EU appoints Danish diplomat as Sahel representative after Slovenian political row blocks Fajon

EU member states on Thursday appointed Danish diplomat Birgitte Nygaard Markussen as the new European Union Special Representative for the Sahel. She will take up the one-year post, renewable, on 1 September.

The Council of the EU announced that Markussen will support High Representative Kaja Kallas in implementing the EU’s renewed approach to the Sahel region, adopted in 2025. Her mandate covers efforts to promote lasting peace, security, stability and sustainable development in Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, Niger and the wider area. She will work with national authorities, neighbouring countries, regional organisations, the African Union, the United Nations and other international partners, while also helping to strengthen regional cooperation on security, humanitarian and governance challenges.

🇪🇺 @EUCouncil has appointed Ms Birgitte Markussen (@BNMarkussen) 🇩🇰 as the new EU Special Representative for the Sahel.
She will support the EU's renewed approach to the region, leading political dialogue and promoting peace, security and stability.
👇https://t.co/iyoBW6qjzH
— EU Council Press (@EUCouncilPress) July 23, 2026

Markussen brings extensive experience of African affairs and EU external relations. She currently serves as Denmark’s Special Envoy for the Sahel and the Great Lakes. Between 2016 and 2023 she held senior positions in the European External Action Service (EEAS), including as head of the EU Delegation to the African Union. Earlier she was Denmark’s ambassador to Burkina Faso, Niger, Chad and the Central African Republic.

The appointment follows the withdrawal of the nomination of Slovenia’s former foreign minister Tanja Fajon. Kallas had initially proposed Fajon for the role after a competitive selection process. However, the new Slovenian government under Prime Minister Janez Janša strongly opposed the nomination. Foreign Minister Tone Kajzer raised procedural objections, arguing that the internal Slovenian nomination process under the previous Golob administration had been compromised and lacked proper governmental approval.

Scandal in Slovenia: Tanja Fajon’s EU Sahel appointment faces unexpected roadblocks

Faced with clear opposition from the candidate’s own member state, Kallas withdrew Fajon’s name and put forward Markussen, the second-ranked candidate. EU ambassadors approved the Danish diplomat on Wednesday, ending weeks of uncertainty and political controversy in both Ljubljana and Brussels.

The episode has been widely viewed in Slovenia as a domestic political clash between the outgoing centre-left government and the incoming right-wing administration, with Fajon’s European ambitions becoming collateral damage.

The article in Slovenian by EUalive’s partner Siol.net can be found here.

Caption: Birgitte Nygaard Markussen, [Council website]