Stefan Lehne is the political Director of the Austrian Ministry for European and International Affairs. From 2002 to 2008 he served as the Director of the Council of the European Union’s Directorate General for External and Politico-Military Affairs where he was in charge of the Balkans, Eastern Europe and Central Asia. He also served as the Head of the task force for the Western Balkans and Central Europe at the Policy Planning and Early Warning Unit of the Council of the EU. At the Austrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, he has served as Head of the Department for European Integration and as deputy director general for European integration. Mr. Lehne holds an M.A. in international relations from Fletcher School on Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, and a law degree from the University of Vienna.