H.E. Mr. Mifougo Youssouf Diarrassouba is the newly appointed Ambassador of the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire to the Kingdom of the Netherlands. He presented his credentials to His Majesty King Willem-Alexander on May 24th, 2023.
Before his career in diplomacy, Mr. Diarrassouba’s background lies in business and finance. He is well-versed in the field, having obtained multiple degrees and diplomas. Mr. Diarrassouba first acquired a University Diploma of Technology (DUT) in Management: Commerce at the National Higher Institute of Technical Education (INSET) in the capital city of Yamoussoukro. In 1991 and 1992, he obtained a Bachelor of Private Law and Master of Private Law: Business at the National University of Côte d’Ivoire.
Mr. Diarrassouba continued his studies to acquire a Graduate Diploma in Treasury at the National School of Administration of Côte d’Ivoire (ENA-Abidjan) in 1995 and a Diploma of Higher Banking and Financial Studies (DESBF) at the West African Center for Banking Studies and Training (COFEB/BCEAO) in 2001.
It is natural that Mr. Diarrassouba’s profession in economics, specifically finance, spanned over ten years. This experience was mostly tied to civil service, which he first entered in 1996 via the Ministry of Economy and Finance. Since then, he has held a variety of roles, including Representative of General Finance Revenue and Main Customs Revenue in the General Directorate of Public Accounting and Treasury (1998-1999, 2001-2003).
He was also the Director of Administrative and Financial Affairs under the Ministry of Communication, and the Ministry of Reconstruction and Reinsertion Programs (2003-2006, 2006-2007). Afterward, Ambassador Diarrassouba was the Deputy Chief of Staff at the Office of the Prime Minister for three years. Following this, he briefly returned to his financial roots as a Member and Treasurer of the Central Commission under the Independent Electoral Commission from 2010 to 2011.
In 2011, Ambassadord Diarrassouba made the transition to diplomacy. He embarked on his first mission abroad as Ambassador to the Republic of Guinea. His long service period earned him the title of Doyen (Dean) of the Diplomatic Corps since 2019. To complement his new professional path, Mr. Diarrassouba obtained an Executive Master’s in Development Policy and Management at Sciences Po Paris in 2018. The Netherlands is now the place of his second mission abroad as an Ambassador.
Throughout this time in civil service, Ambassador Diarrassouba occasionally held other roles, including but not limited to, Member of the Management Board of the National Identification Office (ONI), Member of the Board of Directors of the National Society of Land Transport (SONATT), and Chairman of the National Committee for the Coordination of Community Reintegration and Rehabilitation Activities (CNCARE-RC).
He has been awarded some honorary titles for his work, including Officer of the National Order of Côte d’Ivoire (2014) and Commander of the National Order of Merit of the Republic of Guinea (2023).
The diplomat community in The Hague sends a warm welcome to Ambassador Diarrassouba and wishes him all the best in his new term.
