Marie-Hélène Boulanger started her career working 6 years in the field of data protection with Professor Poullet at the University of Namur (Belgium). She then joined the Belgian Data Protection Authority where she spent more than 5 years, for 2 years of which she was the secretary of this authority. She subsequently joined Directorate-General Internal Market of the European Commission as a national expert with the data protection unit. Following that, she transferred to the unit responsible for large scale IT systems of the Directorate General of the European Commission in charge of Justice and Home affairs, where she has been responsible for the legal team of the unit and also specialised in the policy aspects of the Schengen Information System. Between September 2009 and June 2014, she was heading the data protection unit of the European Commission in charge among others of the reform of EU data protection law. Since July 2014, she is the head of the unit in charge of citizenship rights including electoral rights and free movement. Between October 2016 and Easter 2017, she was acting Director of the Equality and Union citizenship Directorate of DG JUSTICE.