Mr. Kone Tanou Leon is the ECOWAS Permanent Representative to the United Nations (UN). He was born on the 4^th of March 1955 in Toumodi, Republic of Côte d’Ivoire. He holds a Master’s Degree in Business and Public Administration from the South-Eastern University. Washington D. C, U.S.A (1982). This is complimented by a 1986 High Studies Diploma in Commercial Policy from the General Agreements on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) course in Geneva, Switzerland. He had earlier in 1979 obtained a Bachelor of Social Sciences Degree from the University of Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire as well as a Degree in History and Geography in 1977 from the same institution.

Mr. Tanou began his public service life in 1983 as Head of the Department of Trade, Ministry of Commerce, Cote d’Ivoire. Before his current appointment, he was Minister Counsellor and Deputy High Commissioner, Embassy of Cote d’Ivoire in the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Benin from January 2012 to April 2014.

Between August 2007 and January 2012, Tanou was the Counselor, economic affairs, bilateral cooperation and ECOWAS matters and later First Counselor at the same Embassy. He had been the Deputy Director of Documentation and Archives of the Department of Communication and Information, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Côte d’Ivoire between March 2005 and December 2006.

He had also served as the Senior Officer, Department of Ivoirians abroad, Ministry of Foreign Affairs after completing his term as Senior Officer in the Department of International Economic Relations of the same Ministry between 2002 and 2005

Mr. Tanou was the Counsellor in charge of Economic and Commercial Affairs, Embassy of Côte d’Ivoire in Algeria and later Tunisia between July 1987 and October 2002.

He has participated in several ECOWAS technical meetings from 2007 up to the period of his current appointment. These meetings included the Council of Ministers and ECOWAS Ordinary and Extraordinary Summits as well as related meetings such as the annual Conferences of the American Planning Association (APA), Boston in April 1981 and in April 1982 in Dallas (Texas) USA.

Among the relevant training sessions he has attended are the Marketing Training

Seminar (MATCHMAKERII) for Export in Development Emerging Countries, Rotterdam, Netherlands in March 1985 as well as the seminar on fairs, exhibitions and trade missions organized for promoters of African Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) French exporting countries by ITC / UNCTAD / GATT in Geneva, Switzerland, in March 1986.

Mr. Tanou had been the President of the 62^nd edition of the trainees of the GATT in Geneva, Switzerland 1986 and a member of the Ariana La Rose Rotary Club of the District 9010, Tunis. He was also the chairman of the Diplomatic Club of Algiers between 1992 and 1993 and had been a member of the Italian Club of Tunis in the years 1999 to 2000

He is fluent in both French and English and has a working knowledge of Spanish. He is married with four children.