Alexandre Djouhri (born 18 February 1959) is a French businessman who served for some time as an unofficial middleman between French officials and different African regimes.

Biography

In 1981 Djouhri was accused of armed robbery of a jewelry store but was later

acquitted In common law jurisdictions, an acquittal means that the criminal prosecution has failed to prove that the accused is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of the charge presented. It certifies that the accused is free from the charge of an o ...

. '' Les Échos'' has described him as a longtime, "important intermediary" in French foreign relations with North Africa. In the 1990s, Djouhri became an associate of

Michel Roussin Michel Roussin (born May 3, 1939 in Rabat, Morocco) was the chief of staff of Alexandre de Marenches, who directed the SDECE French secret service until the May 1981 election of François Mitterrand as President of France. Michel Roussin has al ...

and, through him, met

Jacques Chirac Jacques René Chirac (, ; ; 29 November 193226 September 2019) was a French politician who served as President of France from 1995 to 2007. He was previously Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976 and 1986 to 1988, as well as Mayor of Pari ...

. He was later a confidante of

Nicolas Sarkozy Nicolas Paul Stéphane Sarközy de Nagy-Bocsa ( ; ; born 28 January 1955) is a French politician who served as President of France from 2007 to 2012. In 2021, he was found guilty of having tried to bribe a judge in 2014 to obtain information ...

and was arrested for questioning over allegations of Libyan influence in the

2007 elections The following elections occurred in the year 2007. * Electoral calendar 2007 * Elections in 2007 * 2007 United Nations Security Council election Africa * 52nd National Conference of the African National Congress * 2007 Algerian legislative elect ...

. He was also involved in the escape of

Libya Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...

n intermediary

Bashir Saleh Bashir Saleh Bashir (; born July 24, 1946) is a former aide of former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. He was head of the Libyan African Portfolio, a sovereign wealth fund that invested Libya's oil wealth mostly in sub-Saharan Africa, and served as a ...

to France in 2012, thus preventing the latter from being arrested and possibly providing damning information about the election interference.

Ziad Takieddine Ziad Takieddine (, Latn, ar, Zyād Taqī al-Dīn; born 14 June 1950) is a Lebanese-French businessman, described by ''The Telegraph'' as an "arms broker".

, another businessman involved in the Libyan interference, accused Djouhri in 2021 (during Takieddine's own trial in Lebanon) of having threatened to kill him with

acid An acid is a molecule or ion capable of either donating a proton (i.e. Hydron, hydrogen cation, H+), known as a Brønsted–Lowry acid–base theory, Brønsted–Lowry acid, or forming a covalent bond with an electron pair, known as a Lewis ...

. Djouhri lives in Geneva, Switzerland, where he is on the board of a directors of a water treatment and alternative energy company.

References

1959 births Living people French corporate directors French people of Algerian descent Businesspeople from Geneva {{France-business-bio-stub