European Commission appoints new Head of Representation in Berlin
Richard Kuehnel has been appointed as Head of Representation in Germany (Berlin). He will take up office on 1 June 2014. With over 20 years of practice in diplomatic and European affairs, Mr Kühnel brings with him sound experience of relevance for this position.
Before joining the European Commission, Mr Kuehnel started working in the national diplomatic service of Austria in 1994. He was employed in the office of the Ministry’s spokesman, covered the situation in former Yugoslavia, including as Attaché at the Embassy in Croatia, and worked in the international law department. Between 1997 and 2000, he served as First Secretary at the Austrian Embassy in Tokyo, in charge of economic and financial relations. Between 2000 and 2003, Mr Kuehnel was Counsellor at the Permanent Mission of Austria to the United Nations in New York. In 2003, he returned to Vienna, first as Advisor to the Director-General for Development Cooperation and then as Member of Cabinet of the Foreign Minister.
In 2004, Mr Kuehnel joined the European Commission as Member of Cabinet of the then EU Commissioner for External Relations and European Neighbourhood Policy, Benita Ferrero-Waldner i. His responsibilities included multilateral relations and G8, human rights and democracy, as well as inter-institutional relations. Since 2008, he has been Head of Representation of the European Commission in Austria. He thus brings to his new task a track-record in managing and leading a Commission Representation, as well as a strong background in communicating European and international affairs, as well as experience in building partnerships and interacting with stakeholders and the general public.
Mr Kuehnel is a lawyer by training, with an emphasis on international and European law.
Background
The European Commission has Representations in the capitals of all 28 EU Member States. It also has Regional Offices in Barcelona, Belfast, Bonn, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Marseille, Milan, Munich and Wroc l aw. They inform the media and public about EU policies and report to the Commission on significant developments in the country.
For more information
Homepage of the Commission Representation in Berlin:
http://ec.europa.eu/deutschland/index_de.htm
Contacts :
Mina Andreeva (+32 2 299 13 82)
Joshua Salsby (+32 2 297 24 59)
For the public: Europe Direct by phone 00 800 6 7 8 9 10 11 or by email