Since 1 August 2023, Julien Thöni has been Deputy Permanent representative of Switzerland to the United Nations and the other international organisations in Geneva and Permanent Representative of Switzerland to the Conference on Disarmament. Until July 2023, he was Consul General of Switzerland in Istanbul. He joined the diplomatic service in 1998 and made his diplomatic traineeship both in Bern at the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) and in Moscow at the Embassy of Switzerland. In 2000, Mr. Thöni served as desk officer for the countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States at the FDFA, covering the bilateral relations with Russia, Belarus, Moldova as well as the countries of the Caucasus and Central Asia. Between 2003 and 2007 he was Deputy Head of Mission at the Embassy of Switzerland in Saudi Arabia. In 2007 he was appointed deputy head of section and covered euro-Atlantic and European security in the International Security Division at the FDFA. In 2010, he served as head of section on issues related to disarmament and peace promotion also in Bern. Between 2013 and 2023 he was successively posted in Moscow as counsellor for economic and financial affairs, in Ramallah as Head of Mission and Representative of Switzerland to the Palestinian Authority and in Istanbul as Consul General. Mr. Thöni has a degree in International Relations from the Geneva Graduate Institute and a Masters’ degree in international conflict analysis from the University of Kent (Canterbury).