Sylvie Kauffmann
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Sylvie Kauffmann (born 30 October 1955) is a French journalist for
Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse (AFP) is a French international news agency headquartered in Paris, France. Founded in 1835 as Havas, it is the world's oldest news agency. AFP has regional headquarters in Nicosia, Montevideo, Hong Kong and Washington, D.C ...
(AFP) and the newspaper ''
Le Monde ''Le Monde'' (; ) is a French daily afternoon newspaper. It is the main publication of Le Monde Group and reported an average circulation of 323,039 copies per issue in 2009, about 40,000 of which were sold abroad. It has had its own website si ...
''. She worked for AFP in France in 1979 and as a foreign correspondent from 1980 to 1988. Kauffmann joined ''Le Monde'' as Moscow correspondent in 1988 and later Eastern and Central Europe correspondent from 1989 to 1993. She worked in the United States from 1993 to 2001 and Latin America in 2002 and 2003. Kauffman was appointed deputy chief editor of ''Le Monde'' in 2003 and covering Southeast Asia as reporter-in-large from 2006 to 2009. In 2010, she was appointed the newspaper's first woman
editor-in-chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The highest-ranking editor of a publication may also be titled editor, managing ...
, serving in the role until 2011.


Early life and education

Kauffmann was born on 30 October 1955 in
Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...
, France, to a military doctor. She earned degrees from the Centre de Formation des Journalistes (English: Training Centre for Journalists) in Paris, the
Instituts d'études politiques Instituts d'études politiques (), or IEPs, are ten publicly owned institutions of higher learning in France. They are located in Aix-en-Provence, Bordeaux, Grenoble, Lille, Lyon, Paris, Rennes, Strasbourg and Toulouse, and since 2014 Saint-Ge ...
, the
Sciences Po Aix Sciences Po Aix, also referred to as Institut d'Études Politiques (IEP) d'Aix-en-Provence, is a '' Grande École'' of political studies located in Aix-en-Provence, in the South of France. It is associated with Aix-Marseille University and is par ...
, the
University of Provence The University of Provence Aix-Marseille I (french: Université de Provence) was a public research university mostly located in Aix-en-Provence and Marseille. It was one of the three Universities of Aix-Marseille and was part of the Academy of ...
and a degree in Spanish from
Bilbao ) , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = 275 px , map_caption = Interactive map outlining Bilbao , pushpin_map = Spain Basque Country#Spain#Europe , pushpin_map_caption ...
's
University of Deusto The University of Deusto ( es, Universidad de Deusto; eu, Deustuko Unibertsitatea) is a Spanish private university owned by the Society of Jesus, with campuses in Bilbao and San Sebastián, and the Deusto Business School branch in Madrid. The Un ...
.


Career


''AFP'', 1979–1988

In 1979, Kauffmann began her career in journalism as the French desk for the French news agency
Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse (AFP) is a French international news agency headquartered in Paris, France. Founded in 1835 as Havas, it is the world's oldest news agency. AFP has regional headquarters in Nicosia, Montevideo, Hong Kong and Washington, D.C ...
(AFP). One year later, she was made a foreign correspondent for the agency, spending 1980 to 1984 in London and 1984 from 1985 in Warsaw,
Nouméa Nouméa () is the capital and largest city of the French special collectivity of New Caledonia and is also the largest francophone city in Oceania. It is situated on a peninsula in the south of New Caledonia's main island, Grande Terre, a ...
in 1985, and then in Moscow between 1986 and 1988, during the period of
Glasnost ''Glasnost'' (; russian: link=no, гласность, ) has several general and specific meanings – a policy of maximum openness in the activities of state institutions and freedom of information, the inadmissibility of hushing up problems, ...
and
Perestroika ''Perestroika'' (; russian: links=no, перестройка, p=pʲɪrʲɪˈstrojkə, a=ru-perestroika.ogg) was a political movement for reform within the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) during the late 1980s widely associated wit ...
.


''Le Monde'', 1988–present

Kauffmann joined ''
Le Monde ''Le Monde'' (; ) is a French daily afternoon newspaper. It is the main publication of Le Monde Group and reported an average circulation of 323,039 copies per issue in 2009, about 40,000 of which were sold abroad. It has had its own website si ...
'' as its Moscow correspondent in 1988. The following year, she was made Eastern and Central Europe correspondent, covering the
Fall of the Berlin Wall The fall of the Berlin Wall (german: Mauerfall) on 9 November 1989, during the Peaceful Revolution, was a pivotal event in world history which marked the destruction of the Berlin Wall and the figurative Iron Curtain and one of the series of eve ...
, the
Dissolution of the Soviet Union The dissolution of the Soviet Union, also negatively connoted as rus, Разва́л Сове́тского Сою́за, r=Razvál Sovétskogo Soyúza, ''Ruining of the Soviet Union''. was the process of internal disintegration within the Sov ...
, and the political changes of Eastern Europe's new democracies converting to a
market economy A market economy is an economic system in which the decisions regarding investment, production and distribution to the consumers are guided by the price signals created by the forces of supply and demand, where all suppliers and consumers ...
. Kauffmann was moved by ''Le Monde'' to the United States in 1993, serving as Washington correspondent, until she was made New York Bureau Chief in 1996, serving in the position until 2001. According to ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', Kauffman's "coverage of the United States was considered particularly objective and admirable, given the ambivalent relationship France has often had with the United States", observing the
Presidency of Bill Clinton Bill Clinton's tenure as the 42nd president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 1993, and ended on January 20, 2001. Clinton, a Democrat from Arkansas, took office following a decisive election victory over Re ...
and the emergence of the Internet. In 1998 and 1999, she participated in the
French-American Foundation The French-American Foundation is a privately funded, non-governmental organization established to promote bilateral relations between France and the United States on topics of importance to the two countries, with a focus on contact between upco ...
's Young Leaders programme. She returned to Paris in 2001 but was sent back to New York later in the year to cover the
Aftermath of the September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks transformed the first term of President George W. Bush and led to what he has called the war on terror. The accuracy of describing it as a "war" and its political motivations and consequences are the topic of strenuous ...
as reporter-as-large. Kauffman's article collection of the attacks entitled ''Chronicle of America at War'' earned her the Prix AFRI-Thucydide international journalism award. From 2002 to 2003, she travelled to Latin America to cover the Argentine financial crisis, the election of
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (; born Luiz Inácio da Silva; 27 October 1945), known mononymously as Lula, is a Brazilian politician, trade unionist, and former metalworker who is the president-elect of Brazil. A member of the Workers' Party, ...
as President of Brazil and
Hugo Chávez Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías (; 28 July 1954 – 5 March 2013) was a Venezuelan politician who was president of Venezuela from 1999 until his death in 2013, except for a brief period in 2002. Chávez was also leader of the Fifth Republ ...
's presidency in Venezuela. In 2003, Kauffmann returned to ''Le Monde'''s Paris headquarters and became part of the editorial team when she was appointed deputy chief editor, becoming responsible for the newspaper's major reporters, and leading its in-depth reporting section. She continued in the role until 2004, when she was made managing editor of the newspaper until 2006. Kauffman was then made correspondent and reporter-at-large for ''Le Monde'' based in Singapore, covering Southeast Asia, Burma, the Philippines, China and India with a weekly column.
Éric Fottorino Éric Fottorino (born 26 August 1960, in Nice), is a French journalist and writer. He is the winner of the Prix Femina, 2007, for ''Baisers de cinéma''. After having been a reporter for the daily newspaper ''Le Monde'', then becoming editor-in-c ...
asked her in late 2009 to consider an improved articulation of information for the newspaper and its website. Kauffmann was appointed
editor-in-chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The highest-ranking editor of a publication may also be titled editor, managing ...
of ''Le Monde'' by Fottorino on 18 January 2010, succeeding
Alain Frachon Alain Frachon (born 1950) is a French journalist for ''Le Monde'', France's centre-left newspaper of record, and the author of several books. Early life Alain Frachon was born in 1950. He graduated from the Centre de Formation des Journalistes (CF ...
whose two-year term in the position had ended in 2009 and becoming the first woman to hold the post. During her tenure as executive director, she indicated her desire to improve the print newspaper and website, transforming ''Le Monde'' into “the paper that never sleeps.” Kauffmann also oversaw the collaboration of
WikiLeaks WikiLeaks () is an international Nonprofit organization, non-profit organisation that published news leaks and classified media provided by anonymous Source (journalism), sources. Julian Assange, an Australian Internet activism, Internet acti ...
with ''
El Pais EL, El or el may refer to: Religion * El (deity), a Semitic word for "God" People * EL (rapper) (born 1983), stage name of Elorm Adablah, a Ghanaian rapper and sound engineer * El DeBarge, music artist * El Franco Lee (1949–2016), American po ...
'', ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' and ''The New York Times''. In 2011, she was one of 13 candidates to apply for the position of director of ''Le Monde''. Although the newspaper staff supported Kauffmann's candidacy, the owners
Pierre Bergé Pierre Vital Georges Bergé (; 14 November 1930 – 8 September 2017) was a French industrialist and patron. He co-founded the fashion label Yves Saint Laurent, and was a longtime business partner (and onetime life partner) of its namesake des ...
,
Xavier Niel Xavier Niel (born 25 August 1967) is a French billionaire businessman involved in the telecommunications and technology industry. He is best known as founder and majority shareholder of the French Internet service provider and mobile operator I ...
and
Matthieu Pigasse Matthieu Pigasse (born 1968) is a French investment banker, media mogul and investor. He previously served as Lazard's Global Head of Mergers and Acquisitions and Sovereign Advisory, as well as CEO of Lazard France. He currently serves as head of C ...
and a selection committee rejected her and appointed
Érik Izraelewicz Érik Izraelewicz (6 February 1954 – 27 November 2012) was a French journalist and author, specialised in economics and finance. From February 2011 he was director and editorial executive of the daily ''Le Monde'', after having held the same po ...
as director of ''Le Monde''. Kauffmann left the post of editor-in-chief soon after, but remained at ''Le Monde'' as an editor. Kauffmann contributes to the opinion pages of ''
The New York Times International Edition ''The New York Times International Edition'' is an English-language Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper distributed internationally by the New York Times Company. It has been published in two separate periods, one from 1943 to 1967 and one from ...
'', the ''
Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Nik ...
'', and regularly appears on the
France Culture France Culture is a French public radio channel and part of Radio France Radio France is the French national public radio broadcaster. Stations Radio France offers seven national networks: * France Inter — Radio France's " generalist" sta ...
radio programme ''L'Esprit public.''


Other activities


Corporate boards

*
Google Google LLC () is an American multinational technology company focusing on search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, artificial intelligence, and consumer electronics. ...
, Member of the Advisory Council


Non-profit organizations

*
Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism The Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism (RISJ) is a UK-based research centre and think tank founded in 2006, which operates Thomson Reuters Journalism Fellowship Programme, also known as the Reuters Fellowship. History The institute ...
, Member of the Advisory Board * AFP Foundation, Member of the Board *
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 decisi ...
(ECFR), Member of the Council *
European Press Prize The European Press Prize is an award programme for excellence in journalism across all 47 countries of Europe. It was founded in 2012 by seven European media foundations: The Guardian Foundation, Thomson Reuters Foundation, Jyllands-Posten Found ...
, Member of the Panel of Judges * Transatlantic Leadership Network, Member of the Council of Advisors *
Trilateral Commission The Trilateral Commission is a nongovernmental international organization aimed at fostering closer cooperation between Japan, Western Europe and North America. It was founded in July 1973 principally by American banker and philanthropist David ...
, Member of the European Group


Personal life

Kauffmann is married to the ambassador Pierre Buhler.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kauffmann, Sylvie 1955 births Writers from Marseille Sciences Po Aix alumni University of Provence alumni University of Deusto alumni 20th-century French journalists 21st-century French journalists 20th-century French women writers 21st-century French women writers Agence France-Presse journalists Le Monde writers The New York Times columnists American women columnists French newspaper editors Living people 21st-century American women