NEW PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE OF AUSTRIA PRESENTS CREDENTIALS TO DIRECTOR-GENERAL OF UNOG

Christian Strohal, the new Permanent Representative of Austria to the United Nations Office at Geneva, today presented his credentials to Sergei Ordzhonikidze, the Director-General of the United Nations Office at Geneva.

Prior to his appointment to Geneva, from 2003 to 2008, Mr. Strohal was the Director of the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. From 2000 until 2003, Mr. Strohal was the Austrian Ambassador to Luxembourg. Earlier in his career, from 1988 to 1992, Mr. Strohal served as the Deputy Permanent Representative of Austria to the United Nations Office at Geneva and to the international organizations in Geneva.

Mr. Strohal has a strong diplomatic background in human rights. From 1994 to 2000, Mr. Strohal was the Director for Human Rights, International Humanitarian Law, Minority and Gender issues at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, and the Austrian representative to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, the United Nations General Assembly and to numerous other international conferences. During that time, from 1997 and 1998, he was the Vice-Chair of the Commission on Human Rights. In addition, from 1992 to 1993, Mr. Strohal was the Ambassador and Special Representative for the World Conference on Human Rights.

Mr. Strohal studied law, economics and international relations in Vienna, London and Geneva, and received his doctorate degree in law in Vienna in 1975.

Mr. Strohal was born on 1 May 1951 in Vienna.


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