German-born Eric Hauck becomes Catalan government delegate in Croatia

The Catalan government on Tuesday appointed German-born Eric Hauck to head its foreign delegation in Croatia. Seen as an area of strategic importance for Catalonia, the Balkan zone that the Croatian delegation covers includes Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro and Sèrbia, and is seen as an important area for trade and for the expansion of Catalan companies.

Hauck, who was born in Saarland in Germany in 1968, studied Journalism in the Autonomous University of Barcelona and has a master’s degree in the management of sports organizations from the Claude Bernard University Lyon 1, in France. Most recently head of communications for Girona’s Fundació Princesa, Hauck has wide experience in such fields as media, business, education, culture and sport.

In 2014, Hauck cofounded Impact Hub Barcelona, part of the world network of coworking centres for entrepreneurs. Before that, the new delegate headed communications for the foundation of Catalonia’s Open University (2008-2013), and before that the Fundació Fòrum Universal de les Cultures (2004-2007). Hauck also has experience with the International Olympic Committee, Barcelona City Council and the Avui newspaper.

The aim of the foreign delegations, which come under the control of the Catalan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Institutional Relations and Transparency, headed by Raül Romeva, is to strengthen and expand the executive’s actions abroad, defend the interests of the country beyond its borders and forge strong bilateral international relations. There are currently 12 foreign delegations in the government’s network, for the EU, the UK and Ireland, France, Germany, the US, Canada and Mexico, Austria, Italy, Portugal, Switzerland, Poland and the Baltic states, the Nordic countries, and now Croatia.