Biographical Note

New Permanent Representative of Austria Presents Credentials

 

(Based on information provided by the Protocol and Liaison Service.)

The new Permanent Representative of Austria to the United Nations, Martin Sajdik, presented his credentials on 4 January to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

Until his appointment, Mr. Sajdik served as Austria’s Ambassador to China, Mongolia and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea from 2007.

From 2003 to 2007, Mr. Sajdik served as Director-General for Economic Affairs and European Integration in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.  From 1997 to 2003, he was Head of Department for European Union Enlargement, Trade, Trade Relations with Non-EU Countries and Central Asia.

From 1994 to 1997, he headed the Department for Property Management.  Before that (1991-1994) he worked for the Austrian Construction Company Maculan Group as Director for International Business at Maculan Holding.  He was also a Member of the Board of Directors of Maculan International GmbH, as well as General Director of a joint venture company in Yakutsk, Russian Federation.

Mr. Sajdik also served as Counsellor and Deputy Head of Mission at the Austrian Embassy in Moscow (1989-1991); Head of Representation of the Austrian Bank Creditanstalt-Bankverein in Moscow (1987-1989); and was Head of the Press Department of the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE) Third Follow-up Conference’s Executive Secretariat in Vienna (1986-1987).

From 1980 to 1985, he served in his country’s Embassy in Moscow as Counsellor and Press Attaché; and from 1978 to 1980, as Second Secretary at Austria’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations Office at Geneva.  Having joined the Austrian foreign service in 1975, he held training positions in the different departments of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs until 1978.

The new envoy did post-graduate studies in international relations at John Hopkins University, Bologna, Italy (1973-1974); post-graduate studies in international law at Lomonosow University in Moscow (1972-1973); and law studies at the University of Vienna where he obtained his Doctor of Law degree (1967-1971).

Born on 14 January 1949, Mr. Sajdik also speaks English, Russian, French and Italian.  He is married with four children.

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