Rüdiger König (born 8 April 1957), is a German diplomat who served as the Permanent Representative of Germany to NATO from 2020 until 2023. From 2015, he was Head of the Department for Crisis Prevention, Stabilisation, Post-Conflict Rehabilitation and Humanitarian Aid at the

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

Biography

Rüdiger König was born in

Bonn Bonn () is a federal city in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, located on the banks of the Rhine. With a population exceeding 300,000, it lies about south-southeast of Cologne, in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr region. This ...

on 8 April 1957. After graduating from high school in 1977, König studied political science, constitutional and international law, and sociology at the

University of Bonn The University of Bonn, officially the Rhenish Friedrich Wilhelm University of Bonn (), is a public research university in Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was founded in its present form as the () on 18 October 1818 by Frederick Willi ...

, graduating with a master's degree. On 1 April 1986, König entered the Foreign Service. In 1989 his first assignment abroad followed at the Permanent Mission to the United Nations in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. After working as a desk officer in the United Nations department at the Federal Foreign Office in Bonn from 1992 to 1996, he worked from 1997 to 1999 as a desk officer for

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

at the Embassy in

Islamabad Islamabad (; , ; ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's tenth-most populous city with a population of over 1.1 million and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital Territory. Bu ...

. From 1999 to 2002, König was deputy head of department in the United Nations department at the Federal Foreign Office and in 2001 he was a member of the German delegation at the Petersberg Conference on Afghanistan. From 2002 to 2004 he headed the office of Federal President

Johannes Rau Johannes Rau (; 16 January 193127 January 2006) was a German politician who served as President of Germany from 1999 to 2004. A member of the Social Democratic Party, he previously served as the Minister-President of North Rhine-Westphalia fro ...

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 ...

, as he held the same position for Rau until 2006 after he left office. He then worked until 2008 as Head of the Political Department of the in

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

. After that, König took over the management of the special staff Afghanistan-Pakistan in the Federal Foreign Office. From August 2010 to September 2013 he was the successor to as Ambassador of Germany to Afghanistan and Head of the

Embassy of Germany, Kabul The Embassy of Germany in Kabul was the diplomatic mission of the Federal Republic of Germany in Afghanistan. The Consulate General also operates in Mazar-i-Sharif as a second German mission in the country. The embassy in Kabul is located in the ...

. On 12 August 2013, he was awarded the Mir Masjidi Khan Order by Afghan Foreign Minister Zalmay Rassoul. succeeded König as ambassador to Afghanistan. After completing his work in Afghanistan, he became the representative for the United Nations and human rights at the Federal Foreign Office's headquarters, and was then crisis officer in the Federal Foreign Office until 2015 and, as Ministerial Director, headed the Department for Crisis Prevention, Stabilization, Post-Conflict Relief and Humanitarian Aid in the Federal Foreign Office from 2015 to 2020. In August 2020, König became the Permanent Representative of Germany to NATO.

Family

König is married and has a child.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Konig, Rudiger 1957 births Living people Permanent representatives of Germany to NATO Ambassadors of Germany to Afghanistan Recipients of the Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Grand Knights of the Order of the Falcon University of Bonn alumni People from Bonn 20th-century German diplomats 21st-century German diplomats