To all friends of Austria
and Austrians in the United States:

After four exciting years in Washington, DC, my tenure as Ambassador of Austria to the United States has now come to an end. I would like to take this opportunity to bid farewell and to thank you all for making this time such a delightful and rewarding experience to look back on.

Serving as Austrian Ambassador to this fascinating country has been deeply enriching both professionally and on a personal level. Having spent almost nineteen years of my diplomatic career in America, this posting was a fitting culmination of my deep affinity for the United States, and I am thankful for the opportunity to make a contribution to the Austrian-American friendship.

Returning to Vienna, I leave this friendship in the caring hands of both my colleagues at the Austrian Embassy and my successor and good friend, Ambassador Martin Weiss, to whom I wish the very best and every success.

My successful mission in Washington would not have been possible without my wife Gudrun. I want to express my immeasurable appreciation to her, who put a halt on her career to support me full-time here in DC. She took on a role she did not ask for and made it her own with grace, charm, style and good humor.

It has been the honor of my life to serve the Austrian people, and to conclude my diplomatic career on such a high note, as Austrian Ambassador to the United States, is beyond my utmost expectation.

With my mission completed, I bid you farewell and look forward to seeing Austrian-American relations flourish even further as we master the challenges of the future.

All the best,
Wolfgang Waldner