Michael Zilmer-Johns
Permanent Representative – Denmark
2014
Ambassador Michael Zilmer-Johns was born 19 June 1957 and studied economics
at Copenhagen University and Christian Albrecht University in Kiel. After
graduation in 1982 he began his carrier at the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs
in working on GATT, EEC accession negotiations with Spain and Portugal as well
as development co-operation with Latin America, Angola and Mozambique.
From 1985-88 he served as Secretary of Embassy at the
Danish EEC representation in Brussels. Back in
Copenhagen he became Secretary of the Corporate
Board and Assistant Private Secretary to Minister for
Foreign Affairs Uffe Ellemann-Jensen. Between 1992 and
1995 he was Head of the EU and Economic Section at the
Danish Embassy in Bonn.After one year as Deputy in the
Department for North Africa, the Middle East and Latin
America at the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, he
became head of the Policy and Planning Department of
Danida in 1996.
10 days before the terror attack on 9/11 2001 he was
appointed Political Director and worked intensively during
the next two years handling the ensuing crisis i.a.
chairing the EU Political Committee during the Danish EU
Presidency in 2002. In 2003 he became foreign and
security advisor to Prime Minister Rasmussen with the
Iraq war and the EU Constitutional Treaty among key
challenges. In 2005 he returned to the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs to become State Secretary for Foreign and European Affairs. His responsibilities covered
the EU, OSCE, Denmark’s strategic partnerships with the US, Russia and China, other bilateral
relations as well as security, including NATO and Danish participation in military operations like
Afghanistan and Libya. He was the Danish Sherpa during the negotiation of the Lisbon Treaty,
chaired the Danish EU-Committee that co-ordinates Danish positions on all EU-affairs and often
represented the Danish Government at EU ministerial meetings.
In 2013 he was seconded to the European External Action Service as special advisor on security
and defence.
From 1 October 2014 he took over as Danish NATO Ambassador at NATO HQ in Brussels.
Ambassador Zilmer-Johns is married to Danish PSC-ambassador Lisbet Zilmer-Johns and has 4
children.