Alphonse Berns (born April 9, 1952) is a senior Luxembourg diplomat in the rank of Ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary. He has served as his country's Ambassador in

Washington, DC ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, London, Brussels, to

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

as well as to the UN and

WTO The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an intergovernmental organization that regulates and facilitates international trade. With effective cooperation in the United Nations System, governments use the organization to establish, revise, and e ...

in Geneva. Currently he holds the position of Director General for Fiscal Policy in the Ministry of Finance in Luxembourg. Berns holds a degree in international and EU law from the

University of Aix-en-Provence Aix-Marseille University (AMU; french: Aix-Marseille Université; formally incorporated as ''Université d'Aix-Marseille'') is a public research university located in the Provence region of southern France. It was founded in 1409 when Louis II of ...

, France, and is an alumnus of the Center for European Studies in

Nancy Nancy may refer to: Places France * Nancy, France, a city in the northeastern French department of Meurthe-et-Moselle and formerly the capital of the duchy of Lorraine ** Arrondissement of Nancy, surrounding and including the city of Nancy ...

, France. In 1977, Berns entered the Luxembourg diplomatic service. In 1978 he became a non-resident member of his country's permanent representation to the Council of Europe. From 1979 to 1986 he served as Deputy Permanent Representative to NATO in Brussels. Upon return to Luxembourg, he was mandated to develop and run a new Budget and Administration Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In 1989 he became the Director for EU and international economic relations, foreign trade as well as development cooperation. In this function he served i.a. as Luxembourg's negotiator for the

Schengen Agreement The Schengen Agreement ( , ) is a treaty which led to the creation of Europe's Schengen Area, in which internal border checks have largely been abolished. It was signed on 14 June 1985, near the town of Schengen, Luxembourg, by five of the t ...

and as chief negotiator for civil aviation agreements. In 1991, Berns was promoted to the post of Ambassador to the United States of America, also accredited to Canada and Mexico. Between 1998 and 2002 he held the top diplomatic civil servant job as Secretary General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation. In 1999 he also became Secretary General of the Ministry of Defense. In 2002, Berns moved to Geneva as Permanent Representative to the UN and the WTO. In 2005, he became Ambassador to Belgium and Permanent Representative to NATO in Brussels. In autumn 2011, Berns was named Ambassador to the Court of St. James's in London, also accredited to Ireland and Iceland. Between 1989 and 1991, Berns served on a number of boards in Luxembourg, among them the national credit and investment bank SNCI and the national air-carrier,

Luxair Luxair, legally ''Luxair S.A., Société Luxembourgeoise de Navigation Aérienne'', is the flag carrier airline of Luxembourg with its headquarters and hub at Luxembourg Airport. It operates scheduled services to destinations in Europe, North A ...

. He currently is a member of the board of

Cargolux Cargolux, legally ''Cargolux Airlines International S.A.'', is a Luxembourgian flag carrier cargo airline with its headquarters and hub at Luxembourg Airport. With a global network, it is one of the largest scheduled all-cargo airlines in Eur ...

, the national freight carrier.

Notes

Berns was appointed as an Administrateur of The Luxembourg Freeport Management Company SA (LFMC) on May 19, 2015. LFMC operates the

Luxembourg Freeport Luxembourg High Security Hub, until 2021 known as Luxembourg Freeport, is a €50-million high security storage facility adjacent to Luxembourg Findel Airport. The freeport opened in September 2014. The building The building was designed by ...

at Luxembourg Findel Airport. The project was majority funded by Swiss businessman and art dealer

Yves Bouvier Yves Bouvier (born 8 September 1963 in Geneva, Switzerland) is a Switzerland, Swiss businessman and art dealer best known for his role in the Bouvier Affair that resulted in criminal charges being brought against him in France and Monaco. He wa ...

of Natural Le Coultre SA.

References

Ministry of Finance LuxembourgCARGOLUXEmbassy of Luxembourg Great Britain
* http://www.nato.int/cv/permrep/lu/berns-e.htm {{DEFAULTSORT:Berns, Alphonse Luxembourgian diplomats 1952 births Living people Permanent Representatives of Luxembourg to the United Nations Permanent Representatives of Luxembourg to NATO Ambassadors of Luxembourg to the United States Ambassadors of Luxembourg to the United Kingdom Officers of the Order of Merit of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg Commanders Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany