François Alabrune

François Alabrune (born 12 January 1962) is a French senior civil servant, diplomat, and jurist. He has been the French Ambassador to the Netherlands since 19 October 2022 and serves as the Permanent Representative of France to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) and the International Legal Institutions in The Hague (Netherlands).

Biography

François Alabrune holds a law degree from the University of Limoges (1982) and graduated from the Paris Institute of Political Studies in 1984. He joined the National School of Administration (ENA) as part of the Michel de Montaigne class (1986-1988).

Assigned to the Legal Affairs Directorate of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1988, François Alabrune joined the Permanent Representation of France to the European Union in Brussels in 1992. From 1996 to 2000, he was posted to the Permanent Mission of France to the United Nations in New York as Legal Adviser. He then returned to the central administration, where he served as Deputy Director of Legal Affairs.

In 2004, François Alabrune was appointed Consul General in Quebec City, a position he held until 2009. He then became Ambassador and Permanent Representative of France to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) in Vienna until 2014.

Appointed Director of Legal Affairs and Legal Adviser to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 2014, he represented France in proceedings before the International Court of Justice, the European Court of Human Rights, the Court of Justice of the European Union, the Permanent Court of Arbitration, the International Criminal Court, and the Central Commission for Navigation on the Rhine.

In September 2022, he became the Ambassador of France to the Kingdom of the Netherlands and Permanent Representative to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).

In October 2024, François Alabrune was nominated by France as a candidate for judge at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for the 2027-2036 term. The election is set to be held in November 2026 at the United Nations in New York, with voting by both the Security Council and the General Assembly.

Teaching and Publications

François Alabrune taught public international law at the Paris Dauphine University (1988-1992) and the Paris Institute of Political Studies (2001-2004). He has published a number of books and articles on international law and diplomacy, particularly on the law of the sea, international humanitarian law, and the International Criminal Court.

Other Participations

François Alabrune has been a member of the French Society of International Law since 2001 and a member of its Board of Directors from 2014 to 2022.

Honors and Decorations

Knight of the Legion of Honor (2008) Officer of the National Order of Quebec (2009) Officer of the National Order of Merit (2018) Grand Cross of the Order of Orange-Nassau (Netherlands) (2023)