France on Wednesday named Odile Renaud-Basso, a Brussels insider familiar with the internal workings of European institutions, as the new head of the French Treasury.

As the highest-ranking civil servant at the finance ministry, the head of the Treasury is one of France’s top negotiators in Brussels and other global forums, working behind the scenes on hot issues such as the Greek debt crisis or a potential British exit from the European Union.

Renaud-Basso, 50, currently deputy head of state lender Caisse des Depots, will replace Bruno Bezard who leaves on June 20 to join a Franco-Chinese investment fund. She becomes the first female to hold the post.