Thomas Götz (born 1953) is a senior German diplomat who has been serving as the Ambassador of Germany to the Kingdom of Norway since July 2016.

Early life and education

Götz was born in

Schwäbisch Gmünd Schwäbisch Gmünd (, until 1934: Gmünd; Swabian: ''Gmẽẽd'' or ''Gmend'') is a city in the eastern part of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. With a population of around 60,000, the city is the second largest in the Ostalb district ...

. After graduating from Parler-Gymnasium in Schwäbisch Gmünd in 1972 and his military service, he took up his studies of German, English and American literature and linguistics at the

University of Tübingen The University of Tübingen, officially the Eberhard Karl University of Tübingen (; ), is a public research university located in the city of Tübingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The University of Tübingen is one of eleven German Excellenc ...

. In 1976 he attended

Newcastle University Newcastle University (legally the University of Newcastle upon Tyne) is a public research university based in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It has overseas campuses in Singapore and Malaysia. The university is a red brick university and a mem ...

in Newcastle upon Tyne. In 1979 he graduated from the University of Tübingen and started a traineeship as a teacher in Stuttgart. In 1998 his PhD dissertation was accepted by the

University of Hagen The University of Hagen (, informally often referred to as FU Hagen) is a Public university, public research university that is primarily focused on distance education, distance teaching. While its main campus is located in Hagen, North Rhine- ...

Diplomatic career

He joined the

Foreign Service Foreign Service may refer to: * Diplomatic service, the body of diplomats and foreign policy officers maintained by the government of a country * United States Foreign Service, the diplomatic service of the United States government **Foreign Service ...

in 1980; after finishing his diplomatic training at the Foreign Office in Bonn he worked as a junior diplomat at the Federal Chancellery from 1982 to 1983 serving both Chancellor

Helmut Schmidt Helmut Heinrich Waldemar Schmidt (; 23 December 1918 – 10 November 2015) was a German politician and member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), who served as the chancellor of West Germany from 1974 to 1982. He was the longest ...

and Chancellor

Helmut Kohl Helmut Josef Michael Kohl (; 3 April 1930 – 16 June 2017) was a German politician who served as chancellor of Germany and governed the ''Federal Republic'' from 1982 to 1998. He was leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) from 1973 to ...

. Later his diplomatic postings abroad included Hong Kong, Tokyo, Bucharest, Geneva and Athens. At headquarters he developed expertise for research and academic relations policy and was the Ministry's Deputy Director-General for Culture and Communications from 2008 to 2011. At the same time he served as the vice-chair of the German-American Fulbright-Programme. He was appointed Ambassador to Finland in 2011 and to the Slovak Republic in 2014. Since July 2016, Götz has been serving as the Ambassador of Germany to the Kingdom of Norway in Oslo.

Personal life

Ambassador Götz was bestowed with the Order of the Phoenix by the President of Greece in 2002 and received an Honorary Doctorate through the

Åbo Akademi Turku ( ; ; , ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Southwest Finland. It is located on the southwestern coast of the country at the mouth of the River Aura. The population of Turku is approximately , while the metropolitan area ...

– the Swedish University in Turku, Finland in 2014. His personal interests include literature, music, and biking. He has been married to Claudia Götz since 1983; the couple has one grown-up daughter.

Publications

* ''Die brüchige Idylle : Peter Huchels Lyrik zwischen Magie und Entzauberung'', Dissertation Fernuniversität Hagen, 1998, ISBN 3-631-34117-2. * ''Camillo Sbarbaro, Pianissimo'', Übersetzt von Gio Batta Bucciol und Thomas Götz, Tübingen, 2000, ISBN 3-8233-4060-3. * ''Orte Spuren Zeiten'', Gedichte, Norderstedt, 2021, ISBN 978-3-7543-3265-8.

References

* http://www.oslo.diplo.de/Vertretung/oslo/no/02/Botschafter/Bo_20Seite_20n.html * https://web.archive.org/web/20140726134654/http://www.pressburg.diplo.de/Vertretung/pressburg/de/__pr/Botschafter/2014/140721__G_C3_B6tz_20bei_20Kiska-Antritt.html * http://www.helsinki.diplo.de/Vertretung/helsinki/de/02__Botschaft/Botschaftsereignisse/2011/seite__20111103__ueberreichung.html * http://www.helsinki.diplo.de/Vertretung/helsinki/de/02__Botschaft/Botschafter__und__Abteilungen/20140524__aa__drhc.html * http://www.abo.fi/public/News/Item/item/8573 * https://www.regjeringen.no/en/aktuelt/new-ambassadors-sept2016/id2512245/ * http://www.businessportal-norwegen.com/2017/03/07/deutsche-botschaft-mit-erstem-elektroauto/ * http://www.auswaertiges-amt.de/DE/Laenderinformationen/01-Laender/DeutscheAVen/Norwegen/Norwegen.html?nnm=332340 * https://ulikoenig.de/gallery/public/2016-09-06ff-Wirtschaftsausschuss-Oslo/2016-09-07/2016-09-07_10-58-33_IMG_0011 * http://www.handball-world.news/o.red.r/news-1-2-23-31203.html * http://www.rp-online.de/nrw/staedte/wesel/verdienstkreuz-fuer-fluerener-marx-in-oslo-aid-1.6648231 * https://de.linkedin.com/company/fraunhofer-ipt * https://www.facebook.com/norwegische.botschaft/photos/pcb.10155421940974748/10155421897009748/?type=3&theater {{DEFAULTSORT:Gotz, Thomas 1953 births Living people Ambassadors of Germany to Norway Ambassadors of Germany to Finland University of Hagen University of Tübingen alumni