Michael Linhart (born 31 August 1958) is an Austrian

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 ...

and politician who was appointed as the new Austrian Ambassador at Berlin on 15 December 2021. Before that, he served as

minister of foreign affairs 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 ...

of the Republic of Austria in the

Schallenberg government The Schallenberg government (german: Bundesregierung Schallenberg) was sworn in as 34th Government of Austria on 11 October 2021. When Sebastian Kurz announced his resignation on 9 October 2021, the Austrian People's Party proposed to continue ...

from 11 October to 6 December 2021,

ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or sov ...

of the Republic of Austria to

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

from 2018 to 2021 and Secretary-General at the Federal Ministry for Europe, Integration and Foreign Affairs from 2013 to 2018.

Early life

Michael Linhart was born on 31 August 1958 in

Ankara Ankara ( , ; ), historically known as Ancyra and Angora, is the capital of Turkey. Located in the central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5.1 million in its urban center and over 5.7 million in Ankara Province, maki ...

, Turkey, where his father was a diplomat at the Austrian embassy. He attended high school in

Feldkirch, Vorarlberg Feldkirch () is a medieval town in the western Austrian state of Vorarlberg, bordering on Switzerland and Liechtenstein. It is the administrative centre of the Feldkirch district. After Dornbirn, it is the second most populous town in Vorarlber ...

and graduated in 1976. After spending a year in the

Austrian Armed Forces The Austrian Armed Forces (german: Bundesheer, lit=Federal Army) are the combined military forces of the Republic of Austria. The military consists of 22,050 active-duty personnel and 125,600 reservists. The military budget is 0.74% of natio ...

for military service, he began reading law in the

University of Salzburg The University of Salzburg (german: Universität Salzburg), also known as the Paris Lodron University of Salzburg (''Paris-Lodron-Universität Salzburg'', PLUS), is an Austrian public university A public university or public college is a univ ...

and 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 ...

in 1977. Linhart received his doctorate degree in law in Vienna in 1985 and was qualified for legal practice in the same year.

Diplomatic career

In 1986, Michael Linhart joined the diplomatic service in the

Foreign Ministry In many countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the government department responsible for the state's diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral relations affairs as well as for providing support for a country's citizens who are abroad. The entit ...

and was deployed to the Austrian Embassy in

Addis Ababa Addis Ababa (; am, አዲስ አበባ, , new flower ; also known as , lit. "natural spring" in Oromo), is the capital and largest city of Ethiopia. It is also served as major administrative center of the Oromia Region. In the 2007 census, t ...

, Ethiopia. Two years later he became

first secretary First Secretary may refer to: * First minister, a leader of a government * Secretary (title), a leader of a political party (especially Communist parties), trade union, or other organization * First Secretary (diplomatic rank), a role within an emba ...

and was transferred to

Damascus )), is an adjective which means "spacious". , motto = , image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg , image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg , seal_type = Seal , map_caption = , ...

, Syria, assuming the role of deputy head of the embassy. He then was promoted to

counsellor Counselor or counsellor may refer to: A professional In diplomacy and government * Counsellor of State, senior member of the British royal family to whom the Monarch can delegate some functions in case of unavailability * Counselor (dipl ...

in 1992 and was sent to

Zagreb Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slop ...

, Croatia where he remained until 1995. Linhart returned to Vienna in August 1995 as the private secretary to the Foreign Minister

Wolfgang Schüssel Wolfgang Schüssel (; born 7 June 1945) is an Austrian People's Party politician. He was Chancellor of Austria for two consecutive terms from February 2000 to January 2007. While being recognised as a rare example of an active reformer in conte ...

. When Schüssel became

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 ...

in 2000, Linhart was appointed his advisor on foreign policy as well as the Austrian Ambassador to Syria. From 2003 to 2007, he was the managing director of the new

Austrian Development Agency The Austrian Development Agency GmbH (ADA) is the operational unit of the Austrian Development Cooperation. The ADA is a public-benefit, non-profit, limited liability company headquartered in Vienna. It is owned by the Republic of Austria, represe ...

under the Foreign Ministry. Afterwards, Linhart became the Austrian Ambassador to Greece until 2012 when he returned to Austria as the section head for development cooperation in the Foreign Ministry. On 2 December 2013, Linhart was appointed the Secretary-General in the Foreign Ministry but was replaced on 1 June 2018. He then became the Austrian Ambassador to France in summer 2018, replacing the retiring Walter Grahammer.

Foreign Minister

On 11 October 2021, Linhart was sworn in as Foreign Minister by President

Alexander Van der Bellen Alexander Van der Bellen (; born 18 January 1944) is the current president of Austria. He previously served as a professor of economics at the University of Vienna, and after joining politics, as the spokesman of the Austrian Green Party. ...

as the successor to

Alexander Schallenberg Alexander Georg Nicolas Schallenberg (; born 20 June 1969) is an Austrian diplomat, jurist and politician who has served as Minister of Foreign Affairs in the government of Chancellor Karl Nehammer since 2021, previously holding the office from ...

, who was appointed the new Austrian Chancellor on the same day. After the resignation of Chancellor

Sebastian Kurz Sebastian Kurz (; born 27 August 1986) is a former Austrian politician who twice served as chancellor of Austria, initially from December 2017 to May 2019 and then a second time from January 2020 to October 2021. Kurz was born and raised in Me ...

, Schallenberg succeeded him as head of government and, in his first official act, proposed Linhart as his successor in the Foreign Ministry. In his first speech to the National Council on 12 October 2021, Linhart described his guiding principles as 'dialogue and commitment with a clear course of action for the country'. Saying that crises and conflicts across the world 'would not take a break' which was why under his leadership Austrian diplomacy would not come to a stop, he also reiterated the importance of a 'strong

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

' and a close relationship with other EU member states.

Personal life

Linhart has two daughters and a son. His younger brother Markus Linhart is a People's Party politician who served as the mayor of

Bregenz Bregenz (; gsw, label= Vorarlbergian, Breagaz ) is the capital of Vorarlberg, the westernmost state of Austria. The city lies on the east and southeast shores of Lake Constance, the third-largest freshwater lake in Central Europe, between Switze ...

from 1998 to 2020.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Linhart, Michael 1958 births Living people Austrian diplomats People from Ankara People from Feldkirch, Vorarlberg Foreign ministers of Austria Ambassadors of Austria to Syria Ambassadors of Austria to France Ambassadors of Austria to Germany University of Vienna alumni University of Salzburg alumni Ambassadors of Austria to Greece