François Heisbourg

Special Advisor at the Paris Foundation Pour la Recherche Stratégique

François Heisbourg is Senior Adviser on Europe of the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) and Special Adviser of the Paris-based Fondation pour la Recherche Stratégique (FRS). Since the beginning of 2022, he has been focusing on French and European military assistance to Ukraine. During his distinguished career, Mr Heisbourg has served in government, industry, and academia. He dealt with defence and national security issues as part of Emmanuel Macron’s first presidential campaign (2016-17). Mr Heisebourg Chaired the Council of the Geneva Centre for Security Policy (GCSP) from 1998 to 2018, and of the IISS from 2001 to 2018, and was a Richard von Weizsäcker Fellow at the Bosch Academy in Berlin from 2015 to 2017.  Mr Heisebourg has made notable contributions to French defence policymaking, including the 2006 White Paper, La France face au terrorisme, as well as defence and national security White Papers under President Nicolas Sarkozy (2007-08) and President François Hollande (2012-13). Mr Hisebourg has also sat on consultative bodies for the International Commission on Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament, the International Commission on the Balkans, and the European Commission. He has written extensively on defence and security questions. His latest book, Un monde sans l‘Amérique, discusses the consequences of US strategic shifts.

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Updated: March 17, 2025