Christoph Thun-Hohenstein assumed direction of the MAK – Austrian Museum of Applied Arts / Contemporary Art on 1 September 2011. While working for the Austrian Foreign Ministry he held posts in Abidjan, Geneva, and Bonn. He was director of the Austrian Cultural Forum New York from 1999 to 2007, after which he served as managing director of departure – the Creative Agency of the City of Vienna, until August 2011. Christoph Thun-Hohenstein has published on topics dealing above all with European integration and with contemporary culture and art, and has held numerous lectures on these topics. He has also curated exhibitions of contemporary art, and he regularly serves on selection juries.