Ambassador Willy Kempel

Ambassador Willy Kempel, an accomplished Austrian diplomat, has been appointed as the Head of the OSCE Programme Office in Dushanbe as of 21 June 2024.

With a distinguished career of over 35 years at the Austrian Federal Ministry for Foreign Affairs and the European Commission, Ambassador Kempel has extensive experience in international relations, security policy, economic policies, and crisis management.

Ambassador Kempel has held various significant roles within the Austrian Federal Ministry for Foreign Affairs and International Organizations. He has served at the Austrian Permanent Mission to the United Nations in Geneva, focusing on environmental and security policies, and the Austrian Embassy in Tel Aviv, addressing bilateral relations both with the Government of Israel and the Palestinian Autonomous Administration as well as participating in multilateral peace process negotiations. From 1999 to 2003, he co-ordinated EU foreign and security policy at the Austrian Permanent Representation to the European Union. From 2003 to 2006, he worked in the General Directorate RELEX of the European Commission, focusing on UN-SC policies, development aid, humanitarian support, human rights, and economic relations with Japan. Returning to the Austrian Permanent Presentation to the EU, he served as a representative of the Ministry of Interior (2007-2011) co-ordinating police co-operation, migration, visa issues, CBRN policies, and the fight against terrorism.

As of late, Ambassador Kempel played a pivotal role in shaping Austria's foreign policy, overseeing EU Single Market affairs and economic relations with the EU-27 Member States as the Head of the Directorate responsible for the EU Single Market (2011-2016). He was subsequently appointed as Ambassador to Qatar (2016-2020) and as Ambassador to Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan (2020-2024).

Ambassador Kempel holds a Doctorate of Law from the University of Vienna and a Postgraduate Diploma from the Diplomatic Academy of Vienna. He is fluent in German, English, and French, and has advanced knowledge of Spanish and basic knowledge of Russian. Other activities include lecturing on EU policies and international relations at various universities (Israel, Qatar, Kazakhstan), writing poetry, oil painting, and acting as well as playwriting for theatre/opera.