Madrid 2022

After graduating with an International Baccalaureate from the Canadian Academy International School in Kobe in 1989, Yuriko Backes obtained a bachelor’s degree in international relations from the London School of Economics and Political Science in 1992. She then attended the School of Oriental and African Studies in London, where she successfully completed a master’s degree in Japanese studies in 1993. Yuriko Backes obtained a second master’s degree in European political and administrative studies from the College of Europe in Bruges in 1994.

On 5 January 2022, following the resignation of Pierre Gramegna, Yuriko Backes joined the coalition government between the Democratic Party (DP), the Luxembourg Socialist Workers’ Party (LSAP) and the Green Party (déi gréng) as Minister of Finance.

Yuriko Backes began her professional career in 1994 at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and has held various positions, including at the Permanent Representation of Luxembourg to the United Nations in New York, the Permanent Representation of Luxembourg to the Western European Union in Brussels, and the Luxembourg Embassy in Japan.

As attaché at the Directorate of European Affairs and International Economic Relations of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Luxembourg, she was sworn in as a civil servant in 2001.

The career diplomat was then assigned to the Permanent Representation of Luxembourg to the European Union in Brussels from 2001 to 2006.

She continued her diplomatic career as deputy head of mission at the Luxembourg Embassy in Japan from 2006 to 2008 and as deputy head of the Directorate for International Economic Relations at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Luxembourg from 2008 to 2010.

From 2010 to 2016, Yuriko Backes was the diplomatic adviser and sherpa to Luxembourg Prime Ministers Jean-Claude Juncker and Xavier Bettel.

She was the representative of the European Commission in Luxembourg from 2016 to 2020.

From June 2020 until her appointment to the government, she served as marshal of the Grand-Ducal Court.

Nicolas Mackel is CEO of Luxembourg for Finance, the Agency for the Development of the Financial Centre, since July 2013.

Nicolas is a career diplomat. He has graduated with a law degree from the University of Aix-en-Provence, and holds two post-graduate diplomas in European law from the Sorbonne University, respectively the College of Europe in Bruges where he then also served as a teaching assistant in the Law Department. He worked as a legal clerk at the European Court of Justice before joining the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1999. His assignments focused on the successive EU Treaty negotiations (Amsterdam, Nice, Constitution, Lisbon).

Nicolas was consecutively posted at Luxembourg’s Permanent Representation to the EU (2002-07), as Deputy Chief of Mission at Luxembourg’s Embassy in Washington DC (2007-11) and as Consul General in Shanghai (2011-13) where he was in charge of promoting Luxembourg’s economic interests throughout China as the Executive Director of the Luxembourg Trade and Investment Office.

Emma Navarro is currently Executive Director for Finance in the European Climate Foundation, the philanthropic organisation that works to address the climate crisis and achieve a net zero society.

She is also Independent Board Director of Iberdrola España.

Prior to this position, Emma was Vice-President of the European Investment Bank, the world’s largest multilateral Bank by assets and largest financier of climate projects. She led its Climate Action Strategy at a time when the institution positioned itself as the EU’s Climate Bank and launched its renewed climate ambition. She championed the promotion of the climate and financial sustainability agenda in international meetings and conferences and with multiple opinion articles.

Emma has held the position of Chairperson of ICO, the Spanish National Promotional Bank and the State Financial Agency. She was also the Chairperson of AXIS, ICO’s venture capital firm, and the ICO Foundation.

During her renowned career in the Spanish public administration, she served as Secretary General for the Treasury and Financial Policy, responsible for banking and financial policy regulation and the funding and debt management of Spain’s Central Administration. She was also a member of the Board of Bank of Spain, of the National Securities Market Commission (CNMV), of the FROB (the Spanish Executive Resolution Authority) and the Vice-Chairperson of Governing Committee of the Deposit Guarantee Fund.

She has represented Spain in many European and international financial bodies, as a member of the EU’s Economic and Financial Committee (EFC) and the Eurogroup Working Group (EGW), as an alternate member of the Eurogroup and ECOFIN, and as alternate representative to the G20-Finance track meetings.

She has also served as alternate governor and a Board Member of the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) and a member of the Financial Stability Board (FSB) and of its Standing Committee on Assessment of Vulnerabilities.

She has held other positions of responsibility in various departments of the Spanish General State Administration, including Chief of Staff to the Minister of Economy and Competitiveness, senior adviser to the Vice-president and Minister of Economy and Finance, and senior adviser to the Secretary General for the Budget and Public Expenses. She has also been a board member in different public business entities, including, among others, the National Promotional Bank, ICO, and the export promotional agency, ICEX.

While at the International Monetary Fund, Emma worked as an adviser to the Executive Board Director for Colombia, Mexico and Spain.