Permanent Representative

Ambassador Christian Strohal, Permanent Representative of Austria to the Specialized United Nations Agencies, to the WTO and to the Conference on Disarmament at Geneva, presented his credentials on 9 July 2008.

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 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, as well as 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. He joined the Austrian foreign service in 1976.

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