Sylvain Itté (born 20 March 1959) is a French diplomat. Itté is currently serving as the French ambassador to

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

, having previously served as the ambassador to

Niger Niger, officially the Republic of the Niger, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is a unitary state Geography of Niger#Political geography, bordered by Libya to the Libya–Niger border, north-east, Chad to the Chad–Niger border, east ...

Angola Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a country on the west-Central Africa, central coast of Southern Africa. It is the second-largest Portuguese-speaking world, Portuguese-speaking (Lusophone) country in both total area and List of c ...

, and

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

. Itté gained international attention during his ambassadorship to Niger, becoming a flashpoint in French–Nigerien relations during the 2023 coup d'état in Niger and ensuing international crisis.

Early life and education

Born in present-day

Mali Mali, officially the Republic of Mali, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is the List of African countries by area, eighth-largest country in Africa, with an area of over . The country is bordered to the north by Algeria, to the east b ...

, Itté grew up in several different African countries until the age of six. He then lived in multiple European countries until settling in France, earning a master's degree in public law from the Institut régional d'administration de Lille.

Career

In 1985 Itté served in the

French armed forces The French Armed Forces (, ) are the military forces of France. They consist of four military branches – the Army, the Navy, the Air and Space Force, and the National Gendarmerie. The National Guard serves as the French Armed Forces' milita ...

and was stationed in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

. He next worked at the

Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

as an office manager, beginning in 1988. From 1991 to 1993, he worked as a technical adviser in the cabinet of the defense ministry and then served as deputy consul general in

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

. Returning to the Foreign Affairs Ministry Itté served as a department head. From 1998 to 2000 he headed the department of the Minister for Cooperation and Francophone. He then worked as consul general in

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

, then as Counselor in the French embassy in

Cameroon Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the R ...

. From 2006 to 2009 Itté was the director general of the French department C''oopération Internationale''. From 2009 to 2012 he worked again in São Paulo, this time as Consul General. From 2012 to 2013 he served as the cabinet director of the Assistant Minister for French Abroad. Itté was appointed the French ambassador to Uruguay, serving in the position from September 2013 to July 2016. He was then made French ambassador to Angola, serving from September 2016 to October 2020. Itté was then appointed as ambassador to Niger in October 2022. While serving as ambassador to Niger, a coup in the country occurred, with the National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland assuming control of the government. On 25 August 2023, in the midst of the international crisis that followed, the National Council ordered him to leave the country in 48 hours. French President

Emmanuel Macron Emmanuel Jean-Michel Frédéric Macron (; born 21 December 1977) is a French politician who has served as President of France and Co-Prince of Andorra since 2017. He was Ministry of Economy and Finance (France), Minister of Economics, Industr ...

announced he was keeping Itté at his post despite the ultimatum for his departure. Itté's diplomatic immunity and visa, and that of his family, were revoked on 31 August and Nigerien police were ordered to remove him from the country, although this did not happen. On 15 September Macron accused the Nigerien junta of holding Itté and his staff hostage by blocking food deliveries to the embassy, with Itté reportedly living off military rations. On 24 September, it was announced by the French government that Itté and other diplomatic staff in Niger were to be recalled to France. Itté wrote the geopolitical book ''Au cœur de la diplomatie française en Afrique'' (At the heart of French diplomacy in Africa), originally set to be released in March 2024. As of January 2024, the book's release is in doubt as its publication has been blocked by the French Foreign Ministry due to potentially sensitive information being included. It was announced on 5 July 2024 that Itté was to be appointed by President Macron as the French ambassador to

, becoming effective 15 August 2024.

References

{{Authority control Living people 1959 births Ambassadors of France to Niger Ambassadors of France to Angola Ambassadors of France to Uruguay 20th-century French diplomats 21st-century French diplomats Malian emigrants to France People from Bamako