Franz Vranitzky
Franz Vranitzky | |
---|---|
Minister of Finance | |
In office 10 September 1984 – 16 June 1986 | |
Chancellor | Fred Sinowatz |
Preceded by | Herbert Salcher |
Succeeded by | Viktor Klima |
Personal details | |
Born | Vienna, Federal State of Austria (now Austria) | 4 October 1937
Political party | Social Democratic Party |
Spouse |
Christine Christen (m. 1962) |
Signature | |
Franz Vranitzky (German: [fʁants vʁaˈnɪtski]; born 4 October 1937) is an Austrian politician. A member of the Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ), he was Chancellor of Austria from 1986 to 1997.
Early life and career
As the son of a
As a young man, Vranitzky played basketball and was a member of Austria's national team, which in 1960 unsuccessfully tried to qualify for the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome.[citation needed]
In 1962 he joined the Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ).[citation needed]
In 1962, Vranitzky married Christine Christen, with whom he fathered two children.[citation needed]
Vranitzky began his career in 1961 at
In 1984, Vranitzky joined the SPÖ-
Chancellor of Austria
In the presidential elections of 1986, Chancellor Sinowatz vociferously opposed
Vranitzky entered his new office on 16 June 1986. At first he continued the government coalition with the
In the
Until 1992, Austria's foreign policy had to deal with the repercussions of the Waldheim controversy, as the Austrian president was shunned in some diplomatic circles. The United States regarded Waldheim as a persona non grata, thereby barring him from entering the country in 1987, while Israel had recalled its ambassador after Waldheim's election. Vranitzky managed to normalise Austria's relations with both countries and frequently stepped in to perform diplomatic duties commonly assigned to the president.
On 8 July 1991, in a speech in parliament, Vranitzky acknowledged a share in the responsibility for the pain brought, not by Austria as a state, but by citizens of this country, upon other people and peoples", thereby departing from the hitherto official portrayal of Austria as "Hitler's first victim."
After the end of the
In party politics, Vranitzky kept his distance from Jörg Haider's Freedom Party – a stance the latter decried as a "policy of exclusion." In the election of 1990, Vranitzky's coalition government was confirmed when the Social Democrat vote remained stable while the ÖVP lost 17 seats, mainly to the FPÖ. The 1994 election saw heavy losses by both coalition parties, which nonetheless remained the two largest parties, while FPÖ and others made further gains. Vranitzky renewed the coalition with the ÖVP, which after May 1995 was led by foreign minister Wolfgang Schüssel. Later in the year, the grand coalition broke apart over budget policy, leading to the elections of December 1995, which however only saw slight changes in favor of SPÖ and ÖVP. Vranitzky and Schüssel resumed their coalition in March 1996.
In January 1997, Vranitzky resigned as chancellor and as party chairman.[3] He was succeeded in both positions by his minister of finance, Viktor Klima.[4]
Later activities
After leaving office, Vranitzky served as
In June 2005, he donated one of his kidneys to his wife Christine, who suffered from chronic kidney failure.
He actively supported his party's frontrunner Alfred Gusenbauer in the 2006 elections. During the campaign it was revealed, that in 1999, Vranitzky had received a million Austrian schillings as a consultant to the BAWAG bank, which was then under public scrutiny. It was alleged that the payment was made without any service in return[6] and that it constituted an "indirect party funding". Vranitzky denounced the allegations.[7]
Vranitzky chairs the quarterly Vranitzky colloquia, organised by the study group WiWiPol, which discusses economic topics and their impact on Austria and Europe. He is a former member of the Steering Committee of the
References
- ^ "Israel extends olive branch to new Austrian chancellor". Ottawa Citizen. 1986-06-24. p. 8.
- ^ "Austria: The Past's Long Shadow". Time. 1986-09-29. Archived from the original on December 5, 2007. Retrieved 2010-01-30.
- ^ "After 10 Years, Austria Leader Is Resigning". The New York Times. 1997-01-19. Retrieved 2010-01-30.
- ^ "Austria's fascination with Jörg Haider". Le Monde diplomatique. Retrieved 2010-01-30.
- ^ Perlez, Jane (1997-03-15). "Albania Chief's Associates Flee; Gunfire Halts Evacuation by U.S." The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-01-30.
- ^ ORF: "Keine Gegenleistung verlangt" Archived 2009-08-21 at the Wayback Machine, 26. Mai 2007
- ^ Kurier: Vranitzky: "Ein aufgewärmter Käsekuchen", 26. Mai 2007
- Bilderberg Group. Archived from the originalon 2009-06-30. Retrieved 2014-02-08.
External links
Further reading
- Wilsford, David, ed. Political leaders of contemporary Western Europe: a biographical dictionary (Greenwood, 1995) pp. 465–73.