Franz Vranitzky
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Franz Vranitzky (; born 4 October 1937) 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. A member of the Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ), he was
Chancellor of Austria The chancellor of the Republic of Austria () is the head of government of the Republic of Austria. The position corresponds to that of Prime Minister in several other parliamentary democracies. Current officeholder is Karl Nehammer of the Aus ...
from 1986 to 1997.


Early life and career

As the son of a
foundryman A foundry is a factory that produces metal casting (metalworking), castings. Metals are cast into shapes by melting them into a liquid, pouring the metal into a mold, and removing the mold material after the metal has solidified as it cools. T ...
, Vranitzky was born into humble circumstances in Vienna's 17th district. He attended the Realgymnasium Geblergasse and studied economics, graduating in 1960. He financed his studies teaching Latin and English and as a construction worker. As a young man, Vranitzky played
basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...
and was a member of Austria's national team, which in 1960 unsuccessfully tried to qualify for the
1960 Summer Olympics The 1960 Summer Olympics ( it, Giochi Olimpici estivi del 1960), officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympiad ( it, Giochi della XVII Olimpiade) and commonly known as Rome 1960 ( it, Roma 1960), were an international multi-sport event held ...
in Rome. In 1962 he joined the Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ). In 1962, Vranitzky married Christine Christen, with whom he fathered two children. Vranitzky began his career in 1961 at
Siemens-Schuckert Siemens-Schuckert (or Siemens-Schuckertwerke) was a German electrical engineering company headquartered in Berlin, Erlangen and Nuremberg that was incorporated into the Siemens AG in 1966. Siemens Schuckert was founded in 1903 when Siemens & H ...
, but within the year switched to Austria’s central bank
Oesterreichische Nationalbank The Oesterreichische Nationalbank (OeNB) is the central bank of Austria and, as such, an integral part of both the European System of Central Banks (ESCB) and the Eurozone. It started operations on , replacing the Austro-Hungarian Bank of whic ...
. In 1969, he received a doctorate in International business studies. The following year,
Hannes Androsch Johannes "Hannes" Androsch (born 18 April 1938) is an Austrian entrepreneur and consultant; a former Social Democrat top politician who served as an Austrian Finance Minister from 1970 to 1981 and additionally as vice chancellor from 1976 to 1981; ...
,
finance minister A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation. A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", ...
under Chancellor
Bruno Kreisky Bruno Kreisky (; 22 January 1911 – 29 July 1990) was an Austrian social democratic politician who served as Foreign Minister from 1959 to 1966 and as Chancellor from 1970 to 1983. Aged 72 at the end of his chancellorship, he was the oldes ...
, appointed him economic and financial advisor. Vranitzky served as deputy director of the
Creditanstalt-Bankverein The Creditanstalt (sometimes Credit-Anstalt, abbreviated as CA), full original name k. k. priv. Österreichische Credit-Anstalt für Handel und Gewerbe (), was a major Austrian bank, founded in 1855 in Vienna. From its founding until 1931, th ...
(1976–1981), briefly as its director general and as director general of the
Länderbank The Länderbank, full original name k. k. privilegierte Österreichische Länderbank () was a major Austrian bank, created in 1880. In 1922 its head office was moved to Paris under the name Banque des Pays de l'Europe Centrale (BPEC, german: Zen ...
(1981–1984). In 1984, Vranitzky joined the SPÖ- Freedom Party (FPÖ) government coalition under Chancellor
Fred Sinowatz Alfred Sinowatz (5 February 192911 August 2008) was an Austrian politician of the Social Democratic Party (SPÖ), who served as Chancellor of Austria from 1983 to 1986. Prior to becoming Chancellor, he had served as Minister of Education from 19 ...
as
finance minister A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation. A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", ...
. He was criticized for receiving multiple compensations from his various functions in government-run businesses.


Chancellor of Austria

In the presidential elections of 1986, Chancellor Sinowatz vociferously opposed
Kurt Waldheim Kurt Josef Waldheim (; 21 December 1918 – 14 June 2007) was an Austrian politician and diplomat. Waldheim was the Secretary-General of the United Nations from 1972 to 1981 and president of Austria from 1986 to 1992. While he was running for t ...
, the candidate of the Austrian People's Party (ÖVP) opposition. The former
UN Secretary General The secretary-general of the United Nations (UNSG or SG) is the chief administrative officer of the United Nations and head of the United Nations Secretariat, one of the six principal organs of the United Nations. The role of the secretary-g ...
's campaign for office caused international controversy due to allegations about his role as a German army officer in
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
. When Waldheim was elected on 8 June, Sinowatz resigned from the government, proposing Vranitzky as his successor. Vranitzky entered his new office on 16 June 1986. At first he continued the government coalition with the Freedom Party. On 13 September 1986, however, radical FPÖ politician
Jörg Haider Jörg Haider (; 26 January 1950 – 11 October 2008) was an Austrian politician. He was Governor of Carinthia on two occasions, the long-time leader of the Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) and later Chairman of the Alliance for the Future of ...
was elected chairman of his party, ousting the moderate
vice chancellor A chancellor is a leader of a college or university, usually either the executive or ceremonial head of the university or of a university campus within a university system. In most Commonwealth and former Commonwealth nations, the chancellor ...
Norbert Steger Norbert Steger (born 6 March 1944) is an Austrian lawyer and former politician for the Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ). He was the FPÖ party leader from 1980 to 1986, and Vice Chancellor A chancellor is a leader of a college or university, us ...
. Vranitzky ended cooperation with his coalition partner and had parliament dissolved. In the subsequent elections on 23 November 1986, the SPÖ remained the strongest party. In January 1987, Vranitzky formed a government, based on a '' grand coalition'' with the second-largest party, the
Christian democrat Christian democracy (sometimes named Centrist democracy) is a political ideology that emerged in 19th-century Europe under the influence of Catholic social teaching and neo-Calvinism. It was conceived as a combination of modern democratic ...
ÖVP, with
Alois Mock Alois Mock (10 June 1934 – 1 June 2017) was an Austrian politician and member of the Austrian People's Party (ÖVP). He was Vice Chancellor of Austria from 1987 to 1989. As foreign minister, he helped take Austria into the European Union. Lif ...
serving as vice-chancellor and foreign minister. In 1988, Vranitzky also succeeded Fred Sinowatz as chairman of his party. 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 The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
regarded Waldheim as a persona non grata, thereby barring him from entering the country in 1987, while
Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
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 Cold War, Vranitzky focused on furthering relations with the nations of Eastern Europe and membership in the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...
, of which Vranitzky and his foreign minister, Alois Mock, were strong advocates. After a referendum on 12 June 1994 resulted in 66% in favour of EU membership, Austria joined the European Union in January 1995. Austria's military neutrality, which had been espoused during the Cold War, was reaffirmed in the process. In party politics, Vranitzky kept his distance from
Jörg Haider Jörg Haider (; 26 January 1950 – 11 October 2008) was an Austrian politician. He was Governor of Carinthia on two occasions, the long-time leader of the Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) and later Chairman of the Alliance for the Future of ...
'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 Wolfgang Schüssel (; born 7 June 1945) is an Austrian People's Party politician. He was Chancellor of Austria for two consecutive terms from February 2000 to January 2007. While being recognised as a rare example of an active reformer in conte ...
. 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. He was succeeded in both positions by his minister of finance,
Viktor Klima Viktor Klima (born 4 June 1947) is an Austrian Social Democrat politician and businessman. He was chancellor of Austria from 1997 to 2000. Early career Born in Schwechat, Lower Austria, Klima started working for the then state-owned OMV oil ...
.


Later activities

After leaving office, Vranitzky served as
Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is the world's largest regional security-oriented intergovernmental organization with observer status at the United Nations. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, pro ...
representative for
Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...
from March to October 1997, before returning into the banking sector, as political consultant to the
WestLB WestLB AG (derived from ''Westdeutsche Landesbank'', i.e. "Western German state Bank") was a European commercial bank based in Düsseldorf, Germany which was mainly owned by the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Landesbanks are a group of pa ...
bank. In December, he was elected to the board of governors of automotive supplier Magna. He later occupied the same position for the tourism company TUI and Magic Life hotels. In June 2005, he donated one of his
kidney The kidneys are two reddish-brown bean-shaped organs found in vertebrates. They are located on the left and right in the retroperitoneal space, and in adult humans are about in length. They receive blood from the paired renal arteries; blo ...
s to his wife Christine, who suffered from chronic kidney failure. He actively supported his party's frontrunner Alfred Gusenbauer in the
2006 elections The following elections occurred in the year 2006. * Elections in 2006 * Electoral calendar 2006 * 2006 Acehnese regional election * 2006 American Samoan legislative election * 2006 Bahraini parliamentary election * 2006 Costa Rican president ...
. During the campaign it was revealed, that in 1999, Vranitzky had received a million Austrian schillings as a consultant to the
BAWAG BAWAG (German language: ''Bank für Arbeit und Wirtschaft'') was a bank in Austria founded in 1922. On October 1, 2005, it merged with the separate '' Österreichische Postsparkasse'' (P.S.K.) to form the "Bank für Arbeit und Wirtschaft und Öst ...
bank, which was then under public scrutiny. It was alleged that the payment was made without any service in return and that it constituted an "indirect party funding". Vranitzky denounced the allegations. 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
Bilderberg Group The Bilderberg meeting (also known as the Bilderberg Group) is an annual off-the-record conference established in 1954 to foster dialogue between Europe and North America. The group's agenda, originally to prevent another world war, is now defi ...
.


References


External links


Appearances
on C-SPAN


Further reading

* Wilsford, David, ed. ''Political leaders of contemporary Western Europe: a biographical dictionary'' (Greenwood, 1995) pp. 465–73. , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Vranitzky, Franz 1937 births Living people 20th-century Chancellors of Austria 20th-century Austrian people Vienna University of Economics and Business alumni Government ministers of Austria Chancellors of Austria Finance Ministers of Austria Members of the Steering Committee of the Bilderberg Group Politicians from Vienna Social Democratic Party of Austria politicians Grand Crosses 1st class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Austrian men's basketball players Austrian people of Czech descent People from Hernals People from Döbling