Leopold Gratz CGIH (4 November 1929,

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

– 2 March 2006, Vienna) was an Austrian politician. Born in Vienna, Gratz was a law graduate from Vienna University and a member of the

Austrian Social Democratic Party The Social Democratic Party of Austria (german: Sozialdemokratische Partei Österreichs , SPÖ), founded and known as the Social Democratic Workers' Party of Austria (german: link=no, Sozialdemokratische Arbeiterpartei Österreichs, SDAPÖ) unti ...

(SPÖ). From 1963 to 1966 he was a member of the Bundesrat, from 1970 to 1971 Federal Minister of Education and the Arts. From 1966 to 1973 he served as a member of The

National Council of Austria The National Council (german: Nationalrat) is one of the two houses of the Austrian Parliament and is frequently referred to as the lower house. The Politics of Austria, constitution endows the National Council with far more power than the Federa ...

and from 1986 to 1989 as the President of The

, and from 1971 to 1973 as the leader of the Socialist group in the

Parliament of Austria The Austrian Parliament (german: Österreichisches Parlament) is the bicameral federal legislature of the Austrian Republic. It consists of two chambers – the National Council and the Federal Council. In specific cases, both houses convene ...

. From 1973 to 1984 he was

Mayor of Vienna This is a list of mayors and governors of Vienna since 1282. Vienna is the capital city of Austria. Since 1920, it has also been an Austrian state, with its mayor also doubling as the '' Landeshauptmann'' (governor or minister-president) of th ...

and head of Vienna's municipal government. In 1976, he became chairman of the Vienna chapter of the Austrian Social Democratic Party. From 1984 to 1986 he was the

Minister of Foreign Affairs A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between cou ...

. From 1986 to 1989 he was the President of the National Council. His term of office as Mayor of Vienna was overshadowed by the " Bauring" affair and the scandal around the construction of the

Vienna General Hospital The Vienna General Hospital (german: Allgemeines Krankenhaus der Stadt Wien), usually abbreviated to AKH, is the general hospital of the city of Vienna, Austria. It is also the city's university hospital, and the site of the Medical Univer ...

. He decided to resign from the government in 1989 following another scandal, the

Udo Proksch Udo Proksch (29 May 1934 in Rostock, Germany – 27 June 2001 in Graz, Austria) was an Austrian businessman and industrialist. In 1991, he was convicted of the murder of six people as part of a major insurance fraud. Proksch died in prison. ' ...

affair. Burdening his authority as the second highest politician of the Republic of Austria, Gratz well-meaningly had tried to protect his close friend Udo Proksch, who later was convicted of the murder of six seamen and received a life sentence, from criminal prosecution. After Gratz has decided to abandon politics, he remained a member of the party executive committee of the

SPÖ Vienna The Social Democratic Party of Austria (german: Sozialdemokratische Partei Österreichs , SPÖ), founded and known as the Social Democratic Workers' Party of Austria (german: link=no, Sozialdemokratische Arbeiterpartei Österreichs, SDAPÖ) unti ...

as well as president of the International Conference on

Kampuchea Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand t ...

(ICK) by request of the

United Nations Organization The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmonizin ...

(UNO). In 1979, Leopold Gratz was named a Knight of the Grand Cross of the Order of Saint Silvester by

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

. In 1995, Leopold Gratz was officially made an Honorary Citizen of Vienna, the capital of the

Republic of 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 of Austria, states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, th ...

. In 2010, a square behind the

Austrian parliament The Austrian Parliament (german: Österreichisches Parlament) is the bicameral federal legislature of the Austrian Republic. It consists of two chambers – the National Council and the Federal Council. In specific cases, both houses convene ...

in downtown Vienna was named after Leopold Gratz (Leopold-Gratz-Square).

Awards and honors

References

, - , width="30%" align="center" , Preceded by:

Felix Slavik Felix may refer to: * Felix (name), people and fictional characters with the name Places * Arabia Felix is the ancient Latin name of Yemen * Felix, Spain, a municipality of the province Almería, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, ...

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1973 — 1984 , width="30%" align="center" , Succeeded by:

Helmut Zilk Helmut Zilk (9 June 1927, Vienna – 24 October 2008, Vienna) was an Austrian journalist and politician in the Austrian Social Democratic Party. He served as mayor of Vienna between 1984 and 1994. Biography Born in Vienna, Zilk was Mayor of ...

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Gratz, Leopold 1929 births 2006 deaths 20th-century Austrian people Foreign ministers of Austria Mayors of Vienna Social Democratic Party of Austria politicians Presidents of the National Council (Austria) Members of the National Council (Austria) People from Ottakring Burials at the Vienna Central Cemetery