Austria |
This article is part of the series: |
|
Constitution
Executive
Decentralized gov't
Foreign policy
|
Other countries · Atlas |
The Austrian Federal Government (German: Österreichische Bundesregierung) is a collective body of the highest-ranking officers of the Austrian executive branch. It consists of the Chancellor, the Vice-Chancellor and the other federal ministers of the cabinet. Together with the President, the Government forms the supreme federal authority.
Since the 1929 reform of the Austrian Constitution, the members of the Federal Government are appointed by the Austrian Federal President (according to Article 70 of the Bundes-Verfassungsgesetz (B-VG)[1]), who nevertheless has to seek a consensus with the National Council, since a parliamentary vote of no confidence would immediately enforce their dismissal. In practical terms it is usually the leader of the strongest political party who is asked to become Federal Chancellor, although there have been exceptions in the past.
The Chancellor presides over the Government meetings as primus inter pares without decisional authority. He nevertheless has the right of proposal concerning the appointment of the cabinet's members by the President. The Federal Government adopts resolutions, in particular the introduction of bills to the National Council, unanimously.
Each federal minister is also responsible for his or her own ministry and may be supported by one or more state secretaries, who also participate in the cabinet's meetings. They are however not considered Government members and have no right to vote in the proceedings.
Governments of Austria | ||||||||
Name of Government | Duration of Government | Chancellor | Vice-Chancellor | Parties Involved | ||||
Renner | April 27, 1945–December 20, 1945 | Karl Renner1 | N/A | ÖVP, SPÖ, KPÖ | ||||
Figl I | December 20, 1945–November 8, 1949 | Leopold Figl (ÖVP) | Adolf Schärf (SPÖ) | ÖVP, SPÖ, KPÖ | ||||
Figl II | November 8, 1949–October 28, 1952 | Leopold Figl (ÖVP) | Adolf Schärf (SPÖ) | ÖVP, SPÖ | ||||
Figl III | October 28, 1952–April 2, 1953 | Leopold Figl (ÖVP) | Adolf Schärf (SPÖ) | ÖVP, SPÖ | ||||
Raab I | April 2, 1953–June 29, 1956 | Julius Raab (ÖVP) | Adolf Schärf (SPÖ) | ÖVP, SPÖ | ||||
Raab II | June 29, 1956–July 16, 1959 | Julius Raab (ÖVP) | Adolf Schärf (SPÖ), Bruno Pittermann (SPÖ)² | ÖVP, SPÖ | ||||
Raab III | July 16, 1959–November 3, 1960 | Julius Raab (ÖVP) | Bruno Pittermann (SPÖ) | ÖVP, SPÖ | ||||
Raab IV | November 3, 1960–April 11, 1961 | Julius Raab (ÖVP) | Bruno Pittermann (SPÖ) | ÖVP, SPÖ | ||||
Gorbach I | April 11, 1961–March 27, 1963 | Alfons Gorbach (ÖVP) | Bruno Pittermann (SPÖ) | ÖVP, SPÖ | ||||
Gorbach II | March 27, 1963–April 2, 1964 | Alfons Gorbach (ÖVP) | Bruno Pittermann (SPÖ) | ÖVP, SPÖ | ||||
Klaus I | April 2, 1964–April 19, 1966 | Josef Klaus (ÖVP) | Bruno Pittermann (SPÖ) | ÖVP, SPÖ | ||||
Klaus II | April 19, 1966–April 21, 1970 | Josef Klaus (ÖVP) | Fritz Bock (ÖVP), Hermann Withalm (ÖVP)³ | ÖVP | ||||
Kreisky I | April 21, 1970–November 4, 1971 | Bruno Kreisky (SPÖ) | Rudolf Häuser (SPÖ) | SPÖ | ||||
Kreisky II | November 4, 1971–October 28, 1975 | Bruno Kreisky (SPÖ) | Rudolf Häuser (SPÖ) | SPÖ | ||||
Kreisky III | October 28, 1975–June 5, 1979 | Bruno Kreisky (SPÖ) | Rudolf Häuser (SPÖ), Hannes Androsch (SPÖ)4 | SPÖ | ||||
Kreisky IV | June 5, 1979–May 24, 1983 | Bruno Kreisky (SPÖ) | Hannes Androsch (SPÖ), Fred Sinowatz (SPÖ)5 | SPÖ | ||||
Sinowatz | May 24, 1983–June 16, 1986 | Fred Sinowatz (SPÖ) | Norbert Steger (FPÖ) | SPÖ, FPÖ | ||||
Vranitzky I | June 16, 1986–January 21, 1987 | Franz Vranitzky (SPÖ) | Norbert Steger (FPÖ) | SPÖ, FPÖ | ||||
Vranitzky II | January 21, 1987–December 17, 1990 | Franz Vranitzky (SPÖ) | Alois Mock (ÖVP), Josef Riegler (ÖVP)6 | SPÖ, ÖVP | ||||
Vranitzky III | December 17, 1990–November 29, 1994 | Franz Vranitzky (SPÖ) | Josef Riegler (ÖVP), Erhard Busek (ÖVP)7 | SPÖ, ÖVP | ||||
Vranitzky IV | November 29, 1994–March 12, 1996 | Franz Vranitzky (SPÖ) | Erhard Busek (ÖVP), Wolfgang Schüssel (ÖVP)8 | SPÖ, ÖVP | ||||
Vranitzky V | March 12, 1996–January 28, 1997 | Franz Vranitzky (SPÖ) | Wolfgang Schüssel (ÖVP) | SPÖ, ÖVP | ||||
Klima | January 28, 1997–February 4, 2000 | Viktor Klima (SPÖ) | Wolfgang Schüssel (ÖVP) | SPÖ, ÖVP | ||||
Schüssel I | February 4, 2000–February 28, 2003 | Wolfgang Schüssel (ÖVP) | Susanne Riess-Passer (FPÖ) | ÖVP, FPÖ | ||||
Schüssel II | February 28, 2003–11 January 2007 | Wolfgang Schüssel (ÖVP) | Herbert Haupt (FPÖ), Hubert Gorbach (FPÖ/BZÖ)9 | ÖVP, FPÖ, BZÖ | ||||
Gusenbauer | 11 January 2007–2 December 2008 | Alfred Gusenbauer (SPÖ) | Wilhelm Molterer (ÖVP) | SPÖ, ÖVP | ||||
Faymann | 2 December 2008–present | Werner Faymann (SPÖ) | Josef Pröll (ÖVP) | SPÖ, ÖVP | ||||
Notes 1) Karl Renner acted only as a supervisor of the provisional government 2) As Adolf Schärf was elected as the President of Austria, Bruno Pittermann acted as the vice-chancellor from May 22, 1957. 3) From January 19, 1968 afterwards, Hermann Withalm acted as the vice-chancellor. 4) Rudolf Häuser acted as the vice-chancellor until September 30, 1976. From October 1, 1976, Hannes Androsch acted as the vice-chancellor. 5) Fred Sinowatz acted as the vice-chancellor from January 20, 1981. 6) Until April 24, 1989, Alois Mock acted as the vice-chancellor. From April 24, 1989, Josef Riegler acted as the vice-chancellor. 7) From July 2, 1991, Erhard Busek acted as the vice-chancellor. 8) From May 4, 1995, Wolfgang Schüssel acted as the vice-chancellor. 9) Until October 20, 2003, Herbert Haupt acted as the vice-chancellor. From October 21, 2003, Hubert Gorbach acted as the vice-chancellor. Until April 17, 2005, Gorbach's party affiliation was FPÖ, then BZÖ. |
||||||||
. | ||||||||
Colours | ||||||||
Traditional colour of ÖVP | ||||||||
Traditional colour of SPÖ | ||||||||
Traditional colour of KPÖ | ||||||||
Traditional colour of FPÖ | ||||||||
Traditional colour of BZÖ | ||||||||
. | ||||||||
Source: Kanzler und Regierungen seit 1945. Federal Chancellery of Austria Web Site. Vienna, Federal Chancellery of Austria 2006. [2] |