Germany has designated Barbara Voss as the new ambassador to Georgia, to replace Peter Fischer, an outspoken diplomat who announced the end of his tenure late in June as relations between the two countries remained strained.
Voss, a longtime diplomat, has served in the German foreign service since 1992, with her career spanning both work at the Berlin headquarters and overseas postings, most recently as Consul General in Kolkata, India.
“The current tensions are placing a strain on Germany’s and the EU’s relations with Georgia. Nevertheless, Germany’s commitment to the country’s democratic and pro-European course remains unchangedly strong,” Voss, an “Ambassador-Designate” in Georgia since August, is quoted on the website of the German Embassy in Tbilisi.
Prior to her mission in India (2023-2026), the diplomat worked in the Foreign Office as a Deputy Head of Division of Cultural and Media Relations with the Maghreb, Near East and Middle East (2019-2023) and as a Desk Officer for International Cooperation in the Fight Against Terrorism (2015–2019).
Her earlier overseas postings include Desk Officer for Economic Relations at the German Embassy in Pakistan (2012-2015), and a Consul at the German Embassy in Israel (2009-2012), as well as German Embassies in Nigeria, Tanzania, and the German Permanent Mission in the United Nations in New York, U.S. in 1996-2005.
Her designation comes amid continued strain in bilateral relations, with the tenure of former Ambassador Fischer, who has been openly critical of the ruling Georgian Dream party’s policies and anti-Western rhetoric, marked by summonses of diplomats at both the Georgian Foreign Ministry and the German Foreign Office, verbal attacks and accusations from Georgian Dream circles and allied media outlets, and statements by Berlin to defend its ambassador, among others.
As tensions peaked, Berlin temporarily recalled Fischer for consultations later in 2025 over what the German Foreign Office said were months of Georgian leaders “agitating” against the EU, Germany, and the ambassador himself.
In a separate controversy, Tbilisi raised concerns over Berlin delaying accepting the credentials of Georgian Ambassador Alexander Kartozia. Kartozia finally presented his credentials to German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier on July 23, ten months after his appointment in October 2025.
Commenting in July on the planned ceremony of a Georgian diplomat presenting credentials, Georgian Dream Foreign Minister Maka Botchorishvili expressed the hope that Kartozia’s ceremony, as well as arrival of a new German ambassador in Georgia, would be an opportunity “to bring relations between our countries back to a normal framework” and further develop them in a way that “serves the interests of both” Georgia and Germany, following what she described “a rather negative dynamic in recent times” in bilateral ties.
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