Katarzyna Pełczyńska-Nałęcz is a sociologist and specialist in international politics. In 1994, she graduated from the Institute of Sociology at the University of Warsaw, where she defended her doctoral thesis. She then went on to work at the Institute of Philosophy and Sociology of the Polish Academy of Sciences. From 1992 to 1995 and from 1999 to 2012, she was associated with the Centre for Eastern Studies in Warsaw, where she served, among other positions, as head of the Russian department and deputy director.

In 2011-2012, she was the representative of the Centre for Eastern Studies in Brussels and coordinator of a joint research project between the Centre for Eastern Studies and the French Institute of International Affairs. She was Undersecretary of State at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 2012 to 2014 and Ambassador of Poland to the Russian Federation from 2014 to 2016.

After leaving the diplomatic service, she took up the post of director of the Open Europe Programme of the Stefan Batory Foundation and later as director of the Ideas Forum think tank.

Katarzyna Pełczyńska-Nałęcz was born on 26 October 1970 in Warsaw. She speaks English and Russian. She has three children.