16 years working as University teacher
23 Years with the United Nations, OSCE and EU in Conflict Countries
I started my professional career in 1978 as assistant professor for legal history at the Johannes Kepler University in Linz/Austria. My research work focused on the transition of European societies and legislation from the theocratic medieval age to modern secular and democratic statehood. In this respect, my particular interest was related to the development of constitutional law, the rule of law, family law, women’s and children rights.
In parallel, I was interested in the political dynamics in developing countries. Between 1979 and 1987 I spent several months as a free-lance journalist in Central America covering the wars in Nicaragua and El Salvador.
In 1993, I took the step from “theory to practice” by joining the UN Mission in Cambodia (UNTAC) and a year later decided to leave academia. Subsequently, I worked until 2016 for the United Nations / UNDP, the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the European Union in a number of conflict or post-conflict countries. Most of my assignments were related to peace-building, institution/capacity building, human rights, women’s rights, elections, democratisation, constitution and rule of law.
Since Dec 2016: Travelling around the world in a car
2014 – 2016 Chief Technical Adviser, UNDP Parliamentary and Constitutional Support Projects, Somalia
2011 – 2014 Senior Technical Adviser, UNDP ELECT, Afghanistan
2011 Deputy Head of Mission, OSCE/ODIHR Election Observation Mission to Kyrgyzstan
2009 – 2010 Project Manager, Election Support Project, UNDP, Tanzania
2007 – 2009 Human Rights Adviser, United Nations Country Team, Kyrgyzstan
2006 Deputy Head of Mission, OSCE/ODIHR Election Observation Mission to Tajikistan
2005 – 2006 Chief Technical Advisor for Elections / UNDP Kyrgyzstan
2004 Deputy Chief Observer / European Union Election Observation Mission to Indonesia
2003 Country Director, Institute for Election Systems (IFES), Tajikistan
2003 Deputy Chief Observer / European Union Election Observation Mission to Nigeria
2002 Deputy Chief Observer / European Union Election Observation Mission to Pakistan
2002 Long Term Observer / European Union Election Observation Mission in Sierra Leone
2000 – 2001 Head of Field Office / OSCE Mission in Kosovo
2000 Deputy Head of Mission, Political Officer / Joint UN/OSCE Election Observation Mission to Tajikistan
1998 – 1999 Deputy Head of Mission, OSCE Mission to Tajikistan
1997 – 1998 Legal Advisor / OSCE Mission to Croatia
1996 – 1997 Head of Coordination Office / OSCE Mission to Croatia
1996 Director for Human Rights and Democratization / OSCE Mission to Bosnia
1994 – 1995 Head of Field Office / Mission of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) to Rwanda
1993 Election Investigation Officer UNTAC, Cambodia
1987 PhD / Habilitation (Docent) for Contemporary Austrian Legal History
1990 Two months with the international politics department of the Austrian newspaper Der Standard
1979 – 1987 Several short trips to Central America to work as a free lance journalist
1978 – 1994 Assistant / Associate Professor for Austrian and German Legal History / Law Faculty, Johannes Kepler University Linz
Major Publications:
Österreichische Verfassungs- und Verwaltungsgeschichte (History of Austrian Constitutional Law), 4rd ed., 1992/2006, 400 pages
Kinder- und Jugendrecht, Ed. (Textbook concerning children’s and juveniles’ legal status in Austria), 2 editions, 1993/97, 400 pages
Familie – Recht – Politik (Family – Law – Politics History of Austrian family law in the 19th and 20th century), 1987, 700 pages
Some 30 articles on various topics related to international politics and legal issue
Below you will find two photo blogs showing the major steps of my professional career and my favorite hobbies.
