For information only - not an official document
UNIS/BIO/1109
3 March 2016
(Based on information provided by the Protocol and Liaison Service)
VIENNA, 3 March (UN Information Service) - The Director General of the International Centre for Migration Policy Development to the United Nations (Vienna), Michael Spindelegger, presented his credentials today to the Director-General of the United Nations Office at Vienna (UNOV), Yury Fedotov.
Mr Spindelegger has extensive experience in international relations through his work in the Federal Government of the Republic of Austria. Mr Spindelegger served as Federal Minister of Finance from 2013 until 2014, and prior to that, from 2008 until 2013 as Federal Minister of European and International Affairs for the Federal Government of the Republic of Austria. In 2011, Mr Spindelegger was appointed as Vice-Chancellor of the Republic of Austria, an office which he held until 2014. Previously, from 2006 to 2008, Mr Spindelegger had served as Second President of the National Council of the Austrian Parliament, and from 1996 to 2006 as Member of the National Council of the Austrian Parliament.
In 2000, Mr Spindelegger was elected as Representative of Austria to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe where he led the Austrian delegation from 2002 to 2006. During this time he represented Austria at conferences on migration. As Minister for European and International Affairs, Mr Spindelegger also worked closely with international organizations active in the field of migration, contributing to the policy debate during the Third EU-Africa Summit in Tripoli, Libya. In his role as Vice-Chancellor of Austria, Mr Spindelegger created a State Secretariat for Integration with the Austrian Federal Ministry of Interior, and worked closely with the Ministry on asylum and labour migration topics. In 2016, Mr Spindelegger was appointed Director General of the International Centre for Migration Policy Development, a Vienna-based international organization with 15 member states and UN observer status.
Mr. Spindelegger holds a Doctor of Law as well as a Master of Law degree from the University of Vienna.
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