Jean-Christophe Rufin

Jean-Christophe Rufin is a doctor, historian, novelist, and the former French Ambassador to Senegal and Gambia. Having worked for NGOs for more than 20 years, Rufin has led missions in Eritrea, Ethiopia, Afghanistan, the Philippines, Soudan, Rwanda and the Balkans. He is one of the founders of Doctors Without Borders. He was the administrator for the French Red Cross (1994-1996) and the president of Action contre la faim (2003-2006). 

Rufin has written historical and political essays, as well as science fiction and adventure novels. He is the author of numerous bestsellers, including The Abyssinian, for which he won the Goncourt Prize for a debut novel in 1997 and Brazil Red, the winner of the 2001 Goncourt Prize.  

In 2008, he was elected to the Académie Française and became one of its youngest members.