Michael Karnitschnig is an Austrian national with a strong academic and professional background in European political and legal studies. He completed a Certificate in Senior Executives in National and International Security at Harvard Kennedy School in 2019, holds a Master of Arts in European Political Studies from the College of Europe in Bruges (1997), and a Master of Laws from the University of Graz and the Free University of Amsterdam through the Erasmus programme.
Since January 2026, he serves as Acting Director-General for DG MENA, after being Deputy Director-General since July 2025 and Director for the Gulf earlier that year. Between 2019 and 2025, he was Director for External Relations at the Secretariat-General. Prior to that, he held several senior cabinet roles within the European Commission, including Head of Cabinet of Commissioner Hahn (2014–2019), Member of Cabinet of President Barroso (2011–2014), and Spokesperson for Foreign Affairs. His earlier experience includes advisory and policy roles in DG RELEX, work on the European Neighbourhood Policy, and positions related to the Western Balkans and agricultural law.
Before joining the European institutions, he worked for the Austrian government, including as Second Secretary at the Austrian Mission to the OSCE, Desk Officer for European Security Policy at the Austrian Foreign Ministry, and as a lawyer at the Austrian Defence Ministry.