Nicolas Roche

Career


– Since March 2025: General Secretary of the SGDSN (General Secretariat for Defense and National Security).
– 2022-2025: French Ambassador to Iran.
– 2019-2022, Chief of Staff to Mr. Jean-Yves Le Drian, Minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs
– 2016-2019, Director of Strategic Affairs, Security and Disarmament at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
– 2014-2016, Director of Strategy at the CEA’s Military Applications Division
– 2012-2014, Diplomatic Advisor to the Minister of Defense
– 2011- 2012, First Counsellor at the French Embassy in Israel
– 2006 to 2010, Counsellor for politico-military affairs at the French Embassy in the United States (defense policy, NATO, proliferation, deterrence, nuclear issues, cyberdefense, space, regional crises)
– 2004-2006, editor at the Sub-Directorate for Non-proliferation and Nuclear Disarmament, in charge of the Iranian nuclear dossier, export controls on nuclear goods and materials, and India.
– 2001-2004, editor in the European and Common Security Policy Department, in charge of institutional issues under the second pillar, the draft Constitutional Treaty and European defense.
– Graduate of the École nationale d’administration (ENA) (Nelson Mandela class)
– Diploma in paleographic archiving from the École nationale des Chartes
Publications

Pourquoi la dissuasion, Presses Universitaires de France, 2017

CIENS team

Frédéric Gloriant

Director – PhD History
Europe of defense / Nuclear Deterrence / France

Stéphanie Braquehais

Project & Comms Manager

Eve Benhamou

PhD History
Middle-East – Nuclear Defense

Marie-Gabrielle Bertran

PhD Geography
Cybersecurity – Russia

Pierre-Louis Six

PhD History
Russian foreign policy – Nuclear issues – Uranium

Louise Matz

PhD History
Nuclear – Deterrence – Air Force

Elsa Novelli

PhD Philosophy
Cognitive Warfare – Attention Economy – AI

Julien Dubois

PhD Student
Ukraine – Nuclear – Non-Proliferation

Our associate researchers

Yannick Pincé

PhD History
Nuclear issues – Deterrence – Domestic policy

Johanna Möhring

PhD Political Science
AI – Military Command

Maïlys Mangin

PhD Political Science
Iran – Nuclear Defense – AI – Information Warfare

Our associate experts

Laurent Prosperi

PhD in IT

Paul Zajac

Partner Relations Coordinator. CEA Associate Expert

Dominique Mongin

History Lecturer, CEA

Guillaume Schlumberger

Associate researcher at the Fondation pour la Recherche Stratégique

Mélanie Rosselet

Diplomat

Our speakers

Isabelle Facon

Deputy Director at the Strategic Research Foundation

Corentin Brustlein

Political Delegate

Lise Dubois

PhD Student

Founder

Nicolas Roche

Ambassador, CIENS Honorary Chairman