Valentin Inzko

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Valentin Inzko in United World College in Mostar (2014)

Valentin Inzko [ jun. ] (Born May 22, 1949 in Sveče / Suetschach , Carinthia ) is an Austrian diplomat. He was High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina from March 1, 2009 to July 31, 2021 . Christian Schmidt , a member of the CSU Bundestag and former Federal Minister of Agriculture, was elected to succeed him.

Life

Valentin Inzko is a Carinthian Slovenian . His father was the Slavist and school inspector Valentin Inzko sen. (1923-2002). His leading activity in the Council of Carinthian Slovenes and in the Krščanska kulturna zveza (Christian Cultural Association) also shaped the son.

From 1955 to 1959 Valentin Inzko attended the bilingual elementary school in Suetschach (Sveče) in the Rosental (Rož). Then he was in the Federal High School for Slovenes in Klagenfurt (Celovec) until 1967 . In 1967 he began studying law as well as Serbo-Croatian and Russian at the University of Graz . In 1972 he received his doctorate in law. He then graduated from the Diplomatic Academy in Vienna .

From 1974 to 1978 he was deputy head of the UNDP representation in Ulan Bator . He was then deputy head of the UNDP representation in Colombo for four years . In 1981 he joined the Federal Ministry for Foreign Affairs . He was first employed in the Political Section, Department for Central , Eastern and Southeastern Europe , Central Asia and the South Caucasus. From 1982 to 1986 he worked as a press and cultural attaché in the Belgrade embassy (Serbia) . He then spent three years in the Representation at the United Nations in New York Counselor, Austrian delegate of the First Commission (for Disarmament and International Security) of the General Assembly and Deputy Chairman of the UN Disarmament Commission . From 1989 to 1990 he worked at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Vienna as deputy head of the press and information department. From October to December 1992 Inzko was then head of the OSCE mission in Serbia , in Sandžak in south-western Serbia. From 1990 to 1996 he was cultural councilor at the embassy in Prague (Czech Republic) and from January 1, 1993 founding director of the Austrian cultural institute in Prague.

Activity as an ambassador

In 1996 Inzko was appointed ambassador to Sarajevo for Bosnia and Herzegovina , succeeding Franz Bogen , who has been active since 1994 , where he opened and built up the embassy after the siege of Sarajevo (operational since June 1997, opened November 21, 1997 by the then Foreign Minister Schüssel , parallel with the embassy external office in Banja Luka) He was made an honorary citizen of Sarajevo by the then President Alija Izetbegović . From 1999 to 2005 he was again in the back office at the Federal Ministry for Foreign Affairs in Vienna, head of the department for Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe, Central Asia and the South Caucasus .

From 2005 to 2009 Valentin Inzko was Ambassador in Ljubljana (Ljubljana) for the Republic of Slovenia . After Slovenia  joined the EU in 2004, he accompanied the integration into the community there, such as the Schengen Agreement on free border traffic, which was implemented in December 2007.

Special missions in Bosnia

Inzko returned to Bosnia in 2009, and on March 26th he became High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina , the UN commissioner for UN Security Council Resolution 1031 and the implementation of the Dayton Agreement to consolidate the country. After Wolfgang Petritsch, he is the second Austrian to hold this position. From 2009 to 2011 he also held the post of EU Special Representative for Bosnia-Herzegovina.

He applied with the hope of outside opportunities and was nominated for the post by an overwhelming majority. Only the United States vetoed, as they favored the candidate of the NATO country Great Britain, Emyr Jones Perry. They wanted to reopen the procedure, but ultimately agreed to Inzko's appointment as the successor to the Slovak Miroslav Lajčák .

On July 31, 2021, after more than 12 years, he left his position as High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina . Christian Schmidt , a member of the CSU Bundestag and former Federal Minister of Agriculture, was elected to succeed him.

Other activities

In June 2010, during his time as ambassador to Slovenia, he was elected chairman of the Council of Carinthian Slovenes .

Awards

Private

Inzko is married to the singer Bernarda Fink .

He is fluent in Slovenian and German as well as Bosnian, Russian, Czech, English and French.

Web links

Commons : Valentin Inzko  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files
  • Archives des Office of the High Representative - documents and press releases

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ dpa: Only Russia said no: Fürther Christian Schmidt receives high office. In: nordbayern.de accessed online on May 28, 2021 | 3:35 p.m. - available online
  2. ^ OSCE Mission to Serbia . osce.org
  3. ↑ Austrian Yearbook. Bundespressedienst, 1998, p. 294.
  4. ^ Foreign policy report: Report of the Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs 1998, p. 281 ( limited preview in the Google book search).
  5. ^ HR and his deputies. ohr.int (accessed March 10, 2016).
  6. ↑ Valentin Inzko: Austrians should clean up in Bosnia. In: Die Presse online, March 5, 2009.
  7. ↑ Decision 2011/426 / CFSP of the Council of July 18, 2011 on the appointment of the European Union's Special Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina , accessed on November 23, 2012
  8. ↑ Süddeutsche Zeitung on the appointment as EU Commissioner (onA, no longer available).
  9. ↑ List of all decorations awarded by the Federal President for services to the Republic of Austria from 1952 (PDF file; 6.6 MB)
  10. ↑ Bosnia Commissioner Inzko honored with the German “Wilhelm Bock Prize” in the Tiroler Tageszeitung on June 14, 2017, accessed on March 8, 2020
predecessor government office successor
Franz Arch Austrian Ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina
1996–1999 		Gerhard Jandl
Ferdinand Mayrhofer-Grünbühel Austrian Ambassador to Slovenia
2005–2009 		Erwin Kubesch
personal data
SURNAME Inzko, Valentin
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austrian diplomat
BIRTH DATE May 22, 1949
PLACE OF BIRTH Suetschach