[2][3] Most notably, Rau was employed and worked at the Max Planck Society in Göttingen, Trinity College in Cambridge and at the University of Texas in Austin.

Rau also represents Poland at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe,[5] and is a member of the European Conservatives Group and Democratic Alliance since March 2020.

[7][8] In September 2020, he met with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud.

[10] Since January 2022 he has been the Chairman-in-Office of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, as Foreign Ministry of the country holding the Chairmanship.

[11] In September 2023, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was implicated in a cash-for-visa corruption scandal,[12] with Rau being claimed by opposition members to have given his consent to the scheme.

Zdanowska, a member of the opposing Civic Platform party, was accused of corruption, but had overwhelming support from the city's residents and was predicted to win in the upcoming elections.