[1] In 1986, Michael Linhart joined the diplomatic service in the Foreign Ministry and was deployed to the Austrian Embassy in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Afterwards, Linhart became the Austrian Ambassador to Greece until 2012 when he returned to Austria as the section head for development cooperation in the Foreign Ministry.

After the resignation of Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, Schallenberg succeeded him as head of government and, in his first official act, proposed Linhart as his successor in the Foreign Ministry.

[3] In his first speech to the National Council on 12 October 2021, Linhart described his guiding principles as 'dialogue and commitment with a clear course of action for the country'.

Saying that crises and conflicts across the world 'would not take a break' which was why under his leadership Austrian diplomacy would not come to a stop, he also reiterated the importance of a 'strong European Union' and a close relationship with other EU member states.