His Excellency Ambassador Jean-Arthur Régibeau is the Coordinator for Sanctions at
the Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where he leads Belgium’s policy on
international sanctions and restrictive measures. In this capacity, he oversees the
development, coordination and implementation of sanctions policy, contributing to Belgium’s engagement on key geopolitical and security challenges.
A career diplomat with more than twenty-five years of experience, Ambassador Régibeau has held some of Belgium’s most senior diplomatic appointments. He served as Ambassador of Belgium to the United States (2020-2024), where he represented the Kingdom of Belgium in Washington, D.C., strengthening political, economic and transatlantic relations with one of Belgium’s closest strategic partners. Prior to this, he served as Ambassador to the Russian Federation (2016-2020), with concurrent accreditation to Armenia, Belarus and Uzbekistan, during a period of heightened geopolitical tensions. Throughout his distinguished diplomatic career, Ambassador Régibeau has occupied several key leadership positions within the Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. These include Director-General for Multilateral Organizations, where he contributed to the preparation and delivery of Belgium’s 2010 Presidency of the Council of the European Union, Head of the Private Office of the Belgian Minister of Defence, Diplomatic Adviser to the Minister of Defence, and First Secretary at the Belgian Embassy in Berlin. Between 2012 and 2016, he also served as Deputy Commissioner for the Commemoration of the First World War, leading Belgium’s international commemorative efforts.
Since 2024, Ambassador Régibeau has also served as a Member of the Board of Directors of John Cockerill, bringing his extensive expertise in international affairs, geopolitics and strategic governance to one of Belgium’s leading industrial and engineering groups. Ambassador Régibeau holds a Master of Laws from the University of Liège, a Certificate in International Law from Leiden University, and a Diploma in International Relations from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) in Bologna.
He has lectured extensively on European institutions, globalization and international security, and is the author of several publications on strategic and security issues, including La doctrine nucléaire française et sa dimension européenne (The French Nuclear Doctrine and its European Dimension, Nice, 1987) and Les causes profondes du 11 septembre (The Deep Causes of 9/11), published in La démocratie après le 11 septembre (University of Liège, 2004).
Fluent in French, Dutch, English and German, with working knowledge of Italian and Russian, Ambassador Régibeau is widely recognised for his expertise in diplomacy, multilateral affairs, European governance, international security and sanctions policy.