Ursula Plassnik
| Ursula Plassnik | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Minister of Foreign Affairs | |
|
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 | People's Party |
| Alma mater |
University of Vienna College of Europe |
| 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.
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. 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.
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