Fathallah Sijilmassi was appointed Secretary General of the Union for the Mediterranean on 1 March, 2012. He was re-elected Secretary General of the Union for the Mediterranean on December 4, 2014. A career Diplomat for the Moroccan Government, he specialises in the field of economic international relations, in particular with regard to Euro-Mediterranean issues. He started working in the banking sector as representative of the Banque Commerciale du Maroc in Milan (Italy). His career within the Moroccan administration was then marked by his active role in the negotiations of free trade agreements with the European Union, the United States, and several Arab and African countries.
From 1999 onwards, he has held senior positions within the Moroccan Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Director of Multilateral Cooperation (1999-2001), Director of European Affairs and Ambassador to the Barcelona Euro-Mediterranean Process (2001-2003). In 2003, he was appointed Ambassador to the European Union (2003-2004) and later to France (2005-2009).
In 2009, he becomes CEO of the Moroccan Investment Development Agency, leading its launch and subsequent growth. Fathallah Sijilmassi is an officer of the Légion d´honneur and grand officer in the Ordre National du Mérite of the Republic of France.He is a graduate in Political Science, holds a PhD in Economics and speaks five languages: Arabic, French, English, Italian and Spanish.
He is married with two children.
