Jean-David Levitte (born 14 June 1946) is a French diplomat who was France's Permanent Representative to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

from 2000 to 2002 and Ambassador to the United States from 2002 to 2007. He was also a diplomatic advisor and

sherpa SHERPA (Securing a Hybrid Environment for Research Preservation and Access) is an organisation originally set up in 2002 to run and manage the SHERPA Project. History SHERPA began as an endeavour to support the establishment of a number of open ...

to presidents

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 ...

and

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 ...

. Levitte was born in

Moissac Moissac () is a Commune of France, commune in the Tarn-et-Garonne Departments of France, department in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie Regions of France, region in southern France. The town is situated at the confluence of the riv ...

, in the south of France. He is a graduate of

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 of the French National School of Oriental Languages, where he studied Chinese and Indonesian. He is married to Marie-Cécile Jonas and has two daughters.

Diplomatic career

Levitte's first posts were in

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

in 1970 and in

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

, China from 1972 to 1974. In the French

Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...

itself, he has served as Director of Economic Affairs (1974–1975), Assistant Director of West Africa (1984–1986), Assistant Director of the Cabinet (1986–1988), Director of Asia and Oceania (1990–1993), and General Director of Cultural, Scientific, and Technical Relations (1993–1995). Between 1981 and 1984 Levitte was the Adviser to the Permanent Mission of France at the

in New York. In 1988, he was designated to his first position as Ambassador and served as the French Permanent Representative to the

United Nations Office at Geneva The United Nations Office at Geneva (UNOG, ) in Geneva, Switzerland, is one of the four major offices of the United Nations where numerous different UN agencies have a joint presence. The main UNOG administrative offices are located inside ...

from 1988 to 1990. Between 1975 and 1981, he was the ''chargé de mission'' at the General Secretariat of President

Valéry Giscard d'Estaing Valéry René Marie Georges Giscard d'Estaing (, ; ; 2 February 19262 December 2020), also known as simply Giscard or VGE, was a French politician who served as President of France from 1974 to 1981. After serving as Ministry of the Economy ...

. Between 1995 and 2000 he was a diplomatic advisor and sherpa to President

, a position to which he returned in 2007, under President

. From 2000 to 2002, Levitte was Ambassador to the United Nations in New York, representing France at the Security Council before and during the negotiation that lead to the

United Nations Security Council Resolution 1441 United Nations Security Council Resolution 1441 is a United Nations Security Council resolution adopted unanimously by the United Nations Security Council on 8 November 2002, offering Iraq under Saddam Hussein "a final opportunity to comply wit ...

on Iraq. He was President of the Security Council in September 2001 and presiding over the Council's deliberations following the

September 11, 2001 attacks The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...

on the United States. From late 2002 to 2007, Levitte was Ambassador to the United States. He presented his ambassadorial credentials to President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

in Washington on December 9, 2002. He was succeeded by

Pierre Vimont Pierre Vimont (born 15 June 1949) is a French diplomat who served as the Executive Secretary-General of the European External Action Service (EEAS) from 2010 until 2015. His current rank in the French civil service is "Ambassadeur de France", whic ...

, who was appointed on August 1, 2007.

Back to the Élysée

On May 16, 2007, Levitte was appointed as diplomatic advisor and

to President

, and the head of a future American-style National Security Council. The nature and extent of his new role were not immediately clear. While some commentators suggested he would not eclipse Minister of Foreign and European Affairs

Bernard Kouchner Bernard Kouchner (born 1 November 1939) is a French politician and doctor. He is the co-founder of Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) and Médecins du Monde. From 2007 until 2010, he was the French Minister of Foreign and European Affairs in t ...

, Levitte was elsewhere referred to as "seemingly the true Minister of Foreign Affairs." Despite assertions made while campaigning, it was still unclear to what extent President Sarkozy would treat national security and foreign affairs as the "reserved domain" of the presidency. On 6 November 2007, Levitte was among the guests invited to the

state dinner A state banquet is an official banquet hosted by the head of state in their official residence for another head of state, or sometimes head of government, and other guests. Usually as part of a state visit or diplomatic conference, it is held ...

hosted by President

in honor of President

at the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...

. Levitte left office on May 15, 2012 following Sarkozy's defeat in the 2012 presidential election, and joined Rock Creek Global Advisors in Washington, DC.

Other activities

* Club of Three, Member of the Steering Group *

European Council on Foreign Relations The European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) is a pan-European think tank with offices in seven European capitals. Launched in October 2007, it conducts research on European foreign and security policy and provides a meeting space for decis ...

(ECFR), Member of the Council *

French Institute of International Relations French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), a ...

(IFRI), Member of the Strategic Advisory Board *

Paris School of International Affairs The Paris School of International Affairs (PSIA) is a graduate school of Sciences Po (also referred to as the ''Institut d'études politiques de Paris'') based in Paris, France, and is one of the most prestigious graduate schools for internationa ...

(PSIA), Member of the Strategic Committee *

World Economic Forum The World Economic Forum (WEF) is an international non-governmental organization, international advocacy non-governmental organization and think tank, based in Cologny, Canton of Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded on 24 January 1971 by German ...

(WEF), Member of the Global Future Council on Geopolitics (2018-2019) *

Geneva Centre for Security Policy The Geneva Centre for Security Policy (GCSP) is an international foundation that was established in 1995 under Swiss law to "promote the building and maintenance of peace, security and stability". The GCSP was founded by the Federal Departmen ...

(GCSP), President of the Foundation Council (2019-)
GCSP Foundation Council President]

(GCSP).

References

External links

*
Washington Diplomat bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Levitte, Jean-David 1946 births Living people Permanent representatives of France to the United Nations Ambassadors of France to the United States Sciences Po alumni Institut national des langues et civilisations orientales alumni People from Tarn-et-Garonne Commanders of the Legion of Honour Knights of the Ordre national du Mérite Commandeurs of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres Recipients of the Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise, 2nd class