François Delattre (born 15 November 1963)[1] is a French diplomat and senior civil servant who has been serving as France’sAmbassador to Germany since 2022.[2]
From 2019 to 2022, Delattre served as Secretary General of theMinistry of Europe and Foreign Affairs under ministersJean-Yves Le Drian andCatherine Colonna.[3] He previously was France'sambassador to the United States from 2011 to 2014 andpermanent representative to theUnited Nations in New York City and head ofFrance's UN mission from 2014 until 2019.
François Delattre is the grandnephew ofAndré Boulloche, a hero of the French Resistance and concentration camp survivor who, after the war, became one of the pioneers of Franco-German reconciliation and European integration. He is the son of Louis Delattre, an industrialist who, alongside Ambroise Roux, was one of the leaders of the former Compagnie Générale d'Électricité.
François Delattre is a former student of theÉcole nationale d'administration (1989), a graduate of theInstitut d'études politiques de Paris, and a graduate in international law fromPanthéon-Sorbonne University. He also has a degree in German from theUniversity of Munich.
A diplomat, François Delattre began his career at the French Embassy in Bonn (1989-1991), where he witnessed thefall of the Berlin Wall andGerman reunification. He was in charge of Germany's integration, particularly economic integration, in the context of reunification. He then headed the strategic unit at the Quai d'Orsay within the Ministry's Strategic Affairs and Disarmament Directorate (1991-1993).
As technical advisor to the office of Foreign MinisterAlain Juppé (1993-1995), he was responsible, alongsideBruno Racine, for transatlantic defense and security issues and for monitoring the crisis inBosnia. He was responsible for the same issues at the Elysée Palace as part of PresidentJacques Chirac's diplomatic team (1995-1998), alongsideJean-David Levitte, which gave him first-hand experience of the management of the Bosnian crisis, from President Chirac's turning point (the recapture of the Vrbanja bridge, the establishment of the European Rapid Reaction Force) to the signing of theDayton-Paris Accords in December 1995.
François Delattre then headed the press and communications department at theFrench Embassy in Washington (1998-2002), which led him to develop a large network of contacts among American journalists and to increase his appearances in the American media to promote French and European positions.
He then served as deputy chief of staff to Foreign MinisterDominique de Villepin (2002-2004), alongsidePierre Vimont, where he had a front-row seat to the Iraq War and the launch of negotiations on Iran's nuclear program.
As French Consul General inNew York (2004-2008), he placed particular emphasis on promoting the activities of French nationals in New York and strengthening ties with the American business community and the Jewish community. He became friends with the former U.S. Ambassador to France,Felix Rohatyn, who opened many doors for him.
As French Ambassador toCanada (2008-2011), he worked to strengthen France's presence throughout the country, particularly in Western Canada, where France had traditionally had less of a presence, while ensuring that a special relationship with Quebec was also strengthened. He developed good contacts withMark Carney, then Governor of the Bank of Canada, who went on to become his country's Prime Minister.
As French Ambassador toWashington, D.C[4]., for nearly four years (2011-2014), he worked with theObama administration to give new impetus to the Franco-American partnership, with a particular focus on the economy, innovation, and university partnerships. PresidentFrançois Hollande's state visit to the United States in February 2014, during which he visited Silicon Valley, was an expression of this new momentum. François Delattre was also a direct witness to President Obama's reluctance to get involved in the conflict in Syria, which he confided in him.
After Washington, he was appointed ambassador and permanent representative of the French Republic to theUnited Nations (2014-2019) and in his capacity chaired the U.N. Security Council on several occasions. In this position, he strengthened Franco-German and European coordination at the United Nations and established good working relations with the two successive US ambassadors,Samantha Power and thenNikki Haley.
Close to members of the US Congress, both Republican and Democrat, and to former Secretary of StateJohn Kerry, with whom he negotiated directly a resolution againstDaesh following the Paris attacks, François Delattre was the first to mention to journalists, off the record, the possibility of aDonald Trump victory.[5]
In 2018, after thechemical attack in Douma,Syria, he stated that the symptoms were "typical of exposure to a powerful nerve agent, combined with chlorine to increase its lethal effect," that "only the Syrian armed forces have a military interest in using them," and that "these attacks therefore took place either with Russia's tacit or explicit agreement, or despite its presence and against its will," thus advocating a strong response.[6]
During the 2019 UN vote on a resolution concerning sexual violence against women, he criticized the position taken by the United States. Under threat of a veto, the U.S. administration succeeded in removing references to women who become pregnant as a result of rape from the text, in order to discourage recourse toabortion.[7]
As he was leaving New York, he published an op-ed in the New York Times on July 7, 2019https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/13/opinion/france-united-states.html, during Trump's first term, in the form of a bipartisan call for America to remain engaged in world affairs and multilateral forums, in keeping with its democratic ideals.
As Secretary General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from July 1, 2019, to August 29, 2022, he helped steer the Quai d'Orsay and its network during the COVID-19 pandemic and worked to strengthen the role of the Secretary General in major diplomatic issues, alongside his management and administrative duties. He established regular consultations with his main foreign counterparts, which proved particularly useful in enabling a concerted European and Euro-American response after the outbreak of Russian military aggression in Ukraine.
He then became Ambassador to Germany (since September 2022).
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