Diplomacy: accreditation of new ambassadors - Holy See – Austria – Denmark

Accréditations Ambassadeurs 10-09-2019 - From left to right: H.E. Mgr Antonio Arcari, Apostolic Nuncio; Gilles Tonelli, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation; H.E. Mr Michael Linhart, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Austria, and H.E. Mr Michael Starbaek Christensen, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Denmark © Government Communication Department/Manuel Vitali

From left to right: H.E. Mgr Antonio Arcari, Apostolic Nuncio; Gilles Tonelli, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation; H.E. Mr Michael Linhart, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Austria, and H.E. Mr Michael Starbaek Christensen, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Denmark © Government Communication Department/Manuel Vitali

On Tuesday 10 September 2019, at a lunch held at the Yacht Club de Monaco, Gilles Tonelli, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, received H.E. Mgr Antonio Arcari, Apostolic Nuncio, H.E. Mr Michael Linhart, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Austria and H.E. Mr Michael Starbaek Christensen, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Denmark, who presented their credentials to H.S.H. the Sovereign Prince during the morning.

H.E. Mgr Antonio Arcari was ordained as a priest on 11 June 1977 and incardinated in Brescia. He joined the Holy See’s diplomatic service in 1982. In 2003, he was appointed Titular Archbishop of Caeciri and Apostolic Nuncio in Honduras, then Apostolic Nuncio in Mozambique in 2008 and in Costa Rica in 2014.

H.E. Mr Michael Linhart joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants in 1986. After serving in various departments and embassies, he was promoted to the post of Austrian Ambassador to Damascus in 2000. From 2003 to 2007 he was Director General of the Austrian Development Agency. In 2007, he was posted to the Austrian Embassy in Athens as Ambassador, before being appointed Director General for Development Cooperation and International Development Policy at the Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs. He became Secretary General of Foreign Affairs at the Federal Ministry for Europe, Integration and Foreign Affairs in 2013.

H.E. Mr Michael Starbaek Christensen was posted to the Danish Embassy in Moscow in 1996 as First Secretary. In 2004, he was promoted to Minister Counsellor and Deputy Head of Mission at the Permanent Representation of his country to the United Nations. In 2010, he joined the European Commission in Brussels as a Deputy Head of Cabinet. He was appointed Ambassador, Political Director and Director of Global Security Issues at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 2013, then Ambassador, Diplomatic Advisor and Sherpa to the Prime Minister in 2015.