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Austria

Austria, 1918 to today. Draft, not yet reviewed

The empire's defeat and subsequent collapse led to the proclamation of the Republic of German-Austria in 1918 and the First Austrian Republic in 1919. On 13 March 1938, Austria was annexed by the Third Reich and ceased to exist as an independent country. After its liberation in 1945 and a decade of Allied occupation, the country regained its sovereignty and declared its perpetual neutrality in 1955. The country has been a member of the United Nations since 1955 and of the European Union since 1995.

Seat of power: Vienna

Rulers

Karl Renner

Federal Chancellor of Austria, 1918–1919

Renner became the first head of government, called State Chancellor, of the newly established small German-speaking republic. A wide range of social reforms were introduced by Renner's government, including unemployment insurance, paid holidays, the eight-hour workday, and regulations on the working conditions of miners, bakers, women, and children.

Portrait of Karl Renner: Unknown author, Public domain, file

Karl Seitz

President of Austria, 1919–1920

Seitz became the First President, and the other two presidents became deputies of the First President. The First President was also to be the head of state. Following the implementation of the definitive Constitution of Austria on 1 October 1920, Seitz declined to seek re-election.

Portrait of Karl Seitz: Ferdinand Schmutzer, Public domain, file

Michael Hainisch

President of Austria, 1920–1928

He was chosen president because of his personal authority, although he was not a member of the parliament. As a president, he worked hard to improve the dire situation Austria found itself in after the war. He did a lot to develop the agricultural sector, encouraged the electrification of the railway, and tried to develop more tourism, especially in the Alps.

Portrait of Michael Hainisch: UnknownUnknown, Public domain, file

Wilhelm Miklas

Head of state, 1928–1938

Miklas was first and foremost a defender of Catholic culture against the anti-clerical Social Democrats. Miklas did not intervene when, on 4 March 1933, Speaker Karl Renner and his deputies resigned their offices after a heated discussion in the Nationalrat parliament. In his private records, Miklas clearly condemned the violation of the constitution by Dollfuss and his successor Kurt Schuschnigg, but he did not openly criticise the government's policies.

Portrait of Wilhelm Miklas: Unknown, Bain News Service, publisher, Public domain, file

Karl Renner

President of Austria, 1945–1950

After the fall of Nazi Germany in 1945, Karl Renner became the first President of the Second Republic. On 20 April 1945, the Soviets instructed Renner to form a provisional government, and seven days later his cabinet took office and declared the independence of Austria from Nazi Germany.

Portrait of Karl Renner: Unknown author, Public domain, file

Leopold Figl

President of Austria, 1950–1951

Although he could have formed an exclusively ÖVP government, the memories of the factionalism that had plagued the First Republic led him to continue the grand coalition between the People's Party, Socialists and Communists. As foreign minister, he took part in the negotiations on the Austrian State Treaty, which he signed in 1955.

Portrait of Leopold Figl: User:Karl Gruber Owner my family photo after 1962, CC BY-SA 3.0, file

Theodor Körner

President of Austria, 1951–1957

He became the first President of Austria directly elected by the people. Körner was responsible for rebuilding and reconstructing Vienna, which had been heavily destroyed by bombing during the war.

Portrait of Theodor Körner: Fotograf im Auftrag der United States Information Agency (Pictorial Section der Information Services Branch (ISB)); c..., Public domain, file

Adolf Schärf

President of Austria, 1957–1965

Schärf gained recognition by exercising his office according to the principle of non-partisanship. Schärf was the first post-war president to be re-elected, in 1963, defeating his Conservative rival Julius Raab.

Portrait of Adolf Schärf: Basch, [...] / Opdracht Anefo, CC BY-SA 3.0 nl, file

Franz Jonas

President of Austria, 1965–1974

As president, he oversaw the creation of a minority government under Bruno Kreisky, the leader of the Socialist Party. Jonas took interest in international affairs, making several international trips as mayor and as president.

Portrait of Franz Jonas: Unknown authorUnknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0 nl, file

Rudolf Kirchschläger

President of Austria, 1974–1986

In a programmatic lecture at Innsbruck University in February 1971, he outlined his understanding of an "ethical foreign policy". In 1980, he was elected for a second term with an approval rate of 80%, the highest rate ever obtained in any presidential elections. In 1974, he issued a pardon to convicted Austrian Nazi war criminal Franz Novak, who had coordinated the railroad deportation of European Jews to concentration and extermination camps.

Portrait of Rudolf Kirchschläger: Gerold Amann, CC0, file

Kurt Waldheim

President of Austria, 1986–1992

Waldheim had unsuccessfully sought election as President of Austria in 1971, but his second attempt on 8 June 1986 proved successful. Before the presidential elections, investigative journalist Alfred Worm revealed in the Austrian weekly news magazine Profil that Waldheim's recently published autobiography had several omissions about his life between 1938 and 1945. Throughout his term as President (1986–1992), Waldheim was officially deemed persona non grata by the United States and, officially or informally, by nearly every other nation in the world outside the Arab world.

Portrait of Kurt Waldheim: Bernard Gotfryd, Public domain, file

Thomas Klestil

President of Austria, 1992–2004

Klestil, who during his election campaign had vowed to be an "active" president, repeatedly criticized the government. In 2000, he had to swear in the newly formed coalition government with Jörg Haider's Austrian Freedom Party. The Austrian constitution gives far-reaching powers to the president, but these had never been exercised by any of Klestil's predecessors.

Portrait of Thomas Klestil: EC AV Portal, CC BY 4.0, file

Heinz Fischer

President of Austria, 2004–2016

He was elected on 25 April 2004 as the candidate of the opposition Social Democratic Party. In April 2010, Fischer was re-elected president of Austria, winning a second six-year term in office with almost 79% of the votes. He suspended his party membership as he became president.

Portrait of Heinz Fischer: C.Stadler/Bwag, CC BY-SA 4.0, file

Alexander Van der Bellen

President of Austria, 2017 to today

On 4 December 2016, he won the ensuing election, taking approximately 54% of the vote. During the presidential election, he appealed to the political centre and was endorsed by the leaders of both the Social Democratic Party and the conservative People's Party. He is supportive of the European Union and advocates European federalism.

Portrait of Alexander Van der Bellen: BMEIA/ Michael Gruber, CC BY 4.0, file

Culture

Picture

The Austrian State Treaty, also called the Austrian Independence Treaty, established Austria as a sovereign state.

Image: Austria Occupation Zones 1945-55.svg: Master Uegly (talk · contribs) derivative work: Hanzlan (talk), CC BY-SA 4.0, file

Sources

Text adapted from the Wikipedia articles listed as sources, CC BY-SA 4.0.