Meet Ambassador Csilla Würtz, who directed NATO summits in Wales and Warsaw

From music to security: Ambassador Würtz’s journey

Born in communist Hungary in 1967, Csilla initially did not consider a diplomatic career. When growing up, she dreamt about becoming a pianist and later had her heart set on a career as an opera singer. Surprisingly, it was her passion for music that led her to join the Hungarian diplomatic service. 

“A friend of mine told me that the best way to pursue an operatic career was becoming a diplomat,” she laughs, explaining that her friend had a stereotypical view of officials only attending parties, receptions and entertaining foreign guests. “Well, that friend was very much mistaken, but I got hooked immediately.”

Following her English and History studies, Csilla joined the Hungarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1992 and found herself intrigued by multilateral diplomacy and the work of international organisations. In 1999, the year that Hungary joined the Alliance, she became a member of the Hungarian Delegation to NATO in Belgium, where she worked on the weapons of mass destruction and conventional arms agendas. 

“I was a fresh ally, so to say, and it was really fantastic. All of a sudden, I found myself in committees such as the Nuclear Planning Group and I could attend meetings, which I had not dared to dream about a few years before.”

Supporting the North Atlantic Council and other NATO decision-making bodies

In 2013, after several positions and deployments with the Hungarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, she came back to the Alliance, this time to the International Staff, and became the first woman to manage the North Atlantic Council (NAC) and Council-level bodies as its Secretary and Director of the Council Secretariat. During her tenure, she helped steer all ambassadorial and higher-level meetings, ensured the accurate recordings of their proceedings and supported the Secretary General and the Deputy Secretary General in the deliberations. “This was a 24/7 job – in five years, I attended around 400 NAC meetings. I also worked with councils and committees in different partnership frameworks, such as the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council, the NATO-Russia Council, the NATO-Ukraine Commission or the NATO-Georgia Commission, just to mention a few.” 

Csilla’s portfolio also included being the Chief of Protocol at NATO Headquarters and the Director of the NATO Summit and Ministerial Task Forces. She planned, organised and managed 25 ministerial sessions, both in Brussels and abroad. She also directed preparations of two NATO summits – the 2014 Wales Summit and the 2016 Warsaw Summit –  as well as the high-level meeting of Heads of State and Government of the handing over of the new NATO Headquarters in Brussels in 2017. Moreover, as the Chief of Protocol, Ambassador Würtz was responsible for providing protocol services to NATO and the Alliance’s leadership for high-level visits at NATO Headquarters and abroad. She organised events in 32 countries for the North Atlantic Council as a whole, including in partner countries such as in Jordan, Kuwait and Qatar.

Spearheading summit preparations

As she explains, hosting a NATO summit is a huge undertaking for a member country. The host nation is required to finance the whole event and to coordinate closely with NATO on the proceedings and security measures. Moreover, the choice of the venue is paramount. Csilla says that there is ‘no venue built with NATO in mind’ and finding the right location is difficult: even places where large events have been hosted before, such as United Nations meetings or the Olympic Games, do not always meet NATO’s needs in terms of venue size or security regulations. 

“For the NATO Summit in 2016, Poland chose its National Warsaw Stadium as the summit location. You may think it is a huge venue, but we still had to construct, build and make changes to manage the event and all the guests. We had almost 60 different countries attending and represented at all levels, from the heads of state and government to foreign and defence ministers and chiefs of defence. Moreover, we had to accommodate press and media, industrial displays, a public diplomacy event, and countless side meetings.”

Ambassador Csilla Würtz with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg (on the left) right before the start of the 2016 NATO Summit in Warsaw

Warsaw National Stadium – the venue of the 2016 NATO Summit

NATO as a footprint in life

Csilla admits that looking back at all the events that she organised, makes her feel proud and grateful. “We were facilitating NATO’s core business very successfully and it made me happy – and also relieved – to see the pleased faces around the Council table at the end of each meeting.” 

Life after NATO

On 22 June 2018, His Majesty King Philippe of the Belgians awarded Ambassador Csilla Würtz with the high honour of Grand Officer of the Order of Leopold II for boosting Belgium's image and her work for the Alliance. After leaving NATO in 2018, Csilla has continued to work on high-profile events, providing hospitality, guest experience and protocol services for various organisations. She was also Director for Hungary’s presence at Expo 2020 Dubai and CEO and Special Representative for International Partnerships of the National Talent Center of Hungary.