Gaëtane Ricard-Nihoul holds a degree in political science and public administration from the University of Liège and an MPhil and a DPhil in European politics and society from Oxford University. Her research focused on policy formation in the European Union, and more particularly on education policy.

From 1999 to 2002, she was in charge of the team for "European and international affairs", in the cabinet of the Belgian Vice-Prime Minister Isabelle Durant, also Minister for Mobility and Transport. She acted, among other things, as a coordinator during the Belgian presidency of the EU Council. As an adviser for institutional matters, she represented the Vice-Prime Minister in the Belgian delegation at the WTO ministerial conference in Seattle and also in the Inter-Governmental Conference, taking part in the Biarritz, Nice and Laeken European Councils. She was also a member of the Belgian government working group on the Laeken Declaration.

Gaëtane Ricard-Nihoul then joined the European Commission Directorate-General for Education and Culture, in the Audiovisual Policy unit. Employed in the Sector for external relations, she was in charge of the accession negociations with the 13 applicant countries for audiovisual matters as well as the relations with countries from the Western Balkans and South Mediterranea. She also assumed the coordination of an interservice group on intercultural dialogue and followed the work of the Convention on culture. In April 2004, she joined Notre Europe, first as President adviser, then as Secretary General.

Gaëtane Ricard-Nihoul is married with two children. She was born on May 29 1972 in Liege (Belgium).

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