Thomas Mayr-Harting (born 22 May 1954 in

Epsom Epsom is the principal town of the Borough of Epsom and Ewell in Surrey, England, about south of central London. The town is first recorded as ''Ebesham'' in the 10th century and its name probably derives from that of a Saxon landowner. The ...

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

) is an Austrian diplomat. He is the Special Representative of the

OSCE 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 ...

Chairperson-in-Office for the Transdniestrian Settlement Process. From November 2015 to August 2019 he was managing director for Europe and Central Asia in 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 ...

Family and education

He is the son of Herbert Mayr-Harting, a lawyer who was the

Czechoslovak Czechoslovak may refer to: *A demonym or adjective pertaining to Czechoslovakia (1918–93) **First Czechoslovak Republic (1918–38) **Second Czechoslovak Republic (1938–39) **Third Czechoslovak Republic (1948–60) **Fourth Czechoslovak Repub ...

representative at the

United Nations War Crimes Commission The United Nations War Crimes Commission (UNWCC) initially called the United Nations Commission for the Investigation of War Crimes, was a commission of the United Nations that investigated allegations of war crimes committed by Nazi Germany and ...

. His brother,

Henry Mayr-Harting Henry Maria Robert Egmont Mayr-Harting (born 6 April 1936) is a British medieval ecclesiastical historian. From 1997 to 2003, he was Regius Professor of Ecclesiastical History at the University of Oxford and a lay canon of Christ Church, Oxford. ...

, is a British medievalist Church historian. His grandfather,

Robert Mayr-Harting Robert von Mayr-Harting (September 13, 1874 in Aspern, now a part of Vienna – March 12, 1948 in Prague) was an Austrian-born Sudeten German politician. The member of German Christian Social People's Party was one of few German-speaking politici ...

, was Czechoslovak Minister of Justice from 1926 to 1929. Mayr-Harting received his law degree at 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. From 1977 to 1978 he studied

European 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 ...

at the

College of Europe The College of Europe (french: Collège d'Europe) is a post-graduate institute of European studies with its main campus in Bruges, Belgium and a second campus in Warsaw, Poland. The College of Europe in Bruges was founded in 1949 by leading ...

in Bruges (Belgium). In 1978 Mayr-Harting was awarded the Diploma of

The Hague Academy of International Law The Hague Academy of International Law (french: Académie de droit international de La Haye) is a center for high-level education in both public and private international law housed in the Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands. Courses are taugh ...

Career

He joined the Austrian diplomatic service in 1979. In the course of his career he served, inter alia, with the Austrian Mission to the European Communities in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

(1982-1986), the Austrian Embassy in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

(1986-1990), the Private Office of the Austrian Foreign Minister (1991-1995) and as Deputy Political Director and Director for Security Policy and Policy Planning (1995-1999). From 1999 to 2003 he was Ambassador of Austria to

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

and Head of the Austrian Mission to

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

. From 2002 to 2004 Mayr-Harting also was the Special Representative of the Austrian Foreign Minister for the

Western Balkans The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the whol ...

. Mayr-Harting served as Political Director (Director General for Political Affairs) of the Austrian Foreign Ministry from 2003 to 2008. In 2008 he also chaired the supervisory board of the Austrian Development Agency. He then served as Permanent Representative of

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 ...

to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

in New York between December 2008 and October 2011. In this latter capacity he also represented Austria on the

United Nations Security Council The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the Organs of the United Nations, six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international security, international peace and security, recommending the admi ...

from 1 January 2009 to 31 December 2010. Mayr-Harting was the

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

of the UN Security Council in November 2009. From 2010 until October 2015 Mayr-Harting was the Head of the EU Delegation to the United Nations in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. He then moved back to Brussels, where he was managing director for Europe and Central Asia in the

until August 2019.

Other activities

European Forum Alpbach The European Forum Alpbach (EFA) is an Austrian nonprofit organisation and foundation based in Vienna, Austria. It is best known for hosting the event of the same name in the village of Alpbach. It is an interdisciplinary platform for science, po ...

, Chair of the International Advisory BoardEuropean Forum Alpbach
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Lectures

in th

Notes

External links

EU High Representative / Vice President Catherine Ashton appoints 25 new Heads of EU Delegations (European Commission Press Release 03/08/2011)

Österreich ab heute für zwei Jahre im Vorhof der Macht (derstandard.at)

* ttp://www.c-span.org/person/?thomasmayrharting C-SPAN appearances {{DEFAULTSORT:Mayr-Harting, Thomas 1954 births Living people University of Vienna alumni College of Europe alumni The Hague Academy of International Law people Ambassadors of Austria to Belgium Heads of Mission of Austria to NATO Permanent Representatives of Austria to the United Nations Ambassadors of the European Union to the United Nations Austrian officials of the European Union