Franz Fischler (born 23 September 1946) is an

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

n politician from the

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words '' Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρ ...

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

People's Party (

ÖVP The Austrian People's Party (german: Österreichische Volkspartei , ÖVP ) is a Christian-democratic and liberal-conservative political party in Austria. Since December 2021, the party has been led provisionally by Karl Nehammer. It is curr ...

). He was the European Union's Commissioner for Agriculture, Rural Development and Fisheries (1995–2004). He also was President of the

European Forum Alpbach The European Forum Alpbach (EFA) is an Austrian nonprofit organisation and foundation based in Vienna, Austria. It is best known for hosting the event of the same name in the village of Alpbach. It is an interdisciplinary platform for science, p ...

Education and early career

Born in

Absam Absam is a municipality in the Innsbruck-Land District, Tyrol (Austria) situated at an altitude of 632 m, which had an area of 51.92 km2 and 6,776 inhabitants as January 2015. Geography Absam is 15 km from Innsbruck, in the lower ...

Tyrol Tyrol (; historically the Tyrole; de-AT, Tirol ; it, Tirolo) is a historical region in the Alps - in Northern Italy and western Austria. The area was historically the core of the County of Tyrol, part of the Holy Roman Empire, Austrian Emp ...

Fischler studied agriculture at the

University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences Vienna The University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, or simply BOKU (derived from its German name, Universität für Bodenkultur Wien, ), founded in 1872, is an education and research centre for renewable resources in Vienna, Austria. BOK ...

, and finished as Dr rer.nat.oec. in 1978. He worked as University assistant from 1973 to 1979, then for the Tyrol Chamber of Agriculture, finally as its director from 1985 to 1989.

Political career

Between 1989 and 1994 Fischler was Federal Minister for Agriculture and Forestry, and since 1990 elected Member of National Council. In 1995 he became European Commissioner in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

, responsible for agriculture and rural development. In 1999 fisheries also became part of his responsibilities. At the 1999 Berlin summit, Fischler had significant influence on the

Agenda 2000 Agenda 2000 was an action programme of the European Union whose main objectives were to reform the Common Agricultural Policy and Regional policy, and establish a new financial framework for the years 2000–06 with a view to the then upcoming Ea ...

. In 2011 Austria has decided to nominate Fischler as a candidate for the position of director general of

FAO The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)french: link=no, Organisation des Nations unies pour l'alimentation et l'agriculture; it, Organizzazione delle Nazioni Unite per l'Alimentazione e l'Agricoltura is an intern ...

; the position went to

José Graziano da Silva José Graziano da Silva (born November 17, 1949) is a Brazilian American agronomist and writer. As a scholar, he has authored several books about the problems of agriculture in Brazil. Between 2003 and 2004, Graziano served in the Luiz Inácio ...

instead.

Other activities

Trilateral Commission The Trilateral Commission is a nongovernmental international organization aimed at fostering closer cooperation between Japan, Western Europe and North America. It was founded in July 1973 principally by American banker and philanthropist David R ...

, Member of the European Group. *

Institute for Advanced Studies The Institute for Advanced Study (IAS), located in Princeton, New Jersey, in the United States, is an independent center for theoretical research and intellectual inquiry. It has served as the academic home of internationally preeminent scholar ...

(IHS), Chair of the Board of TrusteesBoard of Trustees

(IHS).

Notes and references

External links

Franz Fischler Consult

Franz Fischler for Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO)
1946 births Living people Austrian European Commissioners Agriculture ministers of Austria University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna alumni Austrian agronomists {{Austria-politician-stub

Education and early career

Political career

Other activities

Further reading

Notes and references

External links