Born 1950 in Kitzbühel, Austria; studied philosophy and literature in Vienna; worked as a teacher, university lecturer and civil servant in the ministry of education. In the 1990s was a director of KulturKontakt Austria: cultural and educational cooperation with Central, Eastern and South-eastern Europe. From 2002 to 2009 Gottfried was director of the European Cultural Foundation in Amsterdam. Currently working in the ministry for education, arts and culture, Vienna: as a special envoy for international cultural-political projects. Gottfried acts as an advisor to the MORE EUROPE initiative http://www.moreeurope.org/
