Republic of Austria’s Ambassador to Samoa presents credentials

Source: MFAT

APIA, SAMOA – 24 MARCH 2023: The Ambassador of the Republic of Austria to Samoa, His Excellency, Mr. Wolfgang Lukas Strohmayer presented his Letter of Credence to the Head of State, Afioga Tuimalealiifano Vaaletoa Sualauvi II, at the credential ceremony held at the Residence of the Head of State at Vailele, yesterday afternoon.

During the Ceremonial remarks, the Ambassador expressed his sincere appreciation for the opportunity to present his letters of credentials to the Head of State of Samoa and conveyed the warm greetings from the Federal President His Excellency Mr. Alexander van der Bellen as well as the Government and people of Austria.

The Ambassador further emphasized on Austria’s close and friendly relations with Samoa throughout the years and that both countries continue to work well with each other through cooperation at the multilateral level.

The Ambassador affirmed Austria’s commitment in the fight against climate change and the importance in cooperating with other nations for climate action. As Ambassador, Mr. Strohmayer is ambitious to substantially strengthen bilateral cooperation between Austria and Samoa fostering personal contacts at all levels and especially at the people-to-people level.

In his remarks, the Head of State of the Independent State of Samoa expressed his gratitude to President, Alexander van der Bellen for his kind sentiments and reciprocated his best wishes to His Excellency, the Government and people of Austria.

The Head of State acknowledged the importance of Samoa and Austria relations at the bilateral and international level to address issues of mutual interest, highlighting that it is through our shared beliefs and values for democracy, governance, peace and security, environmental conservation and sustainable development that bind the strong friendship between both countries.

The Head State expressed his confidence that the appointment of the Ambassador will yield many opportunities for Governments and wished His Excellency well in his tenure as the Ambassador-designate of the Republic of Austria to Samoa.

BIODATA
His Excellency Mr. Wolfgang Lukas Strohmayer is a career diplomat who served in various Government positions within the Austrian Government. In his career he served as attaché at the Embassy of Austria in Zagreb/Croatia (1995). He later served as Counsellor, Head of EU and Economic Affairs Department at the Embassy of Austria in Bonn/Germany.

In 1999 he was posted as Counsellor at the Embassy of Austria in Budapest/Hungary and later the Minister plenipotentiary, Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Head of Unit: EU Single Market and Research; Competitiveness Council, COREPER I; EU-Presidency of Austria. In 2006 the Minister, at the Embassy of Austria in Canberra Deputy Head of Mission,  Consul General of Austria in Strasbourg/France, Minister; later the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Director. In 2019 he was appointment as Ambassador to Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands.