As of 1 May 2010 Jan Truszczyński will act as Director-General of the Education and Culture DG. He will replace Odile Quintin who has been a well-regarded Director General and was the motor behind the “European agenda for culture in a globalising world”. The communication was adopted in 2007 - the first time the Commission proposed a common European strategy for culture in the EU. Mr Truszczyński “will be responsible for overall management of the Directorate-General and its staff of over 650 women and men. This is the first appointment at Director-General level of a national of an EU-12 member state. Mr Truszczyński will provide leadership to the Education and Culture DG in carrying out its work in the areas of education, training, culture, youth, citizenship, multilingualism and sport. The Directorate-General manages a budget that amounted to € 1,406 million in 2009. Mr Jan Truszczyński, a 59-year-old Pole, (...) joined the European Commission in January 2007, when he was appointed Deputy Director-General for Enlargement, with responsibility for enlargement strategy and communication. From 2001 to 2005 Mr Truszczyński was first Undersecretary of State, then Secretary of State in the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In this capacity, he was Poland's chief negotiator during its EU accession negotiations. Prior to that, Mr Truszczyński was Ambassador of Poland to the EU in Brussels from 1996 to 2001.” (Source: European Commission press release)