Special Lecture: India and the World
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Erwin-Schrödinger-Saal
Plenary
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German and English language
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Dr. Jaswant SINGH
Former Minister of External Affairs; Member, Parliament of India, New Delhi
| He is an Indian politician. He is from the Indian State of Rajasthan and was an officer in the Indian Army in the 1960's. He served as Finance minister in the short-lived government of Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 1996. After Vajpayee became Prime Minister again two years later, he became Minister for External Affairs of India, serving from 1998 until 2002. Responsible for foreign policy, he dealt with high tensions between India and Pakistan. In 2002 he became Finance Minister again, switching posts with Yashwant Sinha. He served as Finance Minister until the defeat of the Vajpayee government in 2004 and was instrumental in defining and pushing through the market-friendly reforms of the government. Known for his moderate political views, he is a self-described liberal democrat even though the Bharatiya Janata Party is often described as a right-wing nationalist organization. Currently he is the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha. |
Dr. Thomas MAYR-HARTING
Chair, International Advisory Board, European Forum Alpbach, Vienna
| 1977 | Law Studies in Vienna (Dr. iur.) |
| 1977-1978 | Postgraduate-Studies, College of Europe, Bruges |
| 1978 | Diploma of The Hague Academy of International Law, The Hague |
| 1979 | Joined the Austrian Diplomatic Service |
| 1982-1986 | Austrian Mission to the European Communities, Brussels |
| 1986-1990 | Austrian Embassy, Moscow |
| 1991-1993 | Private Office of the Austrian Foreign Minister, Vienna |
| 1993-1995 | Deputy Head of Cabinet of Foreign Ministers Mock and Schüssel, Vienna |
| 1995-1999 | Director for Security Policy and Policy Planning, Austrian Foreign Ministry, Vienna |
| 1996-1999 | Deputy Political Director, Austrian Foreign Ministry, Vienna |
| 1999-2003 | Ambassador of Austria to Belgium and Head of the Austrian Mission to NATO, Brussels |
| 2002-2004 | Special Representative of the Austrian Foreign Minister for the Western Balkans |
| 2003-2004 | Representative of the Federal Chancellor of Austria in the Commission on the Reform of the Austrian Armed Forces, Vienna |
| 2003-2008 | Political Director (Director General for Political Affairs) of the Austrian Foreign Ministry, Vienna |
| 2008-2011 | Permanent Representative of Austria to the United Nations, New York |
| 2009-2010 | Also represented Austria on the United Nations Security Council, New York (President of the Security Council in November 2009) |
| 2011 | Vice-President of the 66th General Assembly of the UN, New York |
| 2011-2015 | Ambassador, (Head of the Delegation) of the European Union to the United Nations, New York |
| since 2015 | Managing Director for Europe and Central Asia, European External Action Service, Brussels |
| Visiting Professor, College of Europe, Bruges and Natolin |
