Jean-Claude Paye (born 26 August 1934) is a former French diplomat and civil servant who served as the Secretary-General of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) from 1984 to 1996, excluding a brief gap in 1994.

He attended the National School of Administration.

Paye was a highranking official at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs before becoming Secretary-General of the OECD in 1984, in place of Emiel van Lennep of the Netherlands.

His ten-year term ended in September 1994 after the United States blocked an extension of his term.

[1] However, after further negotiations it was agreed that Paye would stay on for an additional two years before being succeeded by Canada's Don Johnston.