Araud holds engineering degrees from the École polytechnique and the École nationale de la statistique et de l’administration économique. He has written numerous journal articles, including in Commentaire, two on the outbreak of WWI and one on the French foreign policy between 19, and another in Esprit on the search for a new world order. His first posting was at the embassy of France in Tel Aviv as first secretary, from 1982 to 1984. From 1987 to 1991, he was counselor at the Embassy of France in Washington, where he was also responsible for Middle East issues. Araud was assistant director of European community affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 1991 to 1993 and became diplomatic advisor to the French minister of defense in 1993. He joined the French delegation to the North Atlantic Council (NATO) in Brussels in 1995 as deputy permanent representative. He also served as ambassador of France to Israel from 2003 to 2006 and director for strategic affairs, security, and disarmament from 2000 to 2003. Araud held the role of president of the Security Council in February 2010, May 2011, August 2012, and December 2013.Īraud was the French negotiator on the Iranian nuclear issue and director general for political affairs and security in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 2006 to 2009. He most recently served as Ambassador of France to the United States from 2014 to 2019.įrom 2009 to 2014, he served as permanent representative of France to the United Nations Security Council and head of the Permanent Mission of France to the United Nations, where he notably contributed to the adoption of resolutions on Libya, Côte d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mali, and the Central African Republic, and participated in debates on the Syrian and Ukrainian crises.

Before joining the Council as a fellow, he led a distinguished diplomatic career, reaching the highest levels of French foreign policy leadership in areas as diverse as security strategy and the Middle East. Ambassador Gérard Araud is a distinguished fellow with the Atlantic Council’s Europe Center, where he works on the future of Europe, EU politics, and the future of statecraft.

Passeport diplomatique by Gérard Araud