German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier has appointed a special envoy to Macedonia, which should mediate in resolving the political crisis. The German Foreign Office announced this on their official Twitter account this afternoon.
The special envoy, according to the announcement, will be working in coordination with representatives of the European Union and the United States in the country to mediate in resolving the political crisis.
“Foreign Minister Steinmeier appoints special envoy to FYR of #Macedonia. Ambassador Haindl will coordinate closely with the EU and the US to support the mediation efforts”, said the tweet by the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
FM #Steinmeier appoints special envoy for FYR of #Macedonia. Amb. #Haindl will coordinate closely w/ #EU+#USA to support mediation efforts.
— GermanForeignOffice (@GermanyDiplo) May 4, 2016
Johannes Haindl was born in 1956 in Munich. He was a journalist, diplomat, and since July 2015, he is the German Ambassador to Austria.
Previously, he was Head of the Political Department and a representative of the Committee for Policy and Security (PSC) of the Permanent Mission of Germany to the European Union.
Johannes Haindl worked as a journalist at the Bavarian Radio, before becoming part of the diplomatic core in 1987.
He was employed at the German Embassy in Yugoslavia, then through the exchange of officials was employed in the US State Department. He then became Deputy Head of the Special Forces in the Western Balkans for the German Foreign Office.
Haindl between 2001 and 2004 became the Head of the Department for Special Forces in the Western Balkans, and then in 2006, he was a representative for South-East Europe and Turkey at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs before being appointed Deputy Chief of the Mission in the US since 2009.
From 3 September 2009 to 2011 he served as Ambassador to the Czech Republic, and since July 2015, he is the German Ambassador to Austria.
