Defending values

Whether during troop visits to the Grand-Duc Jean barracks or during official visits by Defence Minister François Bausch to Luxembourg soldiers abroad, there is usually a young woman at the minister's side. Nina Garcia, the minister's first advisor, looks back on almost ten years at the Ministry of Defence. In an interview with the Lëtzebuerger Journal, the highest government official reveals her career and talks about her convictions in an increasingly complicated world.

International law and defence policy

Nina Garcia is a native of Dudelange. She grew up in a very politicised household. But party politics never really interested her and her studies brought her to Paris to the Sorbonne, where her interest in international law was very quickly awakened and she completed her first Master's degree in this field. She started her second Master's degree after spending two months in Dakar, Senegal, working for UNESCO. Even as a student, Nina was very interested in the issues surrounding human rights and international cooperation. She spent her final year in San Diego, California for a specialisation in international comparative law. "After such a degree, you first think that you won't come back to Luxembourg", Nina Garcia smiles. But things turned out quite differently. In 2013, she applied for a job as a lawyer in the Ministry of Defence. "Of course, I didn't have Défense on my radar, but in the interview I realised that I could make my mark here and that this area interested me a lot." The more she was told in the interview about the issues and the implementation of international commitments, the more she wanted this job.