The Diplomatic Academy of Vienna (DA;

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

: ''Diplomatische Akademie Wien''), also known as the Vienna School of International Studies, is a

postgraduate Postgraduate or graduate education refers to academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate ( bachelor's) degree. The organization and stru ...

professional school based in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

, with focused training for students and professionals in the areas of

international affairs 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 ...

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...

languages Language is a structured system of communication. The structure of a language is its grammar and the free components are its vocabulary. Languages are the primary means by which humans communicate, and may be conveyed through a variety of met ...

history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...

and

economics Economics () is the social science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and intera ...

. The school confers

PhD PHD or PhD may refer to: * Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification Entertainment * '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series * ''Piled Higher and Deeper'', a web comic * Ph.D. (band), a 1980s British group ** Ph.D. (Ph.D. albu ...

degrees,

Master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

s and

postgraduate diploma A postgraduate diploma (PgD, PgDip, PGDip, PG Dip., PGD, Dipl. PG, PDE) is a postgraduate qualification awarded after a university degree, which supplements the original degree and awards them with a graduate diploma. Countries that award postg ...

s upon its graduates. It is an affiliate member school of the

Association of Professional Schools of International Affairs The Association of Professional Schools of International Affairs (APSIA) is a non-profit educational organization of graduate schools of international affairs, with 40 members and 26 affiliates around the world. Starting as a network of Americ ...

in Austria. The Diplomatic Academy's director (since 2017) is Ambassador

Emil Brix Emil Brix (born 1956) is an Austrian diplomat and historian. Life and career Born 1956 in Vienna, he studied English and History at the University of Vienna. Starting in 1982, he worked for the Foreign Service of the Republic of Austria. From ...

(b. 1956 in Vienna), an Austrian diplomat and historian.

History

The academy was originally established by Empress

Maria Theresa Maria Theresa Walburga Amalia Christina (german: Maria Theresia; 13 May 1717 – 29 November 1780) was ruler of the Habsburg dominions from 1740 until her death in 1780, and the only woman to hold the position ''suo jure'' (in her own right). ...

in 1754 as the

Oriental Academy The Orient is a term for the East in relation to Europe, traditionally comprising anything belonging to the Eastern world. It is the antonym of ''Occident'', the Western World. In English, it is largely a metonym for, and coterminous with, the ...

, for the purpose of training young diplomats to represent the

Habsburg Empire The Habsburg monarchy (german: Habsburgermonarchie, ), also known as the Danubian monarchy (german: Donaumonarchie, ), or Habsburg Empire (german: Habsburgerreich, ), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities ...

abroad. The school was renamed multiple times and reorganized over the centuries, and it eventually gained independent public institution status in 1996. Given its roots, the Diplomatic Academy claims to be the oldest school of its kind, one that is dedicated to professional foreign affairs training.

Academics

The academy offers graduate degrees only. Students may choose to pursue a two-year program that leads towards either a Master of Advanced International Studies (MAIS) or a Master of Science in Environmental Technology and International Affairs (MSc ETIA) degree. The MAIS program is run in conjunction with the

University of Vienna The University of Vienna (german: Universität Wien) is a public research university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world. With its long and rich histor ...

, while the MSc ETIA courses are offered in partnership with the

Technical University of Vienna TU Wien (TUW; german: Technische Universität Wien; still known in English as the Vienna University of Technology from 1975–2014) is one of the major universities in Vienna, Austria. The university finds high international and domestic recogn ...

. A one-year "Diploma Programme" is also available to postgraduates.

Directors of the academy

Heinrich Pfusterschmid-Hardtenstein Heinrich Pfusterschmid-Hardtenstein (*16 January 1927, Graz, Styria) is a former Austrian diplomat, who has also been active in the academic world and cultural policy. Biography After attending elementary and secondary school (1934–45) Heinri ...

, 1978–1986 * Alfred Missong jun., 1986–1994 *Paul Leifer, 1994–1999 *Ernst Sucharipa, 1999–2003 *

Jiří Gruša Jiří Gruša (10 November 1938, in Pardubice – 28 October 2011, in Bad Oeynhausen) was a Czech people, Czech poet, novelist, translator, diplomat and politician.Emil Brix Emil Brix (born 1956) is an Austrian diplomat and historian. Life and career Born 1956 in Vienna, he studied English and History at the University of Vienna. Starting in 1982, he worked for the Foreign Service of the Republic of Austria. From ...

, 2017–present

Notable people

A number of prominent figures in politics, economics and law have associations with the Diplomatic Academy: *

Celso Amorim Celso Luiz Nunes Amorim (born 3 June 1942) is a Brazilian diplomat who served as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 20 July 1993 to 31 December 1994 under President Itamar Franco and again from 1 January 2003 to 31 December 2010 under President Lu ...

– former Brazilian Minister of Defence and

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 ...

and ambassador to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. Amorim graduated from the academy in 1967. *

Jiří Gruša Jiří Gruša (10 November 1938, in Pardubice – 28 October 2011, in Bad Oeynhausen) was a Czech people, Czech poet, novelist, translator, diplomat and politician.Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus' Places *Czech, ...

poet and former Czech ambassador to Austria. Served as the academy's director from 2005 to 2009. *

Valentin Inzko Valentin Inzko (born 22 May 1949) is an Austrian diplomat who served as the High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina from 2009 to 2021. He also served as the European Union Special Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina from 2009 to 2011 ...

– Austrian diplomat, former

High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina The High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina, together with the Office of the High Representative (OHR) in Bosnia and Herzegovina, were created in 1995 immediately after the signing of the Dayton Agreement which ended the 1992–1995 Bosn ...

. Graduated in 1974. *

Jan Kickert Jan Kickert (born 19 September 1964) is the Austrian Permanent Representative to the United Nations. He was born in Thailand, studied at the University of Vienna and the Diplomatic Academy of Vienna, and served in a variety of diplomatic and int ...

(born 1964) – Austrian

Permanent Representative to the United Nations A permanent representative to the United Nations (sometimes called a "UN ambassador")"History of Ambassadors", United States Mission to the United Nations, March 2011, webpagUSUN-a. is the head of a country's diplomatic mission to the United Nati ...

. *

Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović (; born 29 April 1968) is a Croatian politician and diplomat who served as President of Croatia from 2015 to 2020. She was the first woman to be elected to the office since the first multi-party elections in 1990 and ...

– 4th

President of the Republic of Croatia The president of Croatia, officially the President of the Republic of Croatia ( hr, Predsjednik Republike Hrvatske), is the head of state, commander-in-chief of the military and chief representative of the Republic of Croatia both within the ...

. *

Heinz Schaden Heinz Schaden (born April 29, 1954) is an Austrian politician of the Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ) and was the mayor of Salzburg from 1999 to 2017. Schaden studied political science and journalism at Salzburg University, and did his d ...

– Austrian Social Democratic Party politician and former mayor of

Salzburg Salzburg (, ; literally "Salt-Castle"; bar, Soizbuag, label=Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian) is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020, it had a population of 156,872. The town is on the site of the ...

. Attended DA in the 1980s. *

Kurt Waldheim Kurt Josef Waldheim (; 21 December 1918 – 14 June 2007) was an Austrian politician and diplomat. Waldheim was the Secretary-General of the United Nations from 1972 to 1981 and president of Austria from 1986 to 1992. While he was running for th ...

– former

President of Austria The president of Austria (german: Bundespräsident der Republik Österreich) is the head of state of the Republic of Austria. Though theoretically entrusted with great power by the Constitution, in practice the president is largely a ceremonial ...

and

Secretary-General of the United Nations The secretary-general of the United Nations (UNSG or SG) is the chief administrative officer of the United Nations and head of the United Nations Secretariat, one of the six principal organs of the United Nations. The role of the secretary-g ...

. Graduated from the academy (then known as the Vienna Consular Academy) in 1939. *

Igor Lukšić Igor Lukšić (Serbian Cyrillic: Игор Лукшић, ; born 14 June 1976) is a Montenegrin politician who served as the 4th Prime Minister of Montenegro from 2010 to 2012, following the resignation of Milo Đukanović. He was succeeded by Đ ...

– Foreign Minister of

Montenegro ) , image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Podgorica , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , official_languages = M ...

and former Prime Minister. Graduated in 1999.

References

External links

* * {{Authority control Schools of international relations Diplomatic training