Dr. Volker Frobarth
Dr. Volker Frobarth, a German career diplomat with over 20 years of international experience, assumed his duties as Head of the OSCE Programme Office in Bishkek on 1 September 2025.
He previously served as Head of the OSCE Programme Office in Astana. Prior to that, he was appointed Representative of the OSCE Chairpersonship to the Latvian-Russian Joint Commission on Military Pensioners and was seconded by Germany to OSCE field operations in Tajikistan, Georgia, Latvia, and Ukraine.
Earlier in his career, Dr. Frobarth held senior roles within the Ministry of Economy of the German State of Hessen, including Director for Foreign Trade with the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and Baltic States, and Head of the Economy, Infrastructure, and European Affairs Division at the Hessen State Representation in Berlin. From 2009 to 2021, he also held executive positions with the German agency for international co-operation (GIZ) in Central Asia, Germany, and Afghanistan.
Dr. Frobarth holds both a Master’s degree and a PhD from the University of Kiel, Germany, specialising in Political Science, Eastern European History, Public Law, and Law of the Eastern European States.
His areas of expertise include security, democratization, and environmental and economic affairs.
He speaks English, Russian, and German.