A lawyer trained in Germany (Erlangen/Nuremberg) and in France (Aix-en-Provence), Jobst von Kirchmann has also been trained in information management in Japan (Tokyo) and in strategic leadership. After having practiced law (judge, prosecutor, lawyer), he joined the European institutions, first as an assistant at the European Parliament, then within the General Directorates for trade and internal market of the European Commission. Since 2002, he has focused on the external relations of the European Union and has held various positions, which have allowed him to be in contact with all regions of the world, in particular for the European External Action Service (EEAS) at the EU Delegation in Iraq, then at the Directorate General for International Cooperation and Development, as Deputy Head of the Information and Communication Department, Head of the Legal and Financial Department for Asia and Head of the Department in charge of development policy in Central Asia, the Middle East, the Gulf and the Pacific. Before joining the EU Delegation to Côte d'Ivoire as Ambassador in September 2018, he headed the department in charge of development policy in Southern Africa and the Indian Ocean. He presented his credentials to H.E. President E.D. Mnangagwa on 12 October 2022, becoming the Ambassador of the European Union to Zimbabwe.