This morning, in the Vatican Apostolic Palace, the Holy Father Francis received in audience His Excellency Mr. Martin Selmayr, ambassador of the European Union, on the occasion of the presentation of his credential letters.

The following is a brief biography of the new ambassador:

His Excellency Mr. Martin Selmayr
Ambassador of the European Union to the Holy See

His Excellency Mr. Martin Selmayr was born on 5 December 1970 in Bonn, and is married.

He studied jurisprudence at the University of Passau, Germany, at King’s College in London, and at the University of Geneva, Switzerland (1990-2000). He was awarded a doctorate in jurisprudence from the University of Passau in 2001.

He has held the following offices, among others: legal advisor to the European Central Bank (1998-2000), office head and vice president of Bertelsmann AG, Brussels, Belgium (2001-2004), spokesperson for the European Commission for the Information Society and the Media (2004-2010), head of the Cabinet of the vice-president of the European Commission and the EU Commissioner for Justice, Fundamental Rights and Citizenship (2010 - 2014), head of the Cabinet of the president of the European Commission (2014 - 2018), secretary general of the European Commission (2018 - 2019), and head of the Representation of the European Commission in Austria (2019 - 2024).