Irene Souka appointed Director-General for Personnel and Administration - Main contents

Today the European Commission appointed Ms Irene Souka as Director-General for personnel and administration (DG ADMIN). She will provide the overall strategic guidance and management of the directorate-general, under the authority of the Commissioner for administrative affairs.

The mission of the Personnel and Administration DG is to make the Commission run smoothly as a best-practice, knowledge-based public administration. In addition to managing human resources, the DG also ensures the security and protection of Commission staff, property and information at all Commission sites.

Currently, Ms Souka is Deputy Director-General for personnel and administration, with responsibility for human resources management policy, including staff career development, rights and obligations under the staff regulations, well-being in the workplace, and equal opportunities and non-discrimination.

Irene Souka, a 55-year-old Greek, has held various posts at the Commission since joining in 1980. After postings in the Translation Department and the Secretariat General, she was at the Competition DG from 1990 to 2000, first as assistant to the Director-General, subsequently as Head of Unit for personnel, budget, administration and information. In 2000, she moved to the Personnel and Administration DG as Head of Unit in charge of organisation chart and management staff. She has been Director of ADMIN.A since January 2002, before being appointed Deputy Director-General in April 2008.

Ms Souka holds a law degree from the University of Athens, and post-graduate degrees from the Universities of Cambridge and Brussels (VUB). She will take up her new duties on 1 May 2009.

CVs for the Directors-General and Deputy Directors-General are available online:

http://ec.europa.eu/civil_service/about/who/dg_en.htm