Permanent Representative to the NATO Council (1996–1997) and Belgian Member of the Political Committee of the European Union (1997–2001). De Ruyt has a doctorate from Louvain University Law School (1969) and studied at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. He was Assistant Professor in Public Law at Louvain University before entering the Diplomatic career. Since his return to Brussels in 2007, he is a regular visiting Professor at Louvain University (UCL) and in the

College of Europe The College of Europe (french: Collège d'Europe) is a post-graduate institute of European studies with its main campus in Bruges, Belgium and a second campus in Warsaw, Poland. The College of Europe in Bruges was founded in 1949 by leading ...

in Poland (Natolin). He has conducted seminars on European issues for the joint European Studies Institute of Louvain and St Louis Universities and sits on the Board of The Royal Institute for International Relations. He is a member of the Belgian Royal Academy.

Published works

His publications include L 'Acte Unique Européen Editions de l’Université de Bruxelles 1987, second Edition 1989; European Political Cooperation towards a European Foreign Policy, Atlantic Council of the U.S., 1989; A Minister for a European Foreign Policy, Schuman Centre, European University Institute, Florence, 2005 and various articles on European institutions and defence policy. 'Leadership in the European Union' was published by Louvain University Press; the English version is available on Amazon kindle. His latest book, �
Le Privilege du Diplomate’
reflections on 40 years of diplomatic career, has just been published by Les Presses Universitaires de Louvain.

Personal life

Jean De Ruyt was born in Louvain, Belgium on September 14, 1947. He is married to Sheila Arora and has five children: Carole, Isabelle, Virginie, Laurent and Amber.

References

External links

European Voice Profile - July 2010Law Society Gazette - March 2012 Global Policy Watch - January 2015
{{DEFAULTSORT:De Ruyt, Jean Belgian diplomats 1947 births Living people Ambassadors of Belgium to Italy Ambassadors of Belgium to Albania Ambassadors of Belgium to San Marino Ambassadors of Belgium to Poland Permanent Representatives of Belgium to the European Union Permanent Representatives of Belgium to the United Nations Permanent Representatives of Belgium to NATO Representatives of Belgium to the Food and Agriculture Organization