The French cabinet has appointed Philippe Baptiste, a 49-year-old engineer and scientist, as the new president of the National Center for Space Studies
PARIS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 14th April, 2021) The French cabinet has appointed Philippe Baptiste, a 49-year-old engineer and scientist, as the new president of the National Center for Space Studies.
Baptiste replaced Jean-Yves Le Gall, who presided over the agency since April 2013.
"At its cabinet meeting on Wednesday 14 April, the government appointed Philippe Baptiste as President of the French space agency CNES," the space center said in a statement.
During his career, Baptiste has held a number of significant governmental posts related to space policy. In particular, he was chief of staff to Frederique Vidal, minister of higher education, research and innovation, from 2017 to 2019. In November 2019, the researcher was appointed an adviser to then-Prime Minister Edouard Philippe.
During the meeting with the economic affairs committee of France's lower parliamentary chamber, Baptiste outlined numerous strategic challenges that the agency is due to face in the coming years, including "the militarization of space," as well as tasks of the European and national space programs.
