Sylvie Bermann

French diplomat (born 1953)

Not to be confused with Sylvia Bermann.

Her Excellency

Sylvie Bermann

Ambassador of France to the United Kingdom
In office
21 August 2014 – 11 September 2017
Monarch| Elizabeth II
President| François Hollande
Emmanuel Macron
Preceded by| Bernard Émié
Succeeded by| Jean-Pierre Jouyet
Ambassador of France to Russia
In office
September 2017 – December 2019[1]
President| Emmanuel Macron
Preceded by| Jean-Maurice Ripert
Succeeded by| Pierre Levy
Personal details
Born|  (1953-10-19) 19 October 1953 (age 71)
Salins-les-Bains, France
Residence(s)| Kensington, London W8[2][3]
Alma mater| Paris-Sorbonne University
Sciences Po
Profession| Diplomat
Website| www.ambafrance-uk.org

Sylvie-Agnès Bermann (born 19 October 1953) is a French former career diplomat who served as the ambassador of France to the United Kingdom,[4] ambassador of France to Russia, and as French ambassador to China in Beijing from 2011 until 2014.[5] She previously served as director for United Nations, International Organizations, Human Rights and Francophony at the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Development in Paris.[6][4]

## Early life and education

[edit]

Bermann is a graduate of Paris-Sorbonne University where she studied history, the Paris Institute of Political Studies ("Sciences Po"), the French Institut national des langues et civilisations orientales where she studied Chinese, and the Beijing Language and Culture University

## Career

[edit]

Bermann embarked on her diplomatic career in 1979.[4] She served as vice-consul at the French Consulate General in Hong Kong from 1979 to 1980, and subsequently became third secretary, then second secretary, at the French embassy in China between 1980 and 1982.[4]

Ambassador Bermann with Miriam and Nick Clegg in Trafalgar Square at the "Je Suis Charlie" rally, 2015

Bermann was subsequently responsible for policy relating to China/Hong Kong/Taiwan at the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Development until 1986, when she became second counsellor at the French embassy in Moscow. In 1989, Bermann returned to Paris to take up the post of head of the Southeast Asia Department, where she remained until 1992.[4]

In 1992 Bermann was appointed second counsellor at the Permanent Mission of France to the United Nations in New York. In 1996, she became head of the Common Foreign and Security Policy Department at the French Foreign Ministry, before becoming ambassador as permanent representative of France to the Western European Union and to the European Union's Political and Security Committee (PSC) in Brussels in 2002.[4]

Bermann headed the French Foreign Ministry's directorate for the UN and international organizations, human rights and Francophony, from December 2005 to February 2011.[4]

Bermann was appointed ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary to China on 23 February 2011, becoming the first woman to hold the post of French ambassador in a country which is a permanent member of the Security Council. She became French ambassador to the United Kingdom in August 2014.[4]

## Other activities

[edit]

* French Institute for International and Strategic Affairs (IRIS), Member of the Board of Directors[7]
* Institute of Advanced Studies in National Defence (IHEDN), Member of the Board of Directors (since 2020)[8]

## Writing

[edit]

In 2021, Bermann published a book about Britain and Brexit - Goodbye Britannia based on stereotypes of French hatred toward Britain (Éditions Stock).[9] She had previously written a book on China - La Chine en eaux profondes (Éditions Stock, 2017).

## Honours

[edit]

* Officier, Légion d'honneur (2012)[10]
* Commander (2019)[11] of the Ordre national du Mérite, Officier in 2008.

## See also

[edit]

* List of Ambassadors of France to the United Kingdom
* Ministère des Affaires étrangères de la France[12]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Newly appointed French ambassador to arrive in Russia next week — embassy". TASS.
2. ^ "France in London | Controversial Bastille Day Celebration at the French Ambassador's Residence". www.franceinlondon.com.
3. ^ "La Résidence de France". France in the United Kingdom - La France au Royaume-Uni.
4. ^ a b c d e f g h Biography at www.ambafrance-uk.org.
5. ^ "Ambassadrice de France en Chine : Qui est Sylvie Bermann?". AllGov France.
6. ^ "Direction des Nations unies, des organisations internationales, des droits de l'homme et de la francophonie - Annuaire | service-public.fr". lannuaire.service-public.fr.
7. ^ Board of Directors French Institute for International and Strategic Affairs (IRIS).
8. ^ Board of Directors Institute of Advanced Studies in National Defence (IHEDN).
9. ^ "'Lying is no longer a sin': former French ambassador on Brexit and Boris Johnson". the Guardian. 2021-02-26. Retrieved 2021-03-21.
10. ^ "Journal officiel "Lois et Décrets" - JORF n°0163 du 14 juillet 2012 | Legifrance". October 12, 2014. Archived from the original on 2014-10-12.
11. ^ "Décret du 29 mai 2019 portant promotion et nomination - Légifrance". www.legifrance.gouv.fr.
12. ^ étrangères, Ministère de l'Europe et des Affaires. "France Diplomacy". France Diplomacy - Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs.

## External links

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sylvie Bermann.

* www.legifrance.gouv.fr
* www.francobritishcouncil.org.uk
* Ambassador Bermann At Home with the FT interview
* Ambassador Bermann Saturday Interview with The Times
* Ambassador Bermann Evening Standard interview 2016
* Ambassador Bermann Evening Standard interview 2014

* v
* t
* e

Foreign relations of France

Bilateral relations

| Africa|

* Algeria
* Angola
* Burkina Faso
* Cape Verde
* Central African Republic
* Chad
* Republic of the Congo
* Democratic Republic of Congo
* Djibouti
* Egypt
* Ethiopia
* Gabon
* Ivory Coast
* Kenya
* Liberia
* Libya
* Madagascar
* Mali
* Mauritania
* Mauritius
* Morocco
* Mozambique
* Niger
* Rwanda
* Senegal
* Somalia
* South Africa
* Tanzania
* Togo
* Tunisia

|

Americas|

* Argentina
* Barbados
* Brazil
* Canada
* Chile
* Colombia
* Cuba
* Dominica, (Commonwealth of)
* El Salvador
* Haiti
* Mexico
* Peru
* Suriname
* Trinidad and Tobago
* United States
* Uruguay
* Venezuela

Asia|

* Afghanistan
* Armenia
* Azerbaijan
* Bangladesh
* Belarus
* Brunei
* Cambodia
* China
* Hong Kong
* Georgia
* India
* Indonesia
* Iran
* Iraq
* Kurdistan Region
* Israel
* Japan
* Kazakhstan
* Laos
* Lebanon
* Malaysia
* Myanmar
* Nepal
* North Korea
* Pakistan
* Palestine
* Philippines
* Qatar
* Saudi Arabia
* Singapore
* South Korea
* Syria
* Taiwan
* Thailand
* Turkey
* Turkmenistan
* United Arab Emirates
* Vietnam

Europe|

* Albania
* Andorra
* Austria
* Belgium
* Bulgaria
* Croatia
* Cyprus
* Czech Republic
* Denmark
* Finland
* Germany
* Greece
* Holy See
* Hungary
* Iceland
* Ireland
* Italy
* Kosovo
* Liechtenstein
* Luxembourg
* Monaco
* Montenegro
* Netherlands
* Norway
* Poland
* Portugal
* Romania
* Russia
* Serbia
* Spain
* Sweden
* Switzerland
* Ukraine
* United Kingdom

Oceania|

* Australia
* Fiji
* Kiribati
* New Zealand
* Papua New Guinea
* Vanuatu

Former|

* Soviet Union
* Republic of Texas
* Yugoslavia

Multilateral relations

* Africa
* Asia
* Americas
* Commonwealth of Nations
* United Nations

Diplomacy

* French entry into World War I
* Ministry of Foreign Affairs
* Diplomatic missions of France / in France (Paris)

Portal:

* Politics

Authority control databases

International|

* ISNI
* VIAF

National|

* Germany
* United States
* France
* BnF data

Other|

* IdRef
* Yale LUX

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template