Étienne de Poncins (born 6 March 1964) is a French diplomat, serving since 2019 as the Ambassador of France to Ukraine. De Poncins was noted as one of the last-remaining senior diplomats in Ukraine (having re-located to

Lviv Lviv ( or ; ; ; see #Names and symbols, below for other names) is the largest city in western Ukraine, as well as the List of cities in Ukraine, fifth-largest city in Ukraine, with a population of It serves as the administrative centre of ...

) amidst the

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...

; engaged in distributing French aid to Ukraine. De Poncins told ''Politico'' that "you are here in the difficult moments and hours. I would have felt very bad if I had left." De Poncins returned to Kyiv and re-opened the French embassy in the capital on 15 April.

Education and career

De Poncins graduated from

Sciences Po Sciences Po () or Sciences Po Paris, also known as the Paris Institute of Political Studies (), is a public research university located in Paris, France, that holds the status of ''grande école'' and the legal status of . The university's unde ...

and

École nationale d'administration The (; ENA; ) was a French ''grande école'', created in 1945 by the then Provisional Government of the French Republic, provisional chief of government Charles de Gaulle and principal co-author of the Constitution of France, 1958 Constitution M ...

and also has a degree in history from the

University of Paris The University of Paris (), known Metonymy, metonymically as the Sorbonne (), was the leading university in Paris, France, from 1150 to 1970, except for 1793–1806 during the French Revolution. Emerging around 1150 as a corporation associated wit ...

. He has served in various posting as French Ambassador; firstly to

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

(2007–2010) and then to

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

(2010–2013) and simultaneously

Somalia Somalia, officially the Federal Republic of Somalia, is the easternmost country in continental Africa. The country is located in the Horn of Africa and is bordered by Ethiopia to the west, Djibouti to the northwest, Kenya to the southwest, th ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Poncins, Etienne de Living people 1964 births Diplomats from Paris École nationale d'administration alumni People from Suresnes Sciences Po alumni Ambassadors of France to Ukraine Ambassadors of France to Bulgaria Ambassadors of France to Kenya Ambassadors of France to Somalia 21st-century French diplomats