Helga Maria Schmid (born 8 December 1960 in Dachau,

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

) is a German

diplomat A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or internati ...

who has been serving as the Secretary General of the

Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is the world's largest regional security-oriented intergovernmental organization with observer status at the United Nations. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, prom ...

(OSCE) since 2020. Prior to that appointment (from 2016 until 2020), she was the

Secretary General Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the organization. The term is derived ...

of the

European External Action Service The European External Action Service (EEAS) is the diplomatic service and combined foreign and defence ministry of the European Union (EU). The EEAS is led by the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy (HR/VP), who is also ...

(EEAS).

Education

Schmid has advanced degrees in Literature, History and Politics from the

Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich The Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (simply University of Munich or LMU; german: Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München) is a public research university in Munich, Germany. It is Germany's sixth-oldest university in continuous operatio ...

. She also studied International and

European Union law European Union law is a system of rules operating within the member states of the European Union (EU). Since the founding of the European Coal and Steel Community following World War II, the EU has developed the aim to "promote peace, its valu ...

, Economics and

International relations International relations (IR), sometimes referred to as international studies and international affairs, is the scientific study of interactions between sovereign states. In a broader sense, it concerns all activities between states—such as ...

at the Diplomatic Academy of Vienna.

Career

From 1988 Schmid worked in various positions within the

German Federal Foreign Office , logo = DEgov-AA-Logo en.svg , logo_width = 260 px , image = Auswaertiges Amt Berlin Eingang.jpg , picture_width = 300px , image_caption = Entrance to the Foreign Office building , headquarters = Werderscher Mark ...

and was assistant private secretary to the minister for European Affairs between 1990 and 1991. From 1991 to 1994 she was the press and public affairs officer for the German embassy in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, under successive ambassadors Jürgen Ruhfus and Immo Stabreit. From 1994 to 1998 Schmid worked as a political adviser to

Foreign Minister A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between cou ...

Klaus Kinkel Klaus Kinkel (17 December 1936 – 4 March 2019)

. She held the same position from 1998 to 2000 with Foreign Minister

Joschka Fischer Joseph Martin "Joschka" Fischer (born 12 April 1948) is a German retired politician of the Alliance 90/The Greens. He served as the foreign minister and as the vice-chancellor of Germany in the cabinet of Gerhard Schröder from 1998 to 2005. Fis ...

. Between 2000 and 2005, she followed various executive positions at the headquarters of the

Foreign Office Foreign may refer to: Government * Foreign policy, how a country interacts with other countries * Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in many countries ** Foreign Office, a department of the UK government ** Foreign office and foreign minister * Unit ...

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

. Among them she was Head of the Political Staff and Head of the Ministerial Office from 2003 to 2005. In 2006, Schmid became Director of the Policy Planning and Early Warning Unit of the High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy,

Javier Solana Francisco Javier Solana de Madariaga (; born 14 July 1942) is a Spanish physicist and PSOE The Spanish Socialist Workers' Party ( es, Partido Socialista Obrero Español ; PSOE ) is a social-democraticThe PSOE is described as a social-dem ...

, in the

General Secretariat of the Council of the European Union The General Secretariat of the Council of the European Union, also known as Council Secretariat, assists the Council of the European Union, the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, the European Council and the President of the Euro ...

in Brussels. Following the founding of the

, Schmid became deputy secretary-general for political affairs in 2010, serving under secretary general

Pierre Vimont Pierre Vimont (born 15 June 1949) is a French diplomat who served as the Executive Secretary-General of the European External Action Service (EEAS) from 2010 until 2015. His current rank in the French civil service is "Ambassadeur de France", which ...

. In this capacity, she was involved in negotiations for the

Nuclear program of Iran The nuclear program of Iran is an ongoing scientific effort by Iran to research nuclear technology that can be used to make nuclear weapons. Iran has several research sites, two uranium mines, a research reactor, and uranium processing facilit ...

. The task was to negotiate with Abbas Araghchi and continue the high level discussions, while the technical level was ongoing. In the negotiations for the

EU-3 The EU three, also known as EU big three, EU triumvirate, EU trio or simply E3, refers to France, Germany and Italy, a group that consists of the three large founding members of the European Union. It had also been used to refer to the grouping o ...

nuclear agreement with

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

, Schmid was the lead author of the 100-page treaty which was successfully concluded in 2015, while holding the consent of current president Rouhani, who at the time was the Iranian Chief Negotiator in the Nuclear Dispute. In September 2020, on the recommendation of

Heiko Maas Heiko Josef Maas (; born 19 September 1966) is a German lawyer and politician of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) who served as the Federal Minister of Foreign Affairs (2018–2021) and as the Federal Minister of Justice and Consumer Protectio ...

, Schmid was nominated by the German government of

Chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

Angela Merkel Angela Dorothea Merkel (; ; born 17 July 1954) is a German former politician and scientist who served as Chancellor of Germany from 2005 to 2021. A member of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), she previously served as Leader of the Oppo ...

as a candidate to become secretary-general of the

(OSCE). On 4 December 2020, she was formally appointed to the position. Secretary Kerry Meets With European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs Mogherini Amid Iranian Nuclear Negotiations in Austria

Secretary Kerry Meets With European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs Mogherini Amid Iranian Nuclear Negotiations in Austria

Other activities

* Center for International Peace Operations (ZIF), Member of the International Advisory Board

Recognition

In 2009, Schmid received the . In November 2015, Foreign Minister

Frank-Walter Steinmeier Frank-Walter Steinmeier (; born 5 January 1956) is a German politician serving as President of Germany since 19 March 2017. He was previously Federal Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2005 to 2009 and again from 2013 to 2017, as well as Vice Chan ...

awarded her the

Federal Cross of Merit The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (german: Verdienstorden der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, or , BVO) is the only federal decoration of Germany. It is awarded for special achievements in political, economic, cultural, intellect ...

class I.

Quotes

*"Women are the better negotiators." *"When it comes to the solution to the Syria crisis, the EU position is clear: a lasting solution to the conflict can only be achieved through a Syrian-led political process leading to a transition. Which means obviously that you also talk to the representatives of the Assad regime."

References

External links

Curriculum Vitae in German on the homepage of the EEAS
(PDF file; 109 kB)
Curriculum Vitae in English on the EEAS homepage
(PDF file; 60 kB)

(

Körber Foundation The Körber Foundation (German: ''Körber-Stiftung'') is a nonprofit organization, established in 1959 by German businessman Kurt A. Körber. It provides a platform to discuss present political topics and develops operational projects on social an ...

) {{DEFAULTSORT:Schmid, Helga 1960 births Living people Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich alumni 20th-century German diplomats German women diplomats 21st-century German diplomats Officers Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany OSCE Secretaries General 20th-century German women 21st-century German women