His excellency David Martinon, French Ambassador to South Africa, Lesotho and Malawi [fr]
He is a career diplomat, he was born in May 1971. He is a graduate from from the National School of Public Administration (1996-98), the pre-doctoral program in Economics (1993, University of Paris 1-Panthéon Sorbonne), and the Institute of political sciences, Paris (1992)
Before his posting to South Africa, Ambassador Martinon has held many positions and has extensive diplomatic experience:
- Ambassador to Afghanistan (November 2018 to May 2022, relocated in Paris since August 29th, 2021)
- Ambassador for Digital Affairs (2013- 2018)
- Senior advisor at the Permanent Mission of France to the United Nations (New York, 2012-2013)
- Consul general in Los Angeles, USA (2008-2012)
- Press Secretary and Communications Director at the Presidency of the French Republic (2007-2008)
- Chief of staff of the presidential campaign of Nicolas Sarkozy and chief of staff of the transition team (2006-2007)
- Deputy Spokesperson then Senior Advisor at the European affairs Directorate, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (1998-2002)
- Junior Advisor, Office of the Minister of Defence (1995)
- Consultant, Communication and political marketing (1991-1994)
He is a Knight of the Legion of Honour.
He is married with three children.
He speaks English and Spanish.
You can follow him on his X account: https://x.com/david_martinon