Skills trump seniority for diplomats in France
Published: 29 Sep. 2009, 09:25
Philippe Bastelica
The Ecole Nationale d’Administration is France’s premier diplomatic training institute. Every year the school has about 80 graduates, the top 30 of whom are considered elite. According to international director Philippe Bastelica, about 10 opt to work for the Foreign Ministry. He pointed out that the ENA’s primary goal is to train people who can start working immediately after they graduate.
“For instance, we give them basic materials on outstanding issues and make them prepare a briefing for the foreign minister,” said the director. “Last year, the issue of Somali pirates was quite serious. So under the assumption that the European Union minister and the foreign minister were going to meet to discuss the issue, we told students to prepare the basic notes for the meeting.”
When asked whether such practices were sufficient, Bastelica responded that all of the students also undergo 17 weeks of training at diplomatic missions abroad.
“It’s training that includes sitting at the negotiation table with the ambassador and providing needed materials,” said Bastelica.
The ability to negotiate is a prized skill but is one that cannot be easily taught, the director said.
“We hold seminars on past negotiations and discuss the good and the bad. We also invite diplomats and senior CEOs to speak about their past experiences,” he said.
With regard to promotions, there is some consideration given to seniority, but those that display excellent language skills and do well with real world assignments are the ones who move ahead in the ranks.
“We place those people as assistants to the minister in negotiations,” he said.
In order to accumulate experience and develop expertise, he said that even senior diplomats who have held several ambassador-level posts can be placed at the director-general level at the headquarters in France if needed.
“With diplomats, we think that networks and know-how are things that can’t be bought,” Bastelica said.
By Kim Jung-wook [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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