Amb. Christian Strohal is an Austrian diplomat with a long career in multilateral work: most recently, he served as Special Representative for the Austrian OSCE Chairmanship 2017. Prior to that Ambassador Strohal served as Permanent Representative to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in Vienna and at the UN Office, the Conference on Disarmament and other international organizations in Geneva. From 2003 to 2008 he was Director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights. In his previous career, he worked as representative to the UN Commission on Human Rights, as a delegate to the UN General Assembly, and as a representative to the EU Working Group on Human Rights, and as Ambassador for the UN World Conference for Human Rights. From 1994 to 2000, he was Director for Human Rights, International Humanitarian Law, and Minority and Gender Issues at the Austrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Immediately before heading the ODIHR, he was Austrian Ambassador to Luxembourg. 

Amb. Strohal has conducted numerous negotiation processes in a broad range of international organizations. He has been educated in Vienna, London and Geneva and holds a Dr.iur. from the University of Vienna. He has been teaching at different institutions, published a number of articles and is member of the International Institute of Human Rights.