Jean-Charles Ellermann-Kingombe

Jean-Charles Ellermann-Kingombe (born 28 December 1970) is a Danish diplomat and civil servant. He is the current Permanent Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs at the Prime Minister's Office, serving under Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen.

Ellermann-Kingombe is a career diplomat with a long service at the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He has served as Ambassador of Denmark to Afghanistan (2016–2017), and before that as Head of the Executive Secretariat, the chief of staff to the Minister of Foreign Affairs (2013–2016). He was the press advisor to the Minister for Foreign Affairs and the Minister of European Affairs (2010–2013), under Lene Espersen and later Villy Søvndal, and has also served as deputy head of various departments in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. From 2001 to 2007, he was stationed in Brussels, serving firstly as press secretary during the Danish EU presidency in 2002, and afterwards as spokesperson and cabinet member for the Danish EU Commissioners Poul Nielson (Development and Humanitarian Aid) and subsequently Mariann Fischer Boel (Agriculture).

He is the forthcoming Ambassador of Denmark to France, and will take up the position on 15 August 2024.

Early life and education
Jean-Charles Ellermann-Kingombe was born on 28 December 1970 in Copenhagen, Denmark. He grew up in Denmark with a Danish mother, Anette Larsen, and his father, Jean Onapota Kingombe, from the former Zaire - now the Democratic Republic of Congo. He attended French school as a child and is sometimes described as a "Francophone".

In 1996, Ellermann-Kingombe obtained a Master of Science in International Business from Copenhagen Business School. In 1995, during his master's programme, he studied International Marketing and Finance at HEC Paris, France.

Early career
After his studies in Paris, Ellermann-Kingombe was subsequently given an internship in Brussels, under the cabinet of the then EU Commissioner for the Environment, Ritt Bjerregaard. Here, the head of cabinet, Laurs Nørlund, advised Ellermann-Kingombe to choose the Danish Foreign Service, as he had otherwise envisioned a career in the private sector.

Ellermann-Kingombe started his diplomatic career as head of section (fuldmægtig) in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1996. He was soon posted to the Danish Embassy in Mozambique, where he served as Embassy Secretary in charge of environmental support aid.

In 2001, he was recalled from Maputo and stationed in Brussels in preparation for the Danish EU presidency in 2002. Here Ellermann-Kingombe was assigned as press secretary and spokesperson responsible for COREPER I related issues. From 2003, he served as spokesperson in the Cabinet of Poul Nielson, European Commissioner for International Cooperation and Development, in charge of relations with the Danish media and liaising with the European Parliament. Following the 2004 European elections, Nielsen was replaced as the Danish Commissioner, and Mariann Fischer Boel was selected. Ellermann-Kingombe continued to serve as a member of her cabinet, and she became EU Commissioner for Agriculture.

Ellermann-Kingombe was recalled to Copenhagen in 2007, serving as Deputy Head of the European Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, before becoming deputy director for Strategy and Policy Planning in 2010. However, he only held this position briefly, as in November of that year he was appointed press advisor to the Minister for Foreign Affairs and the Minister of European Affairs (2010–2013), serving under Lene Espersen and later Villy Søvndal. Between 2013 and 2016, he served as Head of the Executive Secretariat, a position corresponding to a chief of staff function to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, under ministers Holger K. Nielsen, Martin Lidegaard and Kristian Jensen.

Afghanistan
In 2016, Ellermann-Kingombe assumed his first ambassadorial appointment, becoming Ambassador of Denmark to Afghanistan. During his time as ambassador, Danish military forces were present in Afghanistan as part of the NATO Resolute Support Mission, and Ellermann-Kingombe visited and inspected the forces on several occasions.

He was recalled from Kabul in 2017, and replaced by Jakob Brix Tange. After his tenure in Afghanistan, Ellermann-Kingombe had a brief professional interlude and spent a few years as a senior project manager at the consultancy Struensee & co.

Prime Minister's Office
In 2019, he became the Permanent Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs at the Prime Minister's Office. He served briefly under Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen, before the 2019 Danish general election supplanted Rasmussen's majority, after which he has served under incumbent Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen. In this position, Ellermann-Kingombe heads the Foreign Policy Division of the department, in charge of foreign affairs, security policy, national security, international economic concerns such as those within the European Union, global security affairs, Nordic collaboration, and issues concerning security and defence, including NATO.

As the Prime Minister's chief diplomatic and security advisor, Ellermann-Kingombe serves a role similar to that of the National Security Advisor in the United States. He also functions as the political Sherpa of Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, during international summits and events.

In his role as Permanent Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Ellermann-Kingombe has been described as Frederiksen's ‘top diplomat’ and ‘closest advisor’. He has maintained regular dialogue with National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and with European security policy actors. In 2023, Copenhagen hosted an unofficial summit of high-level officials on Ukraine and peace efforts. Top diplomats from the US, Ukraine and a number of non-Western powers attended, and as a representative of the host nation, Ellermann-Kingombe oversaw much of the planning. He was present at the closed meeting held at the White House during Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen's meeting with President Joe Biden in the spring of 2022.

In 2022, he was mentioned as one of the top candidates to replace Lars Lose, as Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

France
In the 2024 ambassadorial reshuffle, Ellermann-Kingombe was appointed the Ambassador of Denmark to France, replacing Michael Starbæk Christensen. He will assume this position on 15 August 2024. The appointment of Ellermann-Kingombe was seen as a move responding to the growing strategic importance of Paris in European politics post-Brexit. His extensive diplomatic background and close ties to President Macron's political circle were perceived by observers as highlighting Denmark's enhanced focus on Franco-Danish relations.

Personal life
He is married to Henriette Ellermann-Kingombe, lady-in-waiting and private secretary to Queen Mary of Denmark.

National

 * 🇩🇰 Denmark:
 * Order_of_the_Dannebrog_R.svg Knight of the Order of the Dannebrog (2022)