Patrick Child

Patrick CHILD is Deputy Director General in DG Research and Innovation at the European Commission. He leads the policy for implementation, impact & sustainable investment strategies and is acting Director for the Clean Planet. This Directorate provides support to EU energy, transport, environmental, health, climate and industrial policies, promoting clean, reliable and secure energy production and use, safe and cleaner transport and urban systems as well as cleaner industry. As a member of the Board of DG Research and Innovation, he follows in particular research and innovation into climate action and clean energy and mobility technologies, and is the Commission representative of Mission Innovation (a coalition of 23 countries and the European Union, committed to doubling research in clean energy by 2020) and in the International Group of Earth Observations (GEO).

Until April 2016, Patrick Child was Managing Director of the European External Service with responsibility for administration and finance, covering human resources policy, security and the budget. Before he took up this post in 2011, he was director in the External Relations Directorate General in the European Commission responsible for the management of the network of Commission delegations. He has previously served as head of cabinet for External Relations Commissioners Benita Ferrero-Waldner and before that Chris Patten from 1999-2004.

With a background in the UK Finance Ministry, he joined the European Commission in 1994, where he started in the Economic and Monetary affairs Directorate General before becoming Commission press spokesman for economic and monetary union from 1995-1999. Mr Child studied mathematics at Cambridge University. He is married with two children.