After studying Law, Catherine Colonna successively enrolled at Sciences Po and the École nationale d'administration. In 1983, she opted for a diplomatic career and was appointed at the French embassy in the USA, first in the political department, then in the press and information department. Upon her return to Paris, she was entrusted with European law at the Legal Affairs Directorate of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 1986 to 1988. In 1988 she became a technical advisor in Minister of Public Works Maurice Faure's cabinet, under the presidency of François Mitterrand. In 1989, shortly before the fall of the Berlin Wall, she joined the Analysis and Forecasting Centre at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where she was put in charge of European affairs. She later became spokeswoman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1990, in the department of Communication and Information, a position she kept for 5 years. In 1993, Minister of Foreign AffairsAlain Juppé and Cabinet Director Dominique de Villepin named Catherine Colonna deputy spokesperson. Two years later, in May 1995, President Jacques Chirac appointed her spokeswoman for the Élysée Palace. For the following nine years, she served as the official voice of the French Republic's Presidency, then left office to work as Director General of the National Center of Cinematography in September 2004. But after the European Constitution referendum she returned to diplomacy, being appointed Minister Delegate for European Affairs in the new government formed by Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin on 2 June 2005. She remained in position for two years, until 15 May 2007. From autumn 2007 until summer 2008 she participated in the Commission on the White Paper on Foreign and European policy of France, led by Alain Juppé. On 26 March 2008 Catherine Colonna was appointed French ambassador to UNESCO. Since May 2008 she is a member of the Fondation Chirac's board of directors, and a member of the Franco-British Council. Since May 2010, she also chairs the board of governors of the École du Louvre Finally, in December 2010, she decided to join the international financial communications firm Brunswick1. She was appointed as French Ambassador to Rome on 14 August 2014.
