Ursula Plassnik (born 23 May 1956) is an Austrian diplomat and politician. She was

Foreign Minister of Austria This article lists the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Austria, from 30 October 1918 up to today. During the time of the ''Anschluss'' to Nazi Germany from 1938 to 1945, Austria had no government in its own right. The current Austrian Foreign Mini ...

between October 2004 and December 2008. She has served as the Austrian ambassador to Switzerland from 2016 to 2021.

Early life and career

Plassnik is from the Austrian state of Carinthia and grew up in a social democratic family. She was born in

Klagenfurt Klagenfurt am WörtherseeLandesgesetzblatt 2008 vom 16. Jänner 2008, Stück 1, Nr. 1: ''Gesetz vom 25. Oktober 2007, mit dem die Kärntner Landesverfassung und das Klagenfurter Stadtrecht 1998 geändert werden.'/ref> (; ; sl, Celovec), usually ...

on 23 May 1956. From 1971 to 1972 she was an exchange student at the Foxcroft School in Middleburg,

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

, United States. She received a law degree from 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 hist ...

in 1978 and a postgraduate Certificate of Advanced European Studies (equivalent to a master's degree) from 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 ...

Bruges Bruges ( , nl, Brugge ) is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium, in the northwest of the country, and the sixth-largest city of the country by population. The area of the whole city a ...

, where she studied 1979–1980 (

Salvador de Madariaga Salvador de Madariaga y Rojo (23 July 1886 – 14 December 1978) was a Spanish diplomat, writer, historian, and pacifist. He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature, and the Nobel Peace Prize. He was awarded the Charlemagne Prize in 1 ...

promotion). Subsequently, she worked in different positions in the Austrian Ministry for Foreign Affairs until 1997. Until that time she was considered to be politically neutral or even social-democratic. On 1 July 1997 she was chosen by

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 ...

, who was Austrian vice-chancellor at that time, to become his cabinet chief. In 2000 she refused an offer to work for the Council of Europe, in order to stay in Austria and help

when he became Austrian Chancellor in a coalition government with the

Austrian Freedom Party The Freedom Party of Austria (german: Freiheitliche Partei Österreichs, FPÖ) is a right-wing populist and national-conservative political party in Austria. It was led by Norbert Hofer from September 2019 to 1 June 2021.Staff (1 June 2021"Au ...

. She is considered to be a close friend and confidante to Schüssel. She remained cabinet chief in Schüssel's government until 15 January 2004, when she became Austria's ambassador to Switzerland. Recently, Ursula Plassnik’s application for the position as secretary-general of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) has been vetoed by Turkey, because of her opposition to that country's bid to join the European Union. Her successor in July 2021 as ambassador is Austria career diplomat Maria Rotheiser-Scotti.

Foreign Minister of Austria, 2004–2008

Plassnik was appointed Foreign Minister on 18 October 2004, and sworn in on 20 October succeeding Benita Ferrero-Waldner, who resigned to become a European commissioner. She joined the Austrian People's Party after receiving the offer to become foreign minister. On 2 December 2008 she was succeeded by

Michael Spindelegger Michael Spindelegger (born 21 December 1959) is an Austrian politician. He served in the cabinet of Chancellor Werner Faymann as foreign minister of Austria from 2008 to 2013 and as finance minister from 2013 to 2014; additionally, he held the o ...

. Plassnik voiced concern over the 2006 Lebanon War. She called for an immediate end to hostilities in Lebanon.

Other activities

European Council on Foreign Relations The European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) is a pan-European think tank with offices in seven European capitals. Launched in October 2007, it conducts research on European foreign and security policy and provides a meeting space for decisi ...

(ECFR), Member of the Council * Foreign Policy and United Nations Association of Austria (UNA-AUSTRIA), Member of the Board *

Paris School of International Affairs The Paris School of International Affairs (PSIA) is a graduate school of Sciences Po (also referred to as the ''Institut d'études politiques de Paris'') based in Paris, France, and it is generally considered to be one of the top rated and most ...

(PSIA), Member of the Strategic Committee *

Trilateral Commission The Trilateral Commission is a nongovernmental international organization aimed at fostering closer cooperation between Japan, Western Europe and North America. It was founded in July 1973 principally by American banker and philanthropist David ...

, Member of the Executive Committee

Personal life

Plassnik has been married twice. Her first marriage was to Dr. Georg Posch, who became secretary general of the Austrian Parliament. Her second marriage was to Swiss diplomat Gérard Stoudmann. She stands out in public due to her

height Height is measure of vertical distance, either vertical extent (how "tall" something or someone is) or vertical position (how "high" a point is). For example, "The height of that building is 50 m" or "The height of an airplane in-flight is ab ...

, at tall. At Plassnik’s initiative, the conductor and pianist Daniel Barenboim gave his long-awaited first performance in Egypt at the

Cairo Opera House The Cairo Opera House ( ar, دار الأوبرا المصرية, ''Dār el-Opera el-Masreyya''; literally "Egyptian Opera House"), part of Cairo's National Cultural Centre, is the main performing arts venue in the Egyptian capital. Home to mos ...

and conducted the Cairo Symphony Orchestra in Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 in April 2009. Barenboim had planned to make his Egyptian debut in January 2009 as part of a world tour with the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, the Arab-Israeli group he founded with the writer

Edward Said Edward Wadie Said (; , ; 1 November 1935 – 24 September 2003) was a Palestinian-American professor of literature at Columbia University, a public intellectual, and a founder of the academic field of postcolonial studies.Robert Young, ''Whit ...

. But that concert was canceled out of concern for the performers’ safety because of fighting in Gaza.Dave Itzkoff (April 8, 2009)
Barenboim Will Perform in Egypt
''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

''.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Plassnik, Ursula 1956 births Ambassadors of Austria to France Ambassadors of Austria to Switzerland Austrian women diplomats Austrian Lutherans Women government ministers of Austria College of Europe alumni Female foreign ministers Foreign ministers of Austria Living people Politicians from Klagenfurt 20th-century Austrian women politicians 20th-century Austrian politicians 21st-century Austrian women politicians 21st-century Austrian politicians Austrian women ambassadors Foxcroft School alumni Diplomats from Klagenfurt