Michael Georg Link takes up post as new ODIHR director
WARSAW, 2 July 2014 – Michael Georg Link of Germany assumed his new duties on Tuesday as director of the OSCE's Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR).
Beginning his tenure as ODIHR director, Link stressed that OSCE participating States laid the foundation for the Office’s work to protect and promote respect for fundamental freedoms and human rights at the very beginning of the Organization’s history.
“One of the main principles in the Helsinki Final Act of 1975 is that long-term stability, security and prosperity are only possible with the respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, the rule of law and democratic institutions,” he said. “The failure to follow this principle can lead to instability and insecurity, so all participating states have an inherent interest in implementing their commitments in the OSCE's human dimension.”
“I am looking forward to engaging in a dialogue with the governments and civil society of all 57 participating States and Partners, and with the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, with the clear aim of contributing to peace, security and well-being throughout our security community.”
Link succeeds Ambassador Janez Lenarčič of Slovenia, who headed ODIHR for six years.
Prior to joining the Office, Link served from January 2012 to December 2013 as the Minister of State for Europe in the German government, responsible for OSCE, EU, Council of Europe and NATO affairs. Elected to the German parliament in 2005, representing Heilbronn/Baden-Württemberg, Link established a strong background in the work of the OSCE as a member of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, in which he served from 2006 to 2013.
The ODIHR director is a past member of the boards of the Center for International Peace Operations (ZIF), the German Foundation for Peace Research and the Foundation for German-Polish Cooperation. He remains active in international NGOs, including the German Council on Foreign Relations, the German Association for Eastern European Studies, the Southeast Europe Association and the German Atlantic Association.
Born in Heilbronn in 1963, Link studied Russian, French, Political Science, Public Law and Eastern European History at the University of Augsburg, the University of Lausanne and Heidelberg University.