Liesel "Liese" Prokop-Sykora (27 March 1941 – 31 December 2006) was 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 ...

athlete An athlete (also sportsman or sportswoman) is a person who competes in one or more sports that involve physical strength, speed, or endurance. Athletes may be professionals or amateurs. Most professional athletes have particularly well-de ...

who competed mainly in the

pentathlon A pentathlon is a contest featuring five events. The name is derived from Greek: combining the words ''pente'' (five) and -''athlon'' (competition) ( gr, πένταθλον). The first pentathlon was documented in Ancient Greece and was part of ...

and, later in her life, a politician.

Biography

Born as Liese Sykora in

Tulln District Bezirk Tulln is a district of the state of Lower Austria in Austria. Municipalities Suburbs, hamlets, and other subdivisions of a municipality are indicated in . * Absdorf ** * Atzenbrugg ** * Fels am Wagram ** * Grafenwörth ** * Großr ...

Lower Austria Lower Austria (german: Niederösterreich; Austro-Bavarian: ''Niedaöstareich'', ''Niedaestareich'') is one of the nine states of Austria, located in the northeastern corner of the country. Since 1986, the capital of Lower Austria has been Sankt P ...

, on 27 March 1941, she graduated from the

University of Vienna The University of Vienna (german: Universität Wien) is a public research university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world. With its long and rich hi ...

with a degree in biology and sport. In 1965 she married her former coach, Gunnar Prokop. The couple had two sons and a daughter. in 1967, she became student world champion in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.46 ...

. She competed for Austria in the

1968 Summer Olympics The 1968 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1968), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XIX Olimpiada) and commonly known as Mexico 1968 ( es, México 1968), were an international multi-sport ev ...

held in

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a List of sovereign states, country in the southern portion of North America. It is borders of Mexico, bordered to the north by the United States; to the so ...

in the Pentathlon where she won the silver medal. In 1969, she became European champion in

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates a ...

, breaking the world pentathlon record. In addition, she was Austrian champion in pentathlon,

long jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a ...

high jump The high jump is a track and field event in which competitors must jump unaided over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without dislodging it. In its modern, most-practiced format, a bar is placed between two standards with a crash mat f ...

hurdles Hurdling is the act of jumping over an obstacle at a high speed or in a sprint. In the early 19th century, hurdlers ran at and jumped over each hurdle (sometimes known as 'burgles'), landing on both feet and checking their forward motion. Today, ...

, relay and

shot putting The shot put is a track and field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. The shot put competition for men has been a part of the modern Olympics since their revival in 1896, and women's ...

. Prokop began her political career in 1969 and became a member of the Parliament of Lower Austria. She served as regional minister from 1981 to 1992 and vice president of Lower Austria during the period between 1992 and 2004. She joined

Assembly of European Regions The Assembly of European Regions (AER) is the largest independent network of regions in wider Europe. Bringing together regions from 35 countries and 15 interregional organisations, AER is a forum for interregional cooperation. Histori ...

(AER) in 1996 and held different administrative positions in the AER, including the president of the AER which she assumed from 2001 to 2004. Later she was made honorary president of the assembly. Beginning in December 2004 she was Austrian minister of interior for the conservative

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 currentl ...

, becoming Austria's first female interior minister. She served in the cabinet led by

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...

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 ...

until her death on 31 December 2006. She died unexpectedly of

aortic dissection Aortic dissection (AD) occurs when an injury to the innermost layer of the aorta allows blood to flow between the layers of the aortic wall, forcing the layers apart. In most cases, this is associated with a sudden onset of severe chest or ...

while being rushed to a

Sankt Pölten Sankt Pölten (; Central Bavarian: ''St. Pödn''), mostly abbreviated to the official name St. Pölten, is the capital and largest city of the State of Lower Austria in northeast Austria, with 55,538 inhabitants as of 1 January 2020. St. Pölten ...

hospital on New Year's Eve, 2006. Chancellor Wolfgang Schüssel became acting interior minister upon this incident. She was the sister of Maria Sykora, who competed at the 1972 Summer Olympics, and aunt of Winter Olympic bronze medalist

Thomas Sykora Thomas Sykora (born 18 May 1968) is a former alpine skier from Austria. Biography Thomas comes from a sporting family: his father Ernst Sykora was a ski instructor, and his aunts Liese Prokop and Maria Sykora were both successful athletes. ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Prokop, Liese 1941 births 2006 deaths University of Vienna alumni Athletes (track and field) at the 1964 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1968 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1972 Summer Olympics Austrian pentathletes Austrian female athletes Olympic athletes of Austria Olympic silver medalists for Austria European Athletics Championships medalists Austrian sportsperson-politicians Austrian People's Party politicians Interior Ministers of Austria Deaths from aortic dissection Medalists at the 1968 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medalists in athletics (track and field) Women government ministers of Austria Female interior ministers Universiade medalists in athletics (track and field) Universiade gold medalists for Austria 20th-century Austrian women politicians 20th-century Austrian politicians 21st-century Austrian women politicians 21st-century Austrian politicians Medalists at the 1967 Summer Universiade