Kajsa Ollongren has been appointed secretary general of the European External Action Service (EEAS), the European Union’s diplomatic service. The former Dutch defence minister will take up the role on September 1.
Her selection was announced by EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, who pointed to Ollongren’s three decades in public service and diplomacy. Ollongren has also served as Dutch interior minister and deputy prime minister, and currently holds the post of EU special representative for human rights.
She would replace Belén Martínez Carbonell, a Spanish diplomat who has been nominated as the EU’s ambassador to Mexico. The handover came as Kallas pushed to reshape the service and sharpen its focus on security.
As Dutch defence minister, Ollongren backed early military support for Kyiv, including the supply of Stinger air defence rockets and anti-tank systems after Russia’s 2022 invasion. She later said the Netherlands would not object to Ukraine using Dutch-supplied F-16 jets against targets inside Russia.
The new line-up carried a strong defence emphasis. France’s ambassador to NATO, David Cvach, was named deputy secretary general for peace, security and defence.
Cvach has advised the French president on Middle East affairs, including Iran, and previously ran European affairs at the French foreign ministry. An EU official said: “The key priority for this mandate is defending Europe, defending Ukraine.”
The same official said the appointments were intended to strengthen the bloc’s cooperation with NATO as Europe built up its own defence capacity. The emphasis reflected mounting pressure on the EU’s foreign policy structures.
Matti Maasikas, a former Estonian diplomat, took the new post of deputy secretary general for geoeconomics and interinstitutional issues. He was the EU’s ambassador to Kyiv when Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
The role oversees relations with member states’ ambassadors and was created under a reorganisation of the EEAS agreed last year. A wider debate on reforming the service is expected at an informal meeting of EU foreign ministers in Ireland in early September.
