Serge Telle (born 5 May 1955) is a French diplomat. He served as the

Minister of State Minister of State is a title borne by politicians in certain countries governed under a parliamentary system. In some countries a Minister of State is a Junior Minister of government, who is assigned to assist a specific Cabinet Minister. In o ...

Monaco Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...

Early life

Serge Telle was born on 5 May 1955 in

Nantes Nantes (, , ; Gallo: or ; ) is a city in Loire-Atlantique on the Loire, from the Atlantic coast. The city is the sixth largest in France, with a population of 314,138 in Nantes proper and a metropolitan area of nearly 1 million inhabita ...

, France. His father was an engineer. Telle graduated from

Sciences Po , motto_lang = fr , mottoeng = Roots of the Future , type = Public university, Public research university''Grande école'' , established = , founder = Émile Boutmy , a ...

. He also earned a degree in Swahili from the

National Institute for Oriental Languages and Civilizations Institut national des langues et civilisations orientales ( en, National Institute for Oriental Languages and Civilizations), abbreviated as INALCO, is a French university specializing in the teaching of languages and cultures from the world. ...

, and another degree in Community Law.

Career

Telle joined the

French Foreign Ministry The Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs () is the ministry of the Government of France that handles France's foreign relations. Since 1855, its headquarters have been located at 37 Quai d'Orsay, close to the National Assembly. The term Qu ...

in 1982, when he first worked as Second Secretary at the Embassy of France, Dar-es-Salam in

Dar-es-Salam Dar es Salaam (; from ar, دَار السَّلَام, Dâr es-Selâm, lit=Abode of Peace) or commonly known as Dar, is the largest city and financial hub of Tanzania. It is also the capital of Dar es Salaam Region. With a population of over s ...

, Tanzania until 1984. He was the First Secretary at the

Permanent Mission of France to the United Nations The Permanent Mission of France to the United Nations is the diplomatic mission of the French Republic to the United Nations in New York. As such, it reports to the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs. Location Since 1991, the offices of the ...

in New York City from 1984 to 1988. He was a diplomatic advisor to Secretary of State Humanitarian Action

Bernard Kouchner Bernard Kouchner KBE (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 ...

from 1988 to 1992. He worked in the

Foreign and Commonwealth Office The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) is a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, department of the Government of the United Kingdom. Equivalent to other countries' Ministry of Foreign Affairs, ministries of fore ...

from 1992 to 1993, and at the

United Nations Office at Geneva The United Nations Office at Geneva (UNOG, french: Office des Nations Unies à Genève) 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 ...

from 1993 to 1997. He was an advisor to Prime Minister

Lionel Jospin Lionel Robert Jospin (; born 12 July 1937) is a French politician who served as Prime Minister of France from 1997 to 2002. Jospin was First Secretary of the Socialist Party from 1995 to 1997 and the party's candidate for President of France in ...

from 1997 to 2002, with a focus on Middle Eastern and African affairs. Telle served as Consul General (later Ambassador) of France to Monaco from 2002 to 2007. He was an advisor to Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner from 2007 to 2008. He was the French ambassador to the

Union for the Mediterranean The Union for the Mediterranean (UfM; french: Union pour la Méditerranée, ar, الإتحاد من أجل المتوسط ''Al-Ittiḥād min ajl al-Mutawasseṭ'') is an intergovernmental organization of 43 member states from Europe and the M ...

from 2008 to 2012, and the interministerial delegate for the Mediterranean from 2013 to 2015. He was also the president of the Agency for Cities and Territories of the Mediterranean from 2011 to 2016. Telle was appointed

Minister of State of Monaco The Prime Minister, literally the Minister of State (French: ''Ministre d'État''), is the head of government of Monaco, being appointed by and subordinate to the Prince of Monaco. During their term of office, the officeholder is responsible for ...

on 1 February 2016, succeeding

Michel Roger Michel Roger (born 9 March 1949) was the Minister of State of Monaco. He had been a member of the High Court of Monaco since 2007. He assumed office on 29 March 2010, following his appointment by Prince Albert II. Prior to his taking up of the ro ...

. On 16 March 2020 Telle tested positive for

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

Honours

French honours

Knight of the National Order of Legion of Honour * Ordre national du Merite Chevalier ribbon

Knight of the National Order of Merit

Monégasque honours

MCO Order of Saint-Charles - Commander BAR

Commander of the

Order of Saint-Charles The Order of Saint Charles (french: Ordre de Saint Charles) is a dynastic order of knighthood established in Monaco on 15 March 1858. Award This order rewards service to the State or Prince. In particular cases, it may be granted to foreign ...

Personal life

From his first marriage with Karène Telle, he has 3 children named Anne-Claire, Jean-Baptiste and Antoine. After getting divorced, he met and married Guilaine Chenu, a television presenter. They have a son, Alexis.

References

1955 births Ambassadors of France to Monaco Chevaliers of the Légion d'honneur Knights of the Ordre national du Mérite Commanders of the Order of Saint-Charles Living people Ministers of State of Monaco Diplomats from Nantes Sciences Po alumni {{Monaco-politician-stub