Yearly Archives: 2022

Unser Mann in Kabul

Dr. Nikolaus Keller studierte Rechtswissenschaften an den Universitäten in Wien und Graz arbeitete am Verwaltungsgerichtshof in Wien und in der Verwaltungsakademie. Im Jahr 2000 trat er den Dienst im Außenministerium an und hatte Aufenthalte in den Botschaften in Skopje, Kiew und Addis Abeba (Äthiopien). Er war von 2010 – 2015 Direktor des österreichischen Kulturformus Belgrad. 2015 – 2018 war er Referatsleiter der Sektion kulturelle Auslandsbeziehungen im Bundesministerium für Europa und Integration und Äußeres in Wien. Zuletzt übte das Amt des Österreichischen Botschafters in Pakistan und Afghanistan aus.

Flyer: http://www.birkbrunn.at/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/231116-Nicolaus-Keller.jpg

Being an American diplomat

Mario Mesquita is the Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Austria. Previously, he served as the Chargé d’affaires ad interim from July 2021 to January 2022. Mesquita joined the US State Department in 1998 as a career diplomat in the senior field service. Most recently, he worked as Executive Vice President for Visa Services at the Office of Consular Affairs, where he worked from 2018 to 2020.His previous assignments included serving as country coordinator for visas in Mexico City from 2015 to 2018 and as deputy chief of mission and chargé d’affaires at the US Embassy to the Holy See from 2011 to 2014. He has also served at the US embassies in Prague, Warsaw and Bogota active. In Washington, Mesquita worked for the Secretary of State as Deputy Director of Staff of the Executive Secretariat, Senior Watch Officer in the State Department’s Operations Center and Office of European and Eurasian Affairs. Originally from Sacramento, California, Mario Mesquita is a graduate of the University of California at Davis, where he studied political science. He speaks German, Spanish and Italian as well as some Czech and Polish.

Flyer: http://www.birkbrunn.at/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/221019-Mario-Mesquita.jpg

A Crisis of Confidence. The geopolitical consequences of Western decline

Mag. Ralph Schoellhammer, PhD is a faculty member in the International Relations Department at Webster Vienna Private University. In addition to his work at the university he also publishes regularly on cultural and geopolitical issues in Austrian and international newspapers, including the Jerusalem Post and Newsweek. He also hosts the “1020 Podcast” which has featured interviews with scholars like Victor Davis Hanson, Glenn Loury, and John Yoo. Ralph appears weekly on the Austrian channel news network Exxpress.at, to discuss the state of politics around the world.

Flyer: http://www.birkbrunn.at/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/220428-Ralph-Schollhammer.jpg

Christliche Ethik in einem liberalen Staat – Eine Richtschnur für alle Politiker?

Ledóchowski studierte in Wien Rechtswissenschaften in Wien. Seit dem Jahr 2011 begleitet er Unternehmen bei ihrer Zertifizierung als familien­freundliche Arbeitgeber und hat viel Erfahrungen im Spannungsfeld zwischen gesell­schafts­politischen Ansprüchen und betrieblichen Notwendig­keiten gesammelt.

Politisch ist er Sprecher für Christdemokratie im Rathausklub der neuen Volkspartei Wien und engagiert sich dabei mit dem Ziel, das christliche Menschenbild im politischen Geschehen sichtbar zu machen.

Flyer: http://www.birkbrunn.at/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/220324-Jan-Ledochowski.jpg