Jean-Claude Paye (born 26 August 1934) is a former French diplomat and civil servant who served as the Secretary-General of the

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; , OCDE) is an international organization, intergovernmental organization with 38 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate economic progress and international trade, wor ...

(OECD) from 1984 to 1996, excluding a brief gap in 1994. Paye is the son of

Lucien Paye Lucien Paye (born in Vernoil-le-Fourrier, Maine-et-Loire on 28 June 1907 – died on 25 April 1972) was a French politician. He was doctor of letters. He was Minister of National Education from 20 February 1961 to 15 April 1962 in the Governmen ...

, who was Minister of National Education in the 1960s. He attended the National School of Administration. Paye was a highranking official at the

Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...

before becoming Secretary-General of the OECD in 1984, in place of

Emiel van Lennep Emile (Emiel) van Lennep (15 January 19152 October 1996) was a Dutch official (''treasurer general''), diplomat and Minister of State. Life Van Lennep was born in Amsterdam as a son of Louis Henri van Lennep and Catharina Hildegonda Enschede. H ...

of the Netherlands. His ten-year term ended in September 1994 after the United States blocked an extension of his term. However, after further negotiations it was agreed that Paye would stay on for an additional two years before being succeeded by Canada's

Don Johnston Donald James Johnston, (June 26, 1936 – February 4, 2022) was a Canadian lawyer, writer and politician who was Secretary-General of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) from 1996 to 2006. He was the first non-Eur ...

.U.S. Gives Up on Forcing Out OECD Chief
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', 26 November 1994.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Paye, Jean-Claude 1934 births Living people OECD officials French diplomats École nationale d'administration alumni