Rudolf Kirchschläger

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Rudolf Kirchschläger
Minister of Foreign Affairs
In office
21 April 1970 – 24 June 1974
ChancellorBruno Kreisky
Preceded byKurt Waldheim
Succeeded byErich Bielka
Personal details
Born20 March 1915
Austro-Hungarian Empire
Died30 March 2000(2000-03-30) (aged 85)
Vienna, Austria
SpouseHerma Kirchschläger (1940–2000)
Children2
Alma materUniversity of Vienna (Dr. iur.)
Profession
  • Diplomat
  • politician
  • judge
Signature

Rudolf Kirchschläger, GColIH (German: [ˈʁuːdɔlf ˈkɪʁçˌʃlɛːɡɐ] ⓘ; 20 March 1915 – 30 March 2000) was an Austrian diplomat, politician and judge. From 1974 to 1986, he served as President of Austria.

Early life and education

Born in

NSDAP, his scholarship was revoked and Kirchschläger could not finance his studies any longer. Kirchschläger worked as a bank clerk in 1938 until he was drafted to service in the infantry of the Wehrmacht in the summer of 1939. Kirchschläger fought as a soldier from the very beginning of the war, first during the invasion of Poland, later on the Western Front, and after 1941 against Russia on the Eastern Front
.

In late 1940, in order to get out of the military, he used a two-month front-leave to prepare for the final exam (Staatsexamen) of his law studies. Subsequently, he passed the exams and graduated to Doctor iuris.

However, he was sent back to the Eastern Front, where he was wounded in 1942. Towards the end of war, he was captain and training officer at the military academy at Wiener Neustadt in the Vienna region. In early April 1945, commanding a company of cadets fighting approaching Soviet troops, he was badly wounded on his leg, an injury from which he never fully recovered.

Post-World War II

After the war, Kirchschläger worked as a district judge until 1954 in

Minister of Foreign Affairs
.

Presidency

Kirchschläger was elected President of Austria in

Innsbruck University in February 1971 he outlined his understanding of an "ethical foreign policy". 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.[1]

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 February 1984, he paid the first state visit of an Austrian president to the United States.[2][3]

Personal life and death

Herma Kirchschläger, 1978

He was married to Herma Sorger (1916–2009) from 17 August 1940[4] until his death; they had two children: Christa (born 1944) and Walter (born 1947).[5][6][7]

Kirchschläger died of a heart attack on 30 March 2000 near Vienna, aged 85.[8]

Honours

Austrian honours

Foreign honours

Literature

References

  1. ^ "Holocaust und Kriegsverbrechen vor Gericht: Der Fall Österreich". Studienverlag. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
  2. ^ "Visits to the U.S. by Foreign Heads of State and Government—1984". Bureau of Public Affairs. Retrieved 14 March 2009.
  3. ^ "Remarks of President Reagan and President Rudolf Kirchschläger of Austria at the State Dinner". Ronald Reagan Presidential Library. 28 February 1984. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 14 March 2009.
  4. better source needed
    ]
  5. ^ Senta Ziegler: Österreichs First Ladies. Wien. Ueberreuter 1999
  6. ^ "Herma Kirchschläger ist tot" (in German). DiePresse.com. 30 May 2009. Retrieved 30 May 2009.
  7. ^ Senta Ziegler. "Österreichs First Ladies". Wien. Ueberreuter 1999
  8. ^ Saxon, Wolfgang (31 March 2000). "Rudolf Kirchschlager, 85, Judge Who Became Austria's President". The New York Times. Retrieved 14 March 2009.
  9. ^ "Le onorificenze della Repubblica Italiana". quirinale.it. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
  10. ISBN 2-87963-048-7
    . S. 344.
  11. ^ Boletín Oficial del Estado
  12. ^ Boletín Oficial del Estado
  13. ^ "Cidadãos Estrangeiros Agraciados com Ordens Portuguesas". Página Oficial das Ordens Honoríficas Portuguesas. Retrieved 4 August 2017.
  14. ^ AAS 82 (1990), Heft 12, S. 1463.
  15. ^ AAS 93 (2001), Heft 8, S. 563.
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