Ursula Plassnik
| Ursula Plassnik | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Photo by Mikhail Evstafiev | |
| Foreign Minister of Austria | |
| In office 20 October 2004 – 2 December 2008 | |
| Chancellor | Wolfgang Schüssel Alfred Gusenbauer |
| Preceded by | Benita Ferrero-Waldner |
| Succeeded by | Michael Spindelegger |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 23 May 1956 Klagenfurt, Austria |
| Political party | ÖVP |
| Profession | politician, diplomat |
| Religion | Lutheranism |
Ursula Plassnik (born 23 May 1956) is an Austrian diplomat and politician. She was Foreign Minister of Austria between October 2004 and December 2008.
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 on 23 May 1956.[1] From 1971 to 1972 she was an exchange student at the Foxcroft School in Middleburg, Virginia, United States. She received a law degree from the University of Vienna in 1978 and a postgraduate Certificate of Advanced European Studies (equivalent to a master's degree) from the College of Europe in Bruges, where she studied 1979–1980 (Salvador de Madariaga 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, 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 Wolfgang Schüssel when he became Austrian Chancellor in a coalition government with the Austrian Freedom Party. 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.[2]
As foreign minister
She 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.
Personal life
Plassnik has been married twice. Her first marriage was to Georg Posch, who as social democrat 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, at 191 cm (6 ft 3 in) tall.
References
- ↑ "Who's who in the Gusenbauer cabinet". Wikileaks. 23 January 2007. Retrieved 16 October 2013.
- ↑ Turkish OSCE veto causes a stir Austrian Independent 6 June 2011
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ursula Plassnik. |
- October 2007/http://www.bmaa.gv.at/view.php3?r_id=9&LNG=en&version= The Foreign Minister at the Wayback Machine (archived October 15, 2007), The Austrian Foreign Ministry homepage
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Benita Ferrero-Waldner |
Foreign Minister of Austria 2004 – 2008 |
Succeeded by Michael Spindelegger |
| Preceded by Jack Straw United Kingdom |
President of the Council of the European Union First-Half 2006 |
Succeeded by Erkki Tuomioja Finland |
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