Burkina Faso: Two New Spokespersons Represent The Sahel Alliance

Since August 2023, two new spokespersons have been representing the Alliance Sahel in Burkina Faso: H.E. Kristian Kirkegaard Edinger, Ambassador of Denmark, and Mr Jan Henrik Meise, Head of Cooperation at the German Embassy. They replace Gilles Chausse, Director of Agence Française de Développement (AFD) in Burkina Faso, who served in this capacity since September 2020. 

As part of their mandate to represent the Alliance Sahel in Burkina Faso, the two spokespersons wish to focus the coordination efforts of Alliance members on two main areas where the Alliance Sahel can offer the greatest added value: the promotion of the Integrated Territorial Approach (ITA) in secondary municipalities and efforts to harmonise public procurement procedures.

They agreed to adopt a joint working agenda for 2024. They will also work on adopting a meeting agenda with the Burkinabe authorities.

The Alliance Sahel would like to thank Gilles Chausse, for his work as the previous spokesperson in Burkina Faso since 2020.

HEM Kristian Kirkegaard Edinger, Ambassador of Denmark in Burkina Faso

Kristian Kirkegaard Edinger has been appointed Danish Ambassador in Burkina Faso in September 2022. His duties also cover Niger, Chad and Benin.

He has worked for the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs for almost 20 years and has held the following positions:

• From 2019 to 2022, he was the Sahel Special Envoy for the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
• From 2014 to 2018, he was a Seconded National Expert as Sahel Coordinator for the European External Action Service in Brussels.
• From 2010 to 2014, he was the Head of Cooperation and then Head of Mission, Chargé d’Affaires e.p., at the Danish Embassy in Benin.

Before joining the Ministry, he worked for NGOs and in the private sector, where he held positions in Bolivia and Mozambique.

Kristian Kirkegaard Edinger holds a Master’s degree in International Education and Development Studies from the University of Copenhagen, as well as a Master’s degree in Spanish Language Studies from the Copenhagen Business School.

Jan Henrik Meise, Head of Cooperation at the German Embassy in Burkina Faso

Jan Henrik Meise studied economics, political science and Islamic studies in Bonn, Paris and Damascus from 2003 to 2009. Following his studies, he conducted research on economic and financial issues in Israel, Palestine and Uganda from 2009 to 2011.  

Subsequently (2011-2012), he joined the German Ministry for Development Cooperation, where he was responsible for issues relating to innovative development financing and microfinance.

He continued his career at the Permanent Representation of the Federal Republic of Germany to the EU, where he was responsible for ACP-EU partnership issues, European development policy in Africa, and EU financial instruments for official development assistance. 

From 2016 to 2020, he held the position of Head of Cooperation at the German Embassy in Mali, before returning to the German Ministry for Cooperation as Head of Cooperation Relations with Iraq. 

Since 2022, he has been working as the Head of Cooperation and Deputy Head of Mission at the German Embassy in Burkina Faso.