Helga Maria Schmid (born 8 December 1960)[1] is a German diplomat who served as the Secretary General of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) from 2020 to 2024.

[4] From 1988 Schmid worked in various positions within the German Federal Foreign Office and was assistant private secretary to the minister for European Affairs between 1990 and 1991.

From 1991 to 1994 she was the press and public affairs officer for the German embassy in Washington, D.C., under successive ambassadors Jürgen Ruhfus and Immo Stabreit.

[6][7] Following the founding of the European External Action Service, Schmid became deputy secretary-general for political affairs in 2010, serving under secretary general Pierre Vimont.

[9] In September 2020, on the recommendation of Heiko Maas, Schmid was nominated by the German government of Chancellor Angela Merkel as a candidate to become secretary-general of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).