Antoine Somdah (born 12 June 1962) is a statesman of

Burkina Faso Burkina Faso (, ; , ff, 𞤄𞤵𞤪𞤳𞤭𞤲𞤢 𞤊𞤢𞤧𞤮, italic=no) is a landlocked country in West Africa with an area of , bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the ...

and a diplomat.

Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or sov ...

to the Russian Federation since 2014.

Biography

Antoine Somdah was born on June 12, 1962. In 1988 he graduated from the Law School of the

University of Ouagadougou Founded in 1974, the University of Ouagadougou (UO; french: Université de Ouagadougou) is in the area of Dagnöen Nord (pronounced dag-no-en noor) in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. It was officially renamed in 2015 as l’Université Ouaga 1 Profess ...

and continued his

USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

studies. In 1993 he graduated from Peoples' Friendship University, and in 1995 also received a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

international public law International law (also known as public international law and the law of nations) is the set of rules, norms, and standards generally recognized as binding between State (polity), states. It establishes normative guidelines and a common conceptua ...

there. In the early 1990s, he completed an internship at Moscow City Council and the Moscow Prosecutor's Office. In 1996, he began his professional career in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Burkina Faso. In 2007–2012, he was the First Counselor in the Permanent Mission of Burkina Faso to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

and took part in the 63, 64, 65, 66 and 67 sessions of the

UN General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; french: link=no, Assemblée générale, AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as the main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ of the UN. Curr ...

. In 2008–2009, he was a Member of the

UN Security Council The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, and ...

. In 2012–2014, he was the Secretary-General of the Institute for High International Studies (IHIS) in Burkina Faso. He is an expert in legal issues in the field of nuclear energy and participated in numerous sessions of the

IAEA The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is an intergovernmental organization that seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy and to inhibit its use for any military purpose, including nuclear weapons. It was established in 1957 ...

General Conference. On January 8, 2014, he was appointed Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Burkina Faso in

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

. On March 7, he presented copies of his credentials to the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, Mikhail Bogdanov, and on June 27 he was introduced to President

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...

, with whom he discussed crises in Syria,

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

, the Iranian nuclear issue and the Ukrainian crisis, and also expressed the readiness of the Government of Burkina Faso to intensify scientific, technical and commercial cooperation with Russia. At the moment, the embassy headed by Antoine Somdah is the only diplomatic mission of Burkina Faso in Russia, while Russia does not have any diplomatic or consular missions in Burkina Faso. He speaks

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

and

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

well, but is less fluent in

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Somdah, Antoine 1962 births Living people University of Ouagadougou alumni Peoples' Friendship University of Russia alumni Ambassadors of Burkina Faso to Russia 21st-century Burkinabé people