Diplomatic career
In 1990, Greminger joined the diplomatic service of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA). After his posts in Bern, Tel Aviv, and Geneva, he held various senior positions within the FDFA, both domestically and abroad. Between 1992 and 1998, he was a diplomatic staff member, then deputy section head, and finally section head in the Politics and Research section of the Swiss Agency for Cooperation and Development (SDC).
From 1999 to 2001, Greminger was the coordinator of Swiss development cooperation and acting chargé d'affaires at the Swiss Embassy in Maputo, Mozambique. From 2002 to 2004, he served as deputy head of the Human Security Division and head of the Peace Policy Section. He then became the head of the Human Security Division and was simultaneously appointed Ambassador. [4] He led the competence center for peace, human rights, humanitarian, and migration policy from 2004 to 2010.
From 2010, Greminger was the Swiss ambassador to the OSCE, the United Nations, and international organizations in Vienna. During Switzerland's OSCE chairmanship in 2014, he chaired the OSCE Permanent Council and played a key role in establishing the observer mission for Ukraine. [5] From August 2015, Greminger was the deputy director and head of the Southern Cooperation Division of DEZA in Bern, responsible for a budget of 730 million USD and 900 staff members in Bern and abroad. [6]
On 11 July 2017, Greminger was designated as the Secretary-General of the OSCE, succeeding Lamberto Zannier. He was officially confirmed on 18 July 2017, for a three-year term. His term could have been extended once for another three years. Greminger was selected over four other candidates: Štefan Füle (Czech Republic), Erlan Idrissov (Kazakhstan), Alena Kupchyna (Belarus), and Ilkka Kanerva (Finland). The Secretary-General is the deputy of the annually rotating OSCE chairman and the administrative head of the OSCE and its secretariat.
In July 2020, Greminger's re-election was blocked, along with Harlem Désir (France), Representative on Freedom of the Media, Ingibjörg Sólrún Gísladóttir (Iceland), Director of the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), and Lamberto Zannier (Italy), High Commissioner on National Minorities. Azerbaijan, supported by Tajikistan, blocked the extension of Désir's mandate due to his "excessive criticism" of the media situation in Azerbaijan. Tajikistan and Turkey also blocked the extension of Gísladóttir's term. France, Iceland, Canada, and Norway insisted on re-electing all four officials as a package, which led to the blocking of Greminger and Zannier's re-elections as well. [7] Helga Maria Schmid (Germany) was elected as Greminger's successor in December 2020. [8] Matteo Mecacci (Italy) succeeded Gísladóttir, Teresa Ribeiro (Portugal) succeeded Désir, and Kairat Abdrachmanow (Kazakhstan) succeeded Zannier. [9]
Since 1 May 2021, Thomas Greminger has been the Executive Director of the Geneva Centre for Security Policy (GCSP). In this role, he promotes dialogue and cooperation on security policy issues and leads various initiatives and programs aimed at fostering peace and security. His focus includes enhancing the GCSP's research and analysis capabilities and the establishment of informal dialogue platforms at regional and global levels. [10] Examples include dialogues on geopolitical questions and strategic stability, particularly nuclear risks, as well as discussions between American and Russian experts on the Syrian conflict. Another focus is the war in Ukraine and the future of European security. This involves thematic issues, but also channels of communication between the parties to the conflict. A dialogue platform also deals with the current and future challenges facing the OSCE. [11] Additionally, there are regional initiatives addressing security challenges in states outside NATO and the EU, such as conflict resolution in the Mediterranean and questions on co-operation in the Arctic. [12]
Thomas Greminger chairs two boards of trustees of civil society organisations active in the field of peacebuilding (PeaceNexus; Geneva Peacebuilding Platform).
