Austria

Hans Peter Manz has been appointed to be the ambassador of Austria to the United States, having most recently served as Austria’s ambassador to Switzerland since 2007 and foreign policy advisor to the federal chancellor from 2000 to 2007.

In addition, he has served in the Office of Vice Chancellor and Minister for Finance (2007) and head of the Department for Political Integration and International Cooperation in the field of Justice and Home Affairs at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs in Vienna (2000), where he was also temporary head of the Department for International Organizations (1999-2000) and advisor in the Department for Eastern Europe (1987-91). Other postings abroad include minister, deputy chief of mission at the Permanent Mission of Austria to the United Nations in New York (1994-99); minister-counselor, deputy chief of mission at the Austrian Embassy in Switzerland (1991-94); first secretary and deputy chief of mission at the Austrian Embassy in Tehran, Iran (1985-87); as well as second secretary at the embassy in Switzerland (1981-85).

Ambassador Manz holds a doctorate of law from the University of Vienna and joined the Ministry for Foreign Affairs in 1979.

Pakistan

Sherry Rehman was appointed to be the ambassador of Pakistan to the United States by the Pakistani government on Nov. 23, 2011 replacing Ambassador Husain Haqqani, who resigned in the wake of allegations that he orchestrated a high-level memo seeking U.S. assistance to rein in the Pakistani military in return for the civilian government adopting pro-U.S. policies. Haqqani, who served in Washington since May 2008, has denied any involvement in the memo, written by businessman Mansoor Ijaz, and has returned to Pakistan while the Supreme Court investigates the “memogate” scandal.

Rehman, 50, is a member of the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party and a prominent activist in support of women’s and minority rights. She most recently served as a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan since 2002, including as ranking member of the National Security Committee. In 2008, she was appointed federal minister for information and broadcasting, stepping down in 2009 to protest new restrictions on the media, after which she authored several legislative bills and resolutions on foreign and security policy, human rights and media protections. She has also authored several bills to combat violence, rape and honor killings against women.

In addition, Rehman is the founding chair of the Jinnah Institute, a Pakistani-based think tank that promotes fundamental rights, tolerance and pluralism, and an award-winning journalist with 20 years of experience in both broadcast and print media, having served as the former editor of the Herald newsmagazine in Pakistan.

Among other accomplishments, she co-authored the 2005 book “The Kashmiri Shawl: From Jamavar to Paisley”; was awarded the title of “Democracy’s Hero” by the International Republican Institute in 2009; chaired the Lady Dufferin Foundation Trust, which provides women and children’s subsidized health care in the province of Sindh; and served as a member of the Parliamentarians Network for Conflict Prevention at the East West Institute in Brussels and Parliamentarians for Global Action in New York.

Rehman studied politics and foreign relations at Smith College in the United States and at the University of Sussex in Britain.

She is married to banker Nadeem Hussain, president and chief executive officer of Tameer Microfinance Bank.