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Gilles Pécout

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Gilles Pécout
Pécout at the French History Culture Forum in 2015
Ambassador of France to Austria
In office
1 October 2020  18 December 2024
Preceded byFrançois Saint-Paul
Succeeded byMatthieu Peyraud
Personal details
Born (1961-12-02) 2 December 1961 (age 64)
Marseille, France
OccupationHistorian, academic, diplomat

Gilles Pécout (French pronunciation: [ʒil peku]; born 2 December 1961) is a French historian, academic and former diplomat who has been president of the Bibliothèque nationale de France (BnF) since 18 April 2024. He was formerly the Ambassador of France to Austria (20202024).[1]

Biography

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Pécout was born in Marseille in 1961. He graduated from the École normale supérieure in Paris, where he was also a professor in and the director (20102014) of the History Department.[2]

He held the chair of Political and Cultural History of 19th-century Italy and Mediterranean Europe at the Sorbonne.[3] He is known to the Italian public thanks to his participation in the RAI3 television programme Il tempo e la storia and its sequel Passato e presente, of which he was also a member of the scientific committee.[4][5][6]

On 4 June 2014, Pécout was appointed rector of the Académie de Nancy-Metz. On 3 October 2016, he was appointed rector of the Académie de Paris.[7]

On 1 October 2020 he became Ambassador of France to Austria, when he presented his letter of credence to President Alexander Van der Bellen.[8][9] He has been president of the Bibliothèque nationale de France since 18 April 2024.

Works

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The author of several works and scientific editions and director or co-director of eight volumes, Pécout has published 75 articles in French and foreign scientific journals (Italy, United States, Greece, United Kingdom, Japan, China) and occasionally collaborated with the daily newspapers Le Monde, Libération, and the Italian press.

  • Birth of Contemporary Italy, 17701922, Nathan, 1997; reissued, Armand Colin, 2004
  • Atlas of French History, Autrement, 2007
  • Grand Atlas of the History of France, under the direction of Jean Boutier, with Olivier Guyotjeannin, Autrement, 2011

Honours

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French honours

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Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur
 18 April 2014[10]
Chevalier de l'ordre national du Mérite
 14 May 2010[11]
Commandeur de l'ordre des Palmes académiques
 3 June 2014
Officier de l'ordre des Arts et des Lettres
 12 March 2019[12]

Italian honours

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Grand Officer of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic – 27 December 2021[13][14]

References

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  1. "Vœux de l'Ambassadeur de France en Autriche (02.01.23)". La France en Autriche (in French). Retrieved 17 July 2023.
  2. Da Promotion pour Gilles Pécout à l’éducation nationale
  3. "Dal sito dell'ENS". Archived from the original on 23 December 2021. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
  4. "Il Tempo e la Storia – programma". Rai Storia.
  5. "Il tempo e la storia: il programma". Rai Storia.
  6. "Passato e presente: Programma". Rai Storia.
  7. Décret du 15 septembre 2016 portant nomination d’un recteur su Legifrance
  8. Michael Linhart (4 September 2020). "L'académie de Paris et son Recteur C Kerrero disent au revoir à son ancien Recteur, nommé Ambassadeur de France en Autriche, en présence de la Maire de Paris Anne Hidalgo ;". twitter.com (in French).
  9. "L'ambassadeur de France en Autriche". at.ambafrance.org (in French). 17 September 2020. Archived from the original on 23 November 2021. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
  10. (in French) Décret du 18 avril 2014 portant promotion et nomination. Légifrance.
  11. (in French) Décret du 14 mai 2010 portant promotion et nomination. Légifrance.
  12. (in French) Nomination dans l'ordre des Arts et des Lettres – hiver 2019. Ministry of Culture.
  13. "Dettaglio decorato Gilles Pécout". quirinale.it (in Italian). Retrieved 6 October 2022.
  14. "Dettaglio decorato Gilles Pécout". quirinale.it (in Italian). Retrieved 6 October 2022.
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