Gerhard Pfanzelter (born 1943) is an Austrian diplomat. He served as the Permanent Representative of Austria to the United Nations between 7 September 1999 and November 2008.[1] In 2000 he served as Vice-President of the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations, and in 2002 he became Vice-President of the 57th United Nations General Assembly. During the first half of 2006 he chaired the European Union in New York during Austria's Presidency of the Council of the European Union.

H.E.
Gerhard Pfanzelter
Permanent Representative of Austria to the United Nations
In office
7 September 1999 – November 2008
Preceded byErnst Sucharipa
Succeeded byThomas Mayr-Harting
Personal details
Born1943
Innsbruck, Austria

Pfanzelter spent a year as an exchange student in at Elk River High School in Elk River, Minnesota with AFS Intercultural Programs.[2]

He has a law degree from the University of Innsbruck and a M.A. in International Relations from Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies.[1]

Pfanzelter successfully led Austria's campaign for a non-permanent seat on the Security Council for the period 2009–2010.[3][4]

Previously, from 1983 to 1989, Pfanzelter had served as Austria's Ambassador to Senegal, Gambia, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Guinea and Mauritania. He then became the Ambassador to Syria for a four-year term, ending in 1993, when he became the Head of the Department for International Organizations of the Austrian Ministry for Foreign Affairs.

Pfanzelter is the longest serving Austrian Permanent Representative at the United Nations.[citation needed] From 2010 to 2012, he served as Secretary-General of the Central European Initiative in Trieste.[5]

Pfanzelter is member of the board of the Foreign Policy and United Nations Association of Austria (UNA-AUSTRIA).[6]

Pfanzelter was President of the Vienna International School Association in Vienna but resigned after just 10 months in 2020.

Notes

edit
  1. ^ a b "NEW PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE OF AUSTRIA PRESENTS CREDENTIALS". United Nations. 7 September 1999.
  2. ^ "Austrian ambassador to U.N. was Minnesota exchange student". Minnesota Public Radio. November 29, 2006.
  3. ^ "General Assembly Elects Austria, Japan, Mexico, Turkey, Uganda to Two-Year Terms on Security Council". Archived from the original on 2013-03-31. Retrieved 2017-06-28.
  4. ^ "Austria, Iceland and Turkey vie for UN Security Council seats - International Herald Tribune". Archived from the original on 2008-10-21. Retrieved 2008-11-18.
  5. ^ "CEI Secretariat | CEI - Central European Initiative". Archived from the original on 2013-09-05. Retrieved 2013-10-06.
  6. ^ "Vorstand und Rechnungsprüfer - Stand: 13. Dezember 2023" (PDF). www.oegavn.org. Retrieved 1 June 2024.