Helga Maria Schmid

Ambassador Helga Maria Schmid is the Secretary General of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). She was also appointed President of the Board of Governors of the European Institute of Peace and is Deputy President of the Foundation Council of the Munich Security Conference Foundation.

Ambassador Schmid first joined the diplomatic service as Assistant Private Secretary to the Deputy Foreign Minister of Germany in charge of European Affairs (1990–1991). Since then, she has held several prominent diplomatic positions during her career, for example as Political Adviser to Foreign Minister Klaus Kinkel and Head of Cabinet to Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer.

From 2011 to 2016, Ambassador Schmid was the Deputy Secretary General for Political Affairs for the European External Action Service. Preceding that, she was the Director of the Policy Planning and Early Warning Unit (Policy Unit) of the High Representative for the CFSP in the General Secretariat of the Council of the European Union in Brussels. Just prior to her appointment as OSCE Secretary General, she was Secretary General for the European External Action Service.

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