French publisher Nyssen appointed culture minister

Françoise Nyssen, CEO of French publishing house Éditions Actes Sud, has been appointed Culture Minister in newly elected French president Emmanuel Macron’s cabinet, reports Artnet.

Belgian-born Nyssen trained as an urban planner and worked in the architecture department of the Belgium Ministry of the Built Environment for four years before joining publishing in 1980 as partner and CEO of Cooperative d’Editions du Paradou.

In 1987, Nyssen became partner and president of Actes Sud, which was founded by Nyssen’s father, and has published the work of Nobel Laureates Imre Kertész and Svetlana Alexievitch, as well as Prix Goncourt winners Laurent Gaudé, Jérôme Ferrari, and Mathias Ernard.

Nyssen has been made Commander of the French Order of Arts and Letters, and was awarded the rank of Officier of the Order of the Legion of Honor for her contributions to French literature received. She also won the Bookseller Adult Trade Publisher Award at the London Book Fair in April 2016.

Nyssen’s appointment is reliant on Macron’s party La République En Marche! winning a majority in the parliamentary elections to be held in two rounds on 11 and 18 June.

Category: International news