Auguste Barry

Colonel Auguste Denise Barry is a senior defense and security expert from Burkina Faso with over four decades of distinguished service in the national armed forces and the Burkinabè government. He is the founder and Executive Director of the Center for Strategic Studies in Defense and Security (CESDS) and is currently completing his PhD at the Institute for International Relations of Cameroon (IRIC), University of Yaoundé II-Soa.

Colonel Barry retired from the armed forces in August 2025 after a career spanning high-level command, strategic planning, and public leadership. His expertise covers defense and security governance, higher education, strategic foresight, geopolitics, mediation, peacebuilding, and conflict management and resolution. 

In parallel with his military career, Colonel Barry has built a strong academic and policy profile as a consultant to national governments, regional and international organisations, and international NGOs and think tanks such as Search for Common Ground and the Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (DCAF). He is also a widely respected university lecturer across West and Central Africa. In his home country, he has served as Minister of Security (2011) and as Minister of Territorial Administration, Decentralization and Security (2014-2015), and has advised the Presidency and Ministry of Defense in multiple senior roles. Internationally, he has contributed to numerous initiatives, including military advisor to the Special Representative of the Secretary General of the United Nations in CAR and most recently as coordinator of the security pillar for the AU–UN High-Level Independent Panel on Security and Development in the Sahel.

A recipient of numerous national and international honors, including Burkina Faso’s rank of Commander of the Order of Étalon, he is also an active author and speaker on peace, security sector reform, and prevention of conflict and violent extremism, contributing to policy dialogue at regional and global levels. Colonel Barry is a graduate of Cameroon’s International War College of Youndé, holds a Master’s degree in Strategy, Defense and Security by the University of Youndé II-Soa, and has earned numerous additional military and civilian qualifications.