Pierre-Arnaud Blanchard is a 2026-27 Visiting Fellow at The Washington Institute. A career French diplomat, Blanchard is an expert on Middle Eastern affairs. From 2022 to 2026, he worked on Israeli-Palestinian affairs at the French general consulate in Jerusalem. From 2020-2022, he served as deputy head of the Near East Department at the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Paris, coordinating policy teams responsible for Lebanon, Syria, Egypt, Jordan, Israel and the Palestinian territories. He has also been posted to the French embassy in Tehran, Iran.
In addition to his diplomatic service, Blanchard has taught international relations and international law at École Militaire, the leading French military academy, and the Sorbonne. He graduated from the École Nationale d’Administration, and he holds a master's in public administration from Sciences Po and a BA in philosophy from the Sorbonne. He has also studied at the American University in Beirut, Lebanon.
