Heinz Fischer
| Heinz Fischer | |
.jpg) |
|
|
President of Austria
|
|
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 8 July 2004 |
|
| Chancellor | Wolfgang Schüssel Alfred Gusenbauer Werner Faymann |
|---|---|
| Preceded by | Thomas Klestil |
|
|
|
| Born | 9 October 1938 Graz, Austria |
| Political party | Social Democratic Party |
| Spouse(s) | Margit Binder |
| Alma mater | University of Vienna |
| Religion | Agnostic |
Heinz Fischer GColIH (born 9 October 1938) is the President of Austria. He took office on 8 July 2004 and was re-elected for a second and last term on 25 April 2010. Fischers membership in the social democratic party (SPÖ) is resting since he assumed the presidency.[1]
Contents |
Early life
Born in Graz, Styria, Fischer attended the Gymnasium, focusing on humanities, and taking his "Matura" exams in 1956. He studied law at the University of Vienna, earning a doctorate in 1961. In 1963 at the age of 25, Fischer, spent a year volunteering at Kibbutz Sarid, northern Israel.[2] Apart from being a politician, Fischer also pursued an academic career, and became a Professor of Political Science at the University of Innsbruck in 1993.
Political career
Fischer was a member of the Austrian parliament, the National Council, from 1971, and served as its presiding officer from 1990 to 2002. From 1983 to 1987 he was Minister for Science in a coalition government headed by Fred Sinowatz.
First term as President
In January 2004 Fischer announced that he would run for President to succeed late Thomas Klestil. He was elected on 25 April 2004 as the candidate of the opposition Social Democratic Party. He polled 52.4 per cent of the votes to defeat Benita Ferrero-Waldner, then Foreign Minister in the ruling conservative coalition led by the People's Party.
Fischer was sworn in on 8 July 2004 and took over the office from the President of the Parliament, who had acted for the President following Klestil's death on 6 July.
Apart from labelling him, in a slightly derogatory fashion, a Berufspolitiker ("professional politician") who allegedly has never been in touch with the real world, Fischer's critics, first and foremost his colleague at university, Norbert Leser, point out that Fischer has always avoided controversy and conflict, even when that would have been called for. The example frequently quoted in this context is Fischer's tacit support of Bruno Kreisky's attacks on Simon Wiesenthal. On being nominated for President, Fischer said that he hated antagonising people and that he considered this quality an asset rather than anything else.
Second term as President
In April 2010, Fischer was re-elected as President of Austria, winning a second six-year term in office with almost 79% of the votes with a record-low voter turnout of merely 53.6%.[3] Around a third of those eligible to vote voted for Fischer, leading the conservative daily Die Presse to describe the election as an "absolute majority for non-voters"[4]. The reasons for the low turnout lay in the fact that pollsters had predicted a safe victory for Fischer (Austrian presidents running for a second term of office have always won) and that three of the big parties had not nominated a candidate of their own with the People's Party not even endorsing one of the other three candidates.
Personal life
Fischer is an avowed agnostic.[5] Fischer has been married since 1968. The couple has two grown children. Fischer enjoys mountaineering and has been president of the Austrian Friends of Nature for many years.
References
- ↑ Wiener Zeitung
- ↑ Austrian president vows to bring up Schalit case with Assad | Middle East
- ↑ "Austria president sweeps to victory". Al Jazeera. 25 April 2010. http://english.aljazeera.net/news/europe/2010/04/2010425175334560120.html. Retrieved 25 April 2010.
- ↑ http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=357759&version=1&template_id=39&parent_id=21
- ↑ Portrait of Fischer in the daily Wiener Zeitung
See also
External links
- Der Österreichische Bundespräsident/The Austrian Federal President (in German)
- Digitale Hofburg (in German)
- Personal website (in German)
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Thomas Klestil |
President of Austria 2004–present |
Incumbent |
|
|||||
|
||||||||