Head of Office

Ambassador Benedikt Haller of Germany took up his position as Head of the OSCE Office in Minsk on 15 January 2010.

Born in Velbert, Germany, on 11 May 1954, he studied philosophy, French literature and the history of art at the Universities of Tübingen and Münster in Germany, and at the University of Paris-Sorbonne, gaining a Maitrise in Philosophy. He continued his studies at the University of Stony Brook, New York, and Tübingen, earning a PhD.

In 1987, he graduated with honours from the Foreign Service Academy in Bonn, going on to hold various posts at the German Embassies in Athens, Moscow (1988-90), Port-of-Spain in Trinidad & Tobago (1990-92), Washington (1995-99) and Paris (2004-06).

He has also held a number of posts at the Federal Foreign Office in Bonn and Berlin, including as Desk Officer for NATO affairs (1992-95) and Deputy Head of the division responsible for OSCE and Council of Europe affairs (1999-2003). He was an exchange diplomat at the French Foreign Ministry in Paris (2003-04), co-ordinating French activities within the OSCE framework.

His most recent post before joining the OSCE (since 2006) was Ambassador-at-Large and Special Representative for Relations with Jewish Organizations with the Federal Foreign Office in Berlin.

Ambassador Haller is married with four children. He speaks German, English, French and Russian.