PARIS: Patrick Maisonnave took up his post as the new French ambassador to Saudi Arabia last week.
Paris’s former envoy to Greece presented his credentials to Saudi Deputy Minister for Protocol Affairs Abdulmajeed Al-Smari on Sept. 1.
Born in September 1963, Maisonnave is a graduate of the prestigious National School of Administration. Prior to his posting to Riyadh he held a number of prominent diplomatic positions, as French ambassador to Israel from 2013 to 2016, then envoy for counter-terrorism at the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs until 2019.
Then from 2019 to 2023, he was France’s ambassador in Athens.
In his new role, Maisonnave will hope to coordinate French and Saudi efforts in a regional context weakened by Israel’s war in Gaza, which will enter its second year in October. Maisonnave will bring his considerable experience, as a former ambassador in Tel Aviv, to his new role in Riyadh.
He will also seek to strengthen economic cooperation and contribute to the pursuit of cultural partnerships between France and Saudi Arabia, notably within the framework of the major development of the AlUla archaeological site, which has been entrusted to France.
Maisonnave’s wife, Nadia Al-Sartawi, also works as a diplomat. In Athens she held the position of cultural attache at the French Embassy, where she made a major contribution to the promotion of French culture and language.
Al-Sartawi is the daughter of a leading member of the Palestinian Liberation Organization, Issam Al-Sartawi, who was engaged in dialogue with Israel in the years prior to the signing of the 1993 Oslo Peace Accords.
