François Grignon

Director of Africa Program
Nairobi, Kenya

Crisis Group role:

As Director of the Africa Program, François Grignon oversees four projects covering Central, Southern, West and the Horn of Africa, and reporting on 16 different countries within these regions. Over the years the program has done extensive work in support of peacemaking and peacebuilding in Sierra Leone, Liberia, Côte d’Ivoire, Burundi, Congo, Uganda, Sudan and Somalia and is actively engaged to support conflict prevention and prevent state collapse in Guinea, Zimbabwe, Central African Republic and Nigeria.

Areas of expertise:

• East and Central Africa
• State formation and reconstruction
• Democratisation processes and elections
• Risk and threat analysis on peace processes and peacekeeping operations
• Peacemaking and peacekeeping
• Political economy of democratisation, conflict, war and peace

Professional background:

• Chief, Joint Mission Analysis Cell, Office of the SRSG, UN Mission in the DR Congo, Kinshasa, (2004-2006)
• DFID Consultant on "The Critical Path for a Successful Transition in the DR Congo", 2004
• Crisis Group Central Africa Project Director (2000-2004)
• Deputy Director and Research Fellow, French Institute for Research in Africa, Nairobi (1997-2000)
• Senior Associate Member, St Antony's College, Oxford (1996-1997)
• PhD on Kenyan politics, Montesquieu University, Bordeaux

Publications and media:

• "Sudan, Preparing for a peaceful southern secession", Reuters The Great Debate, 17 December 2009
• "Les FDLR doivent désarmer", Le Soir, 18 September 2009
• "Time for a new approach to disarm the FDLR", The Africa Report, 7 August 2009
• "A um país governado pelas armas, as eleições não bastam", Publico, 29 June 2009
• "Rape as a Weapon of War in Congo", Spiegel International, 11 June 2009
• Zimbabwe: "Kick Mugabe and Tsvangirai Out, Get a New Team", The East African, 20 December 2008
• "The Congo Re-erupts" , with Fabienne Hara, Wall Street Journal Europe, 4 November 2008
• "Tanzania must help end Zimbabwe’s military dictatorship", The East African, 25 August 2008
• "Government Has Real Chance to Boost Peace", allAfrica, 7 August 2008
• "Wohin mit dem Dieb?", Sueddeutsche Zeitung, 25 June 2008
• "Peace Advocates Deserve Support", allAfrica.com, 25 June 2008
• "Crisis en Zimbabue", El Mundo, 24 June 2008
• "The Problem with Peacekeeping", with Daniela Kroslak, Current History, April 2008
• "Preparing for a Rigged Result", The East African, 31 March 2008
• "Quelles perspectives après la présidentielle?", allAfrica.com, 29 March 2008
• "Difficile transition vers la démocratie et la paix au Congo", Le Monde, 21 July 2007
• "Nigeria: Urgent Action Needed to Rescue Election", allAfrica.com, 17 April 2007
• The Democratic Republic of Congo: Economic Dimensions of War and Peace, IPA Occasional paper series, Lynne Rienner (Boulder, 2006), with Michael Nest and Emizet F. Kisangani, winner of Choice Magazine 2006 Outstanding Academic Title Award
• The Democratic Republic of Congo: Economic Dimensions of War and Peace (Boulder, 2006), with Michael Nest and Emizet F. Kisangani
• "International response to the illegal exploitation of resources in DRC", in M Malan, J Gomes Porto (eds) Challenges of peace implementation: The UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, ISS (Pretoria, 2003)
• Out for the Count! The 1997 General Elections and Prospects for Democracy in Kenya (Kampala, 2001), co-edited with Marcel Rutten and Alamin Mazrui
• L’Afrique orientale – Annuaire 2000 (Paris, 2000), co-edited with Hervé Maupeu
• Le Kenya Contemporain (Paris, 1998), co-edited with Gérard Prunier
• Author and editor of more than 20 reports on Rwanda, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo as Crisis Group Central Africa Project director, 2000-2004
• Frequent interviews with African, U.S. and European media on Africa

Languages: 

• French (native)
• English (fluent)

Click here for a high-resolution photo of Francois Grignon.