Nicolas Lerner

Nicolas Lerner
Born (1978-06-29) June 29, 1978
Paris, France

Nicolas Lerner, born June 29, 1978, in the 14th arrondissement of Paris, is a senior French civil servant.

He served as Director General of Internal Security at DGSI from 2018 to 2024. On December 20, 2023, he was appointed by the Council of Ministers as General Director of Directorate General for External Security, DGSE, effective January 9, 2024.

Career

In 2018, while Deputy Director at the Ministry of the Interior, he was appointed head of the Directorate General of Internal Security (DGSI).[1] He then became the youngest head of French internal intelligence, at the age of 40.

He was appointed Director General of External Security (DGSE), effective January 9, 2024[2] [3] [4] [5] [6] with the mission, in particular, of modernizing this service.[7]
He is reported as having a keen interest for Africa,[8] as well as the Middle East.[9]

He was at the center of a controversy in 2025. He was accused by Telegram founder Pavel Durov of having interfered with the Romanian presidential elections by asking him to suppress certain "conservative" messages and by traveling to Romania a few days before the second round.[10] Pavel Durov didn't 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 French DGSE.[12]

References

  1. ^ "Nicolas Lerner nommé à la tête de la DGSI". October 17, 2018 – via Le Monde.
  2. ^ Paris, David Chazan (December 27, 2023). "New French spy chief has a to-do list the size of west Africa". www.thetimes.com.
  3. ^ "Nicolas Lerner Appointed Head of French Foreign Intelligence". Waradana. October 8, 2024.
  4. ^ "DGSE : Nicolas Lerner va remplacer Bernard Emié à la tête du renseignement extérieur". December 20, 2023 – via Le Monde.
  5. ^ "French domestic intelligence chief appointed head of foreign espionage". December 20, 2023 – via Le Monde.
  6. ^ Devin, Willy Le. "Nicolas Lerner, un préfet «moderne» pour diriger la DGSE". Libération.
  7. ^ "Nicolas Lerner, nouveau patron de la DGSE chargé de « réorienter » le renseignement français à l'étranger". December 21, 2023 – via Le Monde.
  8. ^ "France : France's new DGSE foreign intelligence boss takes keen interest in Africa - 26/02/2024". Intelligence Online. February 26, 2024.
  9. ^ "The head of French intelligence secretly visited Beirut: He discussed the situation in the south, terrorism, and the displaced". dearborn.org.
  10. ^ "Privé de voyage à Oslo, Pavel Durov critique à nouveau la France en visioconférence". France 24 (in French). 2025-05-27. Retrieved 2025-07-19.
  11. ^ Leloup, Damien (2025-05-22). "Roumanie : à quoi joue Pavel Durov, le fondateur de Telegram qui accuse la France d'ingérence ?". Le Monde (in French). Retrieved 2025-07-19.
  12. ^ a b Gubert, Romain (2025-06-18). "Ce que la DGSE répond à Pavel Durov". Le Point (in French). Retrieved 2025-07-19.
  13. ^ "SIE:French foreign intelligence service head did not visit Romania; attempts at manipulation and disinformation - AGERPRES". agerpres.ro. Retrieved 2025-07-11.
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