Beatrix Christina Kania is a German diplomat and international civil servant serving as the Chief of Protocol of the United Nations since 1 July 2019.
She previously served as the German ambassador to Honduras from 2014 to 2017 and head of the multilateral protocol division of the Federal Foreign Office.
Early life and education Kania was born in Nuremberg. After completing her Abitur she studied administrative science, political science, history and law at the universities of Erlangen, Bonn and Hagen, graduating with a Master of Arts before passing the entrance examination for the higher foreign service of Germany.
Diplomatic career Kania joined the German diplomatic service in 1988. Her early postings included the embassy in The Hague, the German Consulate General in New York, the Federal Foreign Office in Bonn, and the German Permanent Representation to NATO and the NATO International Staff in Brussels, where she worked as a public relations officer.
She served as political adviser to the commander of the Kosovo Force (KFOR) in Pristina, as a disarmament officer at the United Nations Office at Geneva, and as head of protocol and counsellor for political affairs at the German Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York.
From 2008 to 2010 she was deputy head of mission at the German embassy in Kuwait, and from 2010 to 2013 deputy head of division for United Nations and global affairs at the Federal Foreign Office in Berlin. Between 2013 and 2014, she was political counsellor at the German embassy in Ankara.
Ambassador to Honduras Kania presented copies of her credentials to Honduran foreign minister Mireya Agüero on 4 September 2014 and served as ambassador in Tegucigalpa until August 2017.
Chief of Protocol of the United Nations After returning to Berlin as head of the Multilateral Protocol Division of the Federal Foreign Office, Kania was appointed by Secretary-General António Guterres as Chief of Protocol of the United Nations on 1 July 2019, succeeding Peter Van Laere of Belgium.
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