Manfred Scheich worked as an official in the Austrian Foreign Ministry from 1958 to 1999). H was Head of the Austrian Foreign Ministry's Department for European Integration from 1978 to 1983, and Ambassador to the European Communities in Brussels from 1983 to 1986. From 1987 to 1992 he was Head of the Austrian Foreign Ministry's Department for Economic Policy and Integration, and was Chief negotiator for the diplomatic negotiations, at ambassadorial level, for Austria's accession to the European Union in 1993-1994. From 1995 to 1999, he was the Austrian Permanent Representative to the European Union.