Ambassador Hugo Paemen is a Belgian diplomat and European trade policy expert who played a central role in the development of the multilateral trading system and EU–U.S. trade relations. He served as the European Community’s Chief Negotiator throughout the Uruguay Round, which culminated in the establishment of the World Trade Organization in 1995. He subsequently served as Deputy Director-General of the European Commission for External Relations, with responsibility for trade, and as Head of the European Commission’s Washington Delegation. Earlier in his career, Paemen served as Chef de Cabinet to European Commission Vice-President Étienne Davignon and as the Commission’s official spokesman under President Jacques Delors. A career diplomat, he also held posts at Belgian embassies in Geneva, Paris, and Washington. He is the author of From the GATT to the WTO: The European Community in the Uruguay Round.