[Location Change] "The French View on the Gulf Crisis and Perspectives in the Middle East," with Ambassador Bertrand Besancenot

RSVP Required Harvard Faculty, Fellows, Staff, and Students

The Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs will host a Saudi & GCC Security Seminar with Ambassador Bertrand Besancenot, Senior Diplomatic Advisor to the French Government and Special Envoy to the GCC, on Monday, December 4th from 12:15-1:30pm in the Belfer Center Library (L369).

Lunch will be provided. RSVP below. First come, first served.

This event has been moved to the Belfer Center Library.

Date: Mon, Dec 4, 2017 Time: 12:15pm - 01:30pm Location: Littauer Building - Belfer Center Library, Room 369

Bertrand Besancenot during his appointment as French Ambassador to Saudi Arabia

Please join the Saudi & GCC Security Project for a lunch seminar with Ambassador Bertrand Besancenot, on "The French View on the Gulf Crisis and Perspectives in the Middle East."

Ambassador Besancenot, who previously served as the French Ambassador to both Saudi Arabia and Qatar, was recently appointed by President Macron as the French Special Envoy to the GCC with an immediate mandate to mediate a diplomatic solution between the Qatari and their Gulf neighbors.

Through his diplomatic postings, he is in the unique position of having established close relationships with both Qatari and Saudi leaders, and is an expert on the regional issues of the Middle East. He is considered one of France’s leading defence strategists, and has been instrumental in several critical French defence initiatives throughout his 40 years serving the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Ambassador Besancenot currently serves as a Senior Diplomatic Advisor to the French Government and was recently appointed by President Macron as the French Special Envoy to the GCC.

He served as the French Ambassador to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for 9 years, from 2007-2016, where he fostered the relationship between Presidents Chirac, Sarkozy, Holland, and the late King Abdullah.

Prior to that, he served as the Diplomatic Advisor to the French Defence Minister from 2002-2007 and in Doha as the French Ambassador to Qatar from 1998-2002.

Ambassador Besancenot first joined the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1977 and has held numerous senior positions throughout his career such as First Secretary in Qatar from 1978-1981, in the Department of Disarmament from 1981-1985, Deputy Consul in New York from 1985-1988, the Second Counsellor in the French Mission to NATO 1988-1991, Deputy Representative to the Conference on Disarmament from 1991-1995, and the Head of the Department of Strategic Affairs from 1995-1998.

He has completed two Masters degrees in Economic Science and Law, a Doctorate in Political Science, as well as a diploma in Arabic. He holds numerous distinctions, honors, and titles such as Chevalier de la Legion d’Honneur, Officier de l’Ordre National du Merite, Grand’ Croix de l’Ordre de Saint Gregoire le Grand (Holy See), Grand Officier du Merite du Qatar, and Commandeur de l’Ordre du roi Abdelaziz (Saudi Arabia.) He is married with four children.