H.E. Mr. Philippe BaptisteMinister of Higher Education, Research and Space

Philippe Baptiste holds a PhD from the Université de Technologie of Compiègne and is a civil engineer from Mines Nancy. He also holds an MSc from the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, a Postgraduate Degree (DEA) from Sorbonne Université and a habilitation to supervise research (HDR). In 1999, he joined the CNRS as a researcher, then worked at IBM's Watson Research Center from 2000 to  2001. From 2002 to 2012, Philippe Baptiste also taught at the École Polytechnique, where he headed the Computer Science Laboratory. He also founded the Institute for Information Sciences and their Interactions (INS2I/CNRS Sciences informatiques). 
 

In May 2013, he joined the French Ministry of Education as head of the strategy and innovation department of the Directorate General for Research and Innovation. In 2014, he became Deputy Director From Scientific Director to CTO of the Total Group in 2016 and 2017, and "Partner and Director” at the Boston Consulting Group in 2020, he joined the Ministry of Higher Education and Research as Chief of Staff to Minister Frédérique Vidal in 2017. In November 2019, he joined Prime Minister Édouard Philippe as a ministerial advisor.
 

Since 2021, Philippe Baptiste has held the position of President of Cnes, the french Space government agency. Philippe Baptiste is appointed Minister for Higher Education and Research at Elisabeth Borne, Minister of National Education, Higher Education and Research on December 23, 2024 in the government of François Bayrou. On 12 October 2025, on the proposal of Sébastien Lecornu, Prime Minister, in charge of ecological and energy planning, the President of the Republic appointed Philippe Baptiste Minister of Higher Education, 
Research and Space