Jean-Christophe Rufin (; born 28 June 1952) is a French doctor, diplomat, historian, globetrotter and novelist. He is the president of Action Against Hunger, one of the earliest members of

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF; pronounced ), known in some English-speaking settings as Doctors Without Borders, is a charity that provides humanitarian medical care. It is a non-governmental organisation (NGO) of French origin known for its projects in conflict zo ...

, and a member of the

Académie française An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

Private and public life

Early life

Rufin was born in

Bourges Bourges ( ; ; ''Borges'' in Berrichon) is a commune in central France on the river Yèvre (Cher), Yèvre. It is the capital of the Departments of France, department of Cher (department), Cher, and also was the capital city of the former provin ...

Cher Cher ( ; born Cheryl Sarkisian, May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Goddess of Pop", she is known for her Androgyny, androgynous contralto voice, Music an ...

in 1952. An only child, he was raised by his grandparents as his father had left the family and his mother worked in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. His grandfather, a doctor and member of the

French Resistance The French Resistance ( ) was a collection of groups that fought the German military administration in occupied France during World War II, Nazi occupation and the Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy#France, collaborationist Vic ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

had been imprisoned for two years at

Buchenwald Buchenwald (; 'beech forest') was a German Nazi concentration camp established on Ettersberg hill near Weimar, Germany, in July 1937. It was one of the first and the largest of the concentration camps within the Altreich (Old Reich) territori ...

. In 1977, after medical school, Rufin went to

Tunisia Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...

as a volunteer doctor. He led his first humanitarian mission in

Eritrea Eritrea, officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa, with its capital and largest city being Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia in the Eritrea–Ethiopia border, south, Sudan in the west, and Dj ...

, where he met Azeb, who became his second wife. he married Ingrid Glowacki at the Embassy of France in Tirana, Albania on 25 April 2025.

Career

Diplomacy

Rufin held a number of diplomatic posts. In 1989 he was cultural attaché in Brazil, and in 1993 he became a special adviser in strategic thinking on North-South relations to François Léotard, then Minister of Defence. In 2007, he was appointed French ambassador to Dakar.

Human rights activism

A graduate of the

Institut d'études politiques de Paris 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 ...

(Sciences-Po), in 1986 he became advisor to the Secretary of State for Human Rights and published his first book, ''Le Piège humanitaire'' (The Humanitarian Trap), an essay on the political stakes of humanitarian action. As a doctor, he is one of the pioneers of humanitarian movement "without borders," for which he has led numerous missions in eastern

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

and

Latin America Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...

. A former vice-president of

and former president of the

non-governmental organization A non-governmental organization (NGO) is an independent, typically nonprofit organization that operates outside government control, though it may get a significant percentage of its funding from government or corporate sources. NGOs often focus ...

Action Against Hunger. JCRufinVincennes02

Dr. Jean-Christophe Rufin was appointed President of the Sanofi Espoir Corporate Foundation on September 18, 2020.

Report on racism and anti-Semitism

In 2003, Rufin was commissioned by French Interior Minister

Dominique de Villepin Dominique Marie François René Galouzeau de Villepin (; born 14 November 1953) is a French politician who served as Prime Minister of France from 31 May 2005 to 17 May 2007 under President Jacques Chirac. In his career working at the Ministry ...

to write an in-depth report on the upsurge of

anti-Semitism Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...

in France. He presented the final report on October 19, 2004. The "Rufin report" (as it later became known), as described by the

US State Department The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs o ...

,"France: International Religious Freedom Report 2005"
U.S. Department of State. concluded the following: *

Racism Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one Race (human categorization), race or ethnicity over another. It may also me ...

and

were a threat to French democracy. * Anti-semitic acts are not only carried out by elements of the extreme right and youths of North African descent, but also by "disaffected individuals" whose anti-Semitic obsessions prompt their attacks against Jews and Jewish institutions. * Radical

anti-Zionist Anti-Zionism is opposition to Zionism. Although anti-Zionism is a heterogeneous phenomenon, all its proponents agree that the creation of the State of Israel in 1948, and the movement to create a sovereign Jewish state in the Palestine (region) ...

s who question Israel's right to exist were dangerous. The report, as described by the US State Department, recommended the following actions: * That a law be created to punish those publicly equating Israel with

apartheid Apartheid ( , especially South African English: , ; , ) was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. It was characterised by an ...

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

. * That the French press law of 1881, designed to guarantee freedom of the press, is too unwieldy to adequately address the issues of racism. * That intolerance be countered in primary schools and by the education of new immigrants about the fight against racism and anti-Semitism. * That an observation system to monitor racist and anti-Semitic websites be created and that it work closely with authorities to prosecute offenders. The report was criticised by Michel Tubiana of the

Ligue des droits de l'homme The Human Rights League ( '' t du citoyen' or LDH) is a human rights non-governmental organisation, NGO association whose mission includes to observe, human rights defender, defend and promulgate human rights within the French Republic in al ...

, who accused Rufin of "acting like an arsonist fireman." Tubiana said that the focus on anti-Semitism created an "imbalance" in the approach to fighting all racism, and that if the recommendation became law, the umbrella group of the

International Federation for Human Rights The International Federation for Human Rights (; FIDH) is a non-governmental federation for human rights organizations. Founded in 1922, FIDH is the third oldest international human rights organization worldwide after Anti-Slavery International ...

would be punished because it viewed Israel's treatment of Israeli Arabs as "discriminatory".

Selected bibliography

Essays

* L'aventure humanitaire ("The Humanitarian Adventure"), coll. "

Découvertes Gallimard (, ; in United Kingdom: ''New Horizons'', in United States: ''Abrams Discoveries'') is an Collection (publishing), editorial collection of Book illustration, illustrated monographic books published by the Éditions Gallimard in Pocket edition, ...

" (nº 226) (1994) * La dictature libérale ("The Liberal Dictatorship") (1994) * L'empire et les nouveaux barbares ("The Empire and the New Barbarians") (1991) * Le piège humanitaire : quand l'humanitaire remplace la guerre ("The Humane Trap: when humanitarianism replaces war") (1986)

Novels

*1997 '' The Abyssinian'' (1997) - winner of Prix Goncourt du Premier Roman and Prix Méditerranée *1998 ''The Siege of Isfahan'' *1999 ''Lost Causes'' / "Asmara et les causes perdues" (1999) - winner of

prix Interallié The prix Interallié (Interallié Prize), also known simply as ''l'Interallié'', is an annual France, French list of literary awards, literary award, awarded for a novel written by a journalist. History The prize was started on 3 December 19 ...

*2001 '' Brazil Red'' (''Rouge Brésil''; 2001) - winner of

prix Goncourt The Prix Goncourt ( , "The Goncourt Prize") is a prize in French literature, given by the académie Goncourt to the author of "the best and most imaginative prose work of the year". The prize carries a symbolic reward of only 10 euros, but resul ...

*2004 ''Globalia'' *2007 ''Le Parfum d'Adam'' *2010 ''Katiba'' *2011 ''Sept histoires qui reviennent de loin'' *2012 ''Le Grand Cœur'' *2014 ''The Red Collar'' (''Le Collier rouge'') - winner of prix Maurice Genevoix *2015 ''Check-point'' *2016 ''The Santiago Pilgrimage''

Non-fiction books

* Économie des guerres civiles ("Economics of Civil Wars"), with Jean François (1996) * Mondes rebelles ("World Rebels"), with Arnaud de La Grange and Jean-Marc Balancie. (1996)

References

External links

Jean-Christophe Rufin: Writing without borders
Profile in Paris Voice, accessed June 26, 2006.
Books and reviews: "Économie des guerres civiles"
François Grunewald, International Review of the Red Cross, December 31, 1997, accessed June 26, 2006. {{DEFAULTSORT:Rufin, Jean-Christophe 1952 births Living people Writers from Bourges 20th-century French physicians 20th-century French novelists 21st-century French novelists French medical writers French travel writers French historical novelists Postmodern writers Prix Goncourt winners Prix Interallié winners Joseph Kessel Prize recipients Prix Goncourt du Premier Roman recipients Members of the Académie Française Ambassadors of France to Senegal Ambassadors of France to the Gambia French male novelists 20th-century French male writers 21st-century French male writers French male non-fiction writers Chevaliers of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres Officers of the Legion of Honour Recipients of orders, decorations, and medals of Senegal