Helga Maria Schmid (born 8 December 1960) is a German

diplomat A diplomat (from ; romanization, romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state (polity), state, International organization, intergovernmental, or Non-governmental organization, nongovernmental institution to conduct diplomacy with one ...

who served as the Secretary General of the

Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is a regional security-oriented intergovernmental organization comprising member states in Europe, North America, and Asia. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, the p ...

(OSCE) from 2020 to 2024. Prior to her term with the OSCE, Schmid was the

Secretary General Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, Power (social and political), power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the org ...

of the

European External Action Service The European External Action Service (EEAS) is the diplomatic service in charge of executing all Foreign relations of the European Union, international relations of the European Union. The EEAS is led by the Vice-President of the European Co ...

(EEAS) 2016 to 2020. In July 2024, Schmid was nominated to become President of the United Nations General Assembly starting in September 2025. In 2025, her nomination was withdrawn by Germany in favour of

Annalena Baerbock Annalena Charlotte Alma Baerbock (; born 15 December 1980) is a German politician and diplomat of the Alliance 90/The Greens party. She served as Minister for Foreign Affairs (Germany), Germany's minister for foreign affairs from 2021 to 2025. I ...

Education

Schmid has advanced degrees in Literature, History and Politics from the

Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich The Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (simply University of Munich, LMU or LMU Munich; ) is a public university, public research university in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Originally established as the University of Ingolstadt in 1472 by Duke ...

. She also studied International and

European Union law European Union law is a system of Supranational union, supranational Law, laws operating within the 27 member states of the European Union (EU). It has grown over time since the 1952 founding of the European Coal and Steel Community, to promote ...

, Economics and

International relations International relations (IR, and also referred to as international studies, international politics, or international affairs) is an academic discipline. In a broader sense, the study of IR, in addition to multilateral relations, concerns al ...

at the

Diplomatic Academy of Vienna The Diplomatic Academy of Vienna (DA; German: ''Diplomatische Akademie Wien''), also known as the Vienna School of International Studies, is a postgraduate professional school based in Vienna, Austria, with focused training for students and pro ...

Career

From 1988 Schmid worked in various positions within the

German Federal Foreign Office The Federal Foreign Office (, ; abbreviated AA) is the foreign ministry of the Federal Republic of Germany, a federal agency responsible for both the country's foreign policy and its relationship with the European Union. It is a cabinet-level ...

and was assistant private secretary to the minister for European Affairs between 1990 and 1991. From 1991 to 1994 she was the press and public affairs officer for the German embassy in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, under successive ambassadors

Jürgen Ruhfus Jürgen Ruhfus (4 August 1930 Bochum – 25 February 2018) was a German jurist, diplomat, West German ambassador to the United Kingdom, later ambassador to the United States, and German secretary of state. Life and career Ruhfus, the son of an ...

and

Immo Stabreit Immo Stabreit (born 24 January 1933 Rathenow, Province of Brandenburg, Germany) is a German diplomat, and was West German and German Ambassador to South Africa from 1987 to 1992, Ambassador to the United States from 1992 to 1995 and Ambassador to ...

. From 1994 to 1998 Schmid worked as a political adviser to

Foreign Minister In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...

Klaus Kinkel Klaus Kinkel (17 December 1936 – 4 March 2019)
Joschka Fischer Joseph Martin "Joschka" Fischer (born 12 April 1948) is a German former politician of the Alliance 90/The Greens party. He served as the foreign minister and as the vice chancellor of Germany in the cabinet of Gerhard Schröder from 1998 to 200 ...

. Between 2000 and 2005, she followed various executive positions at the headquarters of the

Foreign Office Foreign may refer to: Government * Foreign policy, how a country interacts with other countries * Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in many countries ** Foreign Office, a department of the UK government ** Foreign office and foreign minister * United ...

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

. Among them she was Head of the Political Staff and Head of the Ministerial Office from 2003 to 2005. In 2006, Schmid became Director of the Policy Planning and Early Warning Unit of the High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy,

Javier Solana Francisco Javier Solana de Madariaga CYC (; born 14 July 1942) is a Spanish physicist and PSOE politician. After serving in the Spanish government as Foreign Affairs Minister under Felipe González (1992–1995) and as the Secretary Gener ...

, in the

General Secretariat of the Council of the European Union The General Secretariat of the Council of the European Union (GSC), also known as Council Secretariat, assists the Council of the European Union, the presidency of the Council of the European Union, the European Council and the president of the ...

in Brussels. Following the founding of the

, Schmid became deputy secretary-general for political affairs in 2010, serving under secretary general

Pierre Vimont Pierre Vimont (born 15 June 1949) is a French diplomat who served as the Executive Secretary-General of the European External Action Service (EEAS) from 2010 until 2015. His current rank in the French civil service is "Ambassadeur de France", whic ...

. In this capacity, she was involved in negotiations for the

Nuclear program of Iran The nuclear program of Iran is one of the most scrutinized nuclear programs in the world. The military capabilities of the program are possible through its mass enrichment activities in facilities such as Natanz and Arak. In June 2025, t ...

. The task was to negotiate with

Abbas Araghchi Sayyid Abbas Araghchi (, ; also spelled Araqchi, born 5 December 1962) is an Iranian diplomat and politician, who is the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Iran since August 2024. He previously served as the Spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign A ...

and continue the high level discussions, while the technical level was ongoing. In the negotiations for the

EU-3 The EU three, also known as the EU big three, EU triumvirate, EU trio or simply E3, refers to France, Germany, and Italy; the three large Inner Six, founding members of the European Union (EU). These countries are generally regarded as the three m ...

nuclear agreement with

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

, Schmid was the lead author of the 100-page treaty which was successfully concluded in 2015, while holding the consent of current president

Rouhani Hassan Rouhani (; born Hassan Fereydoun, 12 November 1948) is an Iranian politician who served as the seventh president of Iran from 2013 to 2021. He is also a sharia lawyer (" Wakil"), academic, former diplomat and Islamic cleric. He served ...

, who at the time was the Iranian Chief Negotiator in the Nuclear Dispute. In September 2020, on the recommendation of

Heiko Maas Heiko Josef Maas (; born 19 September 1966) is a German lawyerMarcus Jung (15 December 2022)�''Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung''. and former politician of the Social Democratic Party of Germany, Social Democratic Party (SPD) who served as the Mini ...

, Schmid was nominated by the German government of Chancellor

Angela Merkel Angela Dorothea Merkel (; ; born 17 July 1954) is a German retired politician who served as Chancellor of Germany from 2005 to 2021. She is the only woman to have held the office. She was Leader of the Opposition from 2002 to 2005 and Leade ...

as a candidate to become secretary-general of the

(OSCE). On 4 December 2020, she was formally appointed to the position. In 2024 Schmid was the leading candidate to run for president of the

United Nations General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; , AGNU or AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as its main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ. Currently in its Seventy-ninth session of th ...

in 2025. On 18 March 2025, after the

2025 German federal election The 2025 German federal election was held in Germany on 23 February 2025 to elect the 630 members of the List of members of the 21st Bundestag, 21st Bundestag, down from 736 in 2021 due to reforms in seat distribution. The 2025 election took plac ...

was surprisingly announced to run for the position. Despite this, Schmid received seven votes in the UNGA as a write-in candidate. Secretary Kerry Meets With European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs Mogherini Amid Iranian Nuclear Negotiations in Austria

Secretary Kerry Meets With European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs Mogherini Amid Iranian Nuclear Negotiations in Austria

Other activities

* Center for International Peace Operations (ZIF), Member of the International Advisory Board

Recognition

In 2009, Schmid received the . In November 2015, Foreign Minister

Frank-Walter Steinmeier Frank-Walter Steinmeier (; born 5 January 1956) is a German politician who has served as President of Germany since 2017. He was previously Minister for Foreign Affairs (Germany), federal minister for foreign affairs from 2005 to 2009 and again f ...

awarded her the

Federal Cross of Merit The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (, or , BVO) is the highest state decoration, federal decoration of the Federal Republic of Germany. It may be awarded for any field of endeavor. It was created by the first List of president ...

class I.

Quotes

*"Women are the better negotiators." *"When it comes to the solution to the Syria crisis, the EU position is clear: a lasting solution to the conflict can only be achieved through a Syrian-led political process leading to a transition. Which means obviously that you also talk to the representatives of the Assad regime."

References

External links

Curriculum Vitae in German on the homepage of the EEAS
(PDF file; 109 kB)
Curriculum Vitae in English on the EEAS homepage
(PDF file; 60 kB)

(

Körber Foundation The Körber Foundation (German: ''Körber-Stiftung'') is a nonprofit organization, established in 1959 by German businessman Kurt A. Körber. Its operational work is organised into seven subject areas: ‘Age and Demography’, ‘Education’, ...

) {{DEFAULTSORT:Schmid, Helga 1960 births Living people Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich alumni 20th-century German diplomats German women diplomats 21st-century German diplomats Officers Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany OSCE secretaries general 20th-century German women 21st-century German women