Nicolas Lerner
Nicolas Lerner | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 29 June 1978 14th arrondissement of Paris, France |
| Alma mater | Sciences Po École nationale d'administration |
| Occupation | Civil servant |
| Office | Director General of Internal Security (2018–2024) Director General of External Security (2024–present) |
Nicolas Lerner (French pronunciation: [nikɔla lɛʁnɛʁ]; born 29 June 1978) is a French senior civil servant. He served as Director General of Internal Security (DGSI) from 2018 to 2024. On 20 December 2023, he was appointed by the Council of Ministers as Director General of External Security (DGSE), effective 9 January 2024.
Career
[edit]A civil servant at the Ministry of the Interior, Lerner was deputy chief of staff to the Paris Police Prefect under Chief of Staff Laurent Nuñez from 2012 to 2014 and subprefect of the arrondissement of Béziers from 2014 to 2015. In 2018, while deputy chief of staff to the Minister of the Interior, Lerner was appointed head of the Directorate General of Internal Security (DGSI).[1] He became the youngest head of French internal intelligence, at the age of 40.
Lerner was appointed Director General of External Security (DGSE), effective 9 January 2024,[2][3][4][5][6] with the mission, in particular, of modernising the service.[7] He is reported as having a keen interest for Africa,[8] as well as the Middle East.[9]
He was at the centre of a controversy in 2025. He was accused by Telegram founder Pavel Durov of having interfered with the Romanian presidential election by asking him to suppress certain "conservative" messages and by traveling to Romania a few days before the second round.[10] Durov did not provide any proof to sustain either of these accusations.[11] These "fake news"[12] were rejected by the Romanian Foreign Intelligence Service, calling them "attempts at manipulation and disinformation",[13] and by the French DGSE.[12]
Honours
[edit]- Knight of the Legion of Honour (2022)[14]
- Knight of the Ordre national du Mérite (2017)[15]
References
[edit]- ↑ "Nicolas Lerner nommé à la tête de la DGSI". 17 October 2018 – via Le Monde.
- ↑ Paris, David Chazan (27 December 2023). "New French spy chief has a to-do list the size of west Africa". www.thetimes.com.
- ↑ "Nicolas Lerner Appointed Head of French Foreign Intelligence". Waradana. 8 October 2024.
- ↑ "DGSE : Nicolas Lerner va remplacer Bernard Emié à la tête du renseignement extérieur". 20 December 2023 – via Le Monde.
- ↑ "French domestic intelligence chief appointed head of foreign espionage". 20 December 2023 – via Le Monde.
- ↑ Devin, Willy Le. "Nicolas Lerner, un préfet «moderne» pour diriger la DGSE". Libération.
- ↑ "Nicolas Lerner, nouveau patron de la DGSE chargé de « réorienter » le renseignement français à l'étranger". 21 December 2023 – via Le Monde.
- ↑ "France : France's new DGSE foreign intelligence boss takes keen interest in Africa - 26/02/2024". Intelligence Online. 26 February 2024.
- ↑ "The head of French intelligence secretly visited Beirut: He discussed the situation in the south, terrorism, and the displaced". dearborn.org.
- ↑ "Privé de voyage à Oslo, Pavel Durov critique à nouveau la France en visioconférence". France 24 (in French). 27 May 2025. Retrieved 19 July 2025.
- ↑ Leloup, Damien (22 May 2025). "Roumanie : à quoi joue Pavel Durov, le fondateur de Telegram qui accuse la France d'ingérence ?". Le Monde (in French). Retrieved 19 July 2025.
- 1 2 Gubert, Romain (18 June 2025). "Ce que la DGSE répond à Pavel Durov". Le Point (in French). Retrieved 19 July 2025.
- ↑ "SIE:French foreign intelligence service head did not visit Romania; attempts at manipulation and disinformation - AGERPRES". agerpres.ro. Retrieved 11 July 2025.
- ↑ "Décret du 13 juillet 2022 portant promotion et nomination à titre exceptionnel dans l'ordre national de la Légion d'honneur". Légifrance (in French).
- ↑ "Décret du 2 mai 2017 portant promotion et nomination". Légifrance (in French).
- 1978 births
- Living people
- 21st-century French civil servants
- Civil servants from Paris
- General Directorate for Internal Security
- Directors of the Directorate-General for External Security
- Sciences Po alumni
- École nationale d'administration alumni
- Knights of the Legion of Honour
- French recipients of the Legion of Honour
- Knights of the Ordre national du Mérite