The Council of the European Union has appointed Danish diplomat Birgitte Nygaard Markussen as the new EU Special Representative (EUSR) for the Sahel region, effective 1 September 2026, with an initial mandate until 31 August 2027. She succeeds João Cravinho, who held the post since November 2024. Markussen will support the High Representative in implementing the EU's renewed approach to the Sahel, adopted in 2025, and will lead political dialogue with partners in Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, and the broader region. Her role includes promoting peace, security, stability, and sustainable development, as well as coordinating EU political, security, and development engagement. She will work closely with Sahel governments, neighbouring countries, regional organisations, the United Nations, the African Union, and other international partners to address security, humanitarian, and governance challenges. Markussen currently serves as Denmark's Special Envoy to the Sahel and Great Lakes. She previously held senior EEAS positions, including Head of the EU Delegation to the African Union and EU Ambassador to the UN Economic Commission for Africa (2016–2023), and earlier served as Denmark's Ambassador to Burkina Faso, Niger, Chad, and the Central African Republic. The appointment underscores the EU's continued focus on the Sahel, a region grappling with insurgency, political instability, and humanitarian crises. The EUSR post, one of eleven currently active, was first created in 1996 to promote EU policies in regions of strategic interest.
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