Arlette Claudine Kpèdétin Dagnon Vignikin (born 17 November 1951) is an ambassador of

Benin Benin ( , ; french: Bénin , ff, Benen), officially the Republic of Benin (french: République du Bénin), and formerly Dahomey, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the north ...

. She has represented her country in the nations of Scandinavia and the Baltic.

Life

Vignikin was born in Benin in the city of

Ouidah Ouidah () or Whydah (; ''Ouidah'', ''Juida'', and ''Juda'' by the French; ''Ajudá'' by the Portuguese; and ''Fida'' by the Dutch) and known locally as Glexwe, formerly the chief port of the Kingdom of Whydah, is a city on the coast of the Repub ...

in 1951. She was educated in international public law at ESCAE-University in Benin. She has a " Diplôme d'Etudes Supérieures Spécialisées (DESS)" in international law. She later studied French-Russian translation in Kyiv. She is a career diplomat. She was the first woman to be an ambassador of Benin and posted abroad. She is a

Plenipotentiary A ''plenipotentiary'' (from the Latin ''plenus'' "full" and ''potens'' "powerful") is a diplomat who has full powers—authorization to sign a treaty or convention on behalf of his or her sovereign. When used as a noun more generally, the word ...

Minister of Foreign Affairs. Before she became an ambassador, Vignikin held high responsibilities in the

Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the government department responsible for the state's diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral relations affairs as well as for providing support for a country's citizens who are abroad. The entit ...

, as well as serving in Benin's Diplomatic missions abroad. She was: Head of the Department of America, Minister Counselor and Chargé d'Affaires of the Embassy of Benin in the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

and at the Benin's Embassy in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. In August 2008, she was appointed Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of the Republic of Benin to Denmark with jurisdiction over the other

Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion#Europe, subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, ...

n countries, the

Baltic countries The Baltic states, et, Balti riigid or the Baltic countries is a geopolitical term, which currently is used to group three countries: Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. All three countries are members of NATO, the European Union, the Eurozone, ...

and the Republic of

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

. On 12 February 2009 she was accredited to the

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe *Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway *Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including the ...

government in Oslo. On 30 April 2009 she was accredited to the

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

n government in

Tallinn Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju ' ...

. She was accredited in

Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

on 19 April 2011. Benin had diplomatic relations with Benin since 1997 but she was the first ambassador. She was later accredited in

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

assisted by

Sven Hirdman Henrik Sven Hirdman (Swedish pronunciation: ẹn:rik sveːn hiːrdmaːn, born 28 September 1939 in Stavanger, Norway, is a Swedish diplomat and ambassador. Biography After military service at the Swedish Army Language School in 1958, Sven Hi ...

Private life

Vignikin is married and is the mother of three children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vignikin, Arlette Claudine Kpèdétin Dagnon 1951 births Living people People from Ouidah Beninese women diplomats Ambassadors of Benin to China Ambassadors of Benin to France Ambassadors of Benin to Denmark Ambassadors of Benin to Norway Ambassadors of Benin to Estonia Ambassadors of Benin to Latvia Ambassadors of Benin to Sweden Beninese translators Russian–French translators Beninese women ambassadors