In this interview excerpt, Paul Mertz, Luxembourg Ambassador to Rome with accreditation to Greece from 1981 to 1988, explains how he was appointed to this position. He also describes the main issues he worked on during this period, particularly his participation in the 1985 Cultural Forum in Budapest, held under the aegis of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE). Paul Mertz goes on to discuss the issues surrounding the third World Conference on Women in Nairobi in 1985, which took place during Luxembourg’s Presidency of the Council of the European Communities.

In this interview excerpt, Paul Mertz, a Luxembourg diplomat from 1964 to 1998, describes how Luxembourg diplomacy developed in the 1980s so as to contribute to the country’s economic diversification. He also discusses how the composition of the Luxembourg diplomatic service changed, with the arrival of several women, and looks at the issues surrounding this development.