PROFILE

Petra Sigmund studied sinology, political science and economic policy studies at Heidelberg University, the Free University of Berlin and the People´s University in Beijing. She joined the German Federal Foreign Office in 1994 and has held various positions since then. From 2004 to 2006, she served as Head of the Trade Promotion Office at the German Embassy in Beijing. Between 2006 and 2010, she was in charge of EU relations at the German Federal Chancellery in Berlin, followed by being the spokeswoman of the German Embassy in Paris between 2010 and 2013. From 2015 to 2017, Petra Sigmund served as Head of Division for East Asia at the Federal Foreign Office before being appointed Deputy Director General for East Asia, Southeast Asia and the Pacific (2017-2019). 2019 she was promoted to Director General for Asia and the Pacific. She held that position until the summer of 2024 when she was appointed Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to Japan. Besides German, Petra Sigmund also speaks English, French and Chinese.