Jean-Philippe LECOUFFE

Lieutenant General (ret.) of the French Gendarmerie, Jean-Philippe Lecouffe has served since May 2021 as Deputy Executive Director and Head of Operations at Europol, the European Union’s law enforcement agency.

He joined the Gendarmerie in 1988 after graduating from Saint-Cyr Military Academy and has held command positions both in mainland France and overseas. He led major investigative units, including the Versailles Regional Criminal Investigation Unit and the Regional Gendarmerie Force in Isere, and served as Police Attaché at the French Embassy in Kabul.

As a senior advisor to the Minister of Defence, he contributed to shaping France’s national internal security strategy.

As a general, he commanded the Languedoc-Roussillon Gendarmerie Region and later led the National Criminal Investigation Department at the Gendarmerie’s General Directorate (DGGN), where he oversaw the fight against organised crime and cybercrime, notably the Encrochat case.

At Europol, he supervises the European centres combating organised crime, cybercrime, economic and financial crime and terrorism.

He is a graduate of Saint-Cyr, the French War College, and the National Institute for Advanced Studies in Security and Justice (INHESJ), and speaks both French and English fluently.