Emmanuel Jacquin de Margerie

Emmanuel Jacquin de Margerie entered the foreign ministry in 1951 after the École nationale d'administration. He served in London, Moscow, Tokyo, and Washington, then directed European affairs in Paris. Between 1975 and 1977 he led France's national museums before becoming ambassador in Madrid and, in 1981, London. ¹

His commitment to museums continued alongside diplomacy. When the Société des Amis du Musée d'Orsay was founded in April 1980, Margerie became its president. The association supported the future museum through purchases and gifts of art before the museum opened to the public in 1986. ²

As ambassador in Washington, he participated in the cultural diplomacy surrounding the Statue of Liberty's centenary. He presented a crystal model of the statue to Ronald Reagan on 6 February 1986, with actress Catherine Deneuve also present. ³