Barbara Prammer (née Thaller; 11 January 1954 – 2 August 2014) was an Austrian politician and member of the

Social Democratic Party of Austria The Social Democratic Party of Austria ( , SPÖ) is a social democratic political party in Austria. Founded in 1889 as the Social Democratic Workers' Party of Austria (, SDAPÖ) and later known as the Socialist Party of Austria () from 1945 unt ...

(SPÖ). In 2006 she was the first woman to become President of the National Council of Austria, an office she held until her death.

Biography

Prammer was born in the

Upper Austria Upper Austria ( ; ; ) is one of the nine States of Austria, states of Austria. Its capital is Linz. Upper Austria borders Germany and the Czech Republic, as well as the other Austrian states of Lower Austria, Styria, and Salzburg (state), Salzbur ...

n market town of Ottnang am Hausruck, where she began her career as a local government official. From 1978 she studied sociology at the

Johannes Kepler University Linz The Johannes Kepler University Linz (German: ''Johannes Kepler Universität Linz'', short: ''JKU'') is a public university in Austria. It is located in Linz, the capital of Upper Austria. It offers bachelor's, master's, diploma and doctoral degre ...

, obtaining a Magister's degree in 1986. She worked as a qualified vocational and social education worker and head of the department of women's affairs at the employment agency in

Linz Linz (Pronunciation: , ; ) is the capital of Upper Austria and List of cities and towns in Austria, third-largest city in Austria. Located on the river Danube, the city is in the far north of Austria, south of the border with the Czech Repub ...

. In 1990 she was elected president of the SPÖ women's organisation in Upper Austria and became deputy and vice-president of the Upper Austrian

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

legislature (''

Landtag A ''Landtag'' (State Diet) is generally the legislative assembly or parliament of a federated state or other subnational self-governing entity in German-speaking nations. It is usually a unicameral assembly exercising legislative competence ...

'') one year later. From 1995 until 1997 she served as a member of the Upper Austrian state government in the office of a minister (''Landesrat'') for housing and nature conservation. In 1995 Prammer joined the SPÖ party executive on federal level as a vice-chair. Two years later Chancellor Viktor Klima appointed her Federal Minister for Women Affairs and Consumer Protection. A strong proponent of

affirmative action Affirmative action (also sometimes called reservations, alternative access, positive discrimination or positive action in various countries' laws and policies) refers to a set of policies and practices within a government or organization seeking ...

gender equality Gender equality, also known as sexual equality, gender egalitarianism, or equality of the sexes, is the state of equal ease of access to resources and opportunities regardless of gender, including economic participation and decision-making, an ...

politics, she held the office until after the 1999 Austrian legislative election the Klima cabinet was succeeded by the right-wing

ÖVP The Austrian People's Party ( , ÖVP ) is a Christian-democratic and liberal-conservative political party in Austria. Since January 2025, the party has been led by Christian Stocker (as an acting leader). It is currently the second-largest p ...

FPÖ The Freedom Party of Austria (, FPÖ) is a political party in Austria, variously described as far-right, right-wing populist, national-conservative, and Eurosceptic. It has been led by Herbert Kickl since 2021. It is the largest of five par ...

coalition government of

Wolfgang Schüssel Wolfgang Schüssel (; born 7 June 1945) is a retired Austrian 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 contemporary A ...

, she became vice chairwoman of the SPÖ parliamentary group (''Klub'') in the National Council parliament. On 16 June 2004 Prammer was elected vice president of the National Council and upon the 2006 legislative election succeeded

Andreas Khol Andreas Khol (born 14 July 1941) is an Austrian politician of the centre-conservative Austrian People's Party, President of the National Council from 2002 to 2006. Andreas Khol was born in Bergen auf Rügen, Germany, and raised in the town of ...

as president, re-elected twice in 2008 and 2013. During her term, she took a stand for parliamentary minority rights and towards the culture of remembrance concerning the Austrian

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

past. Though she had publicly unveiled her cancerous condition in September 2013, she announced to carry on official duties, temporarily represented by her deputy Fritz Neugebauer. Barbara Prammer died of

pancreatic cancer Pancreatic cancer arises when cell (biology), cells in the pancreas, a glandular organ behind the stomach, begin to multiply out of control and form a Neoplasm, mass. These cancerous cells have the malignant, ability to invade other parts of ...

on 2 August 2014 at the age of 60. A

state funeral A state funeral is a public funeral ceremony, observing the strict rules of protocol, held to honour people of national significance. State funerals usually include much pomp and ceremony as well as religious overtones and distinctive elements o ...

in her honour was held on 9 August, attended by Austrian President

Heinz Fischer Heinz Fischer Order of Prince Henry, GColIH, Order of Merit of the Italian Republic, OMRI, Order of the Seraphim, RSerafO, Military Order of Saint James of the Sword, GCollSE (; born 9 October 1938) is an Austrian politician who served as the pre ...

, Chancellor

Werner Faymann Werner Faymann (; born 4 May 1960) is an Austrian former politician who was Chancellor of Austria and chairman of the Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ) from 2008 to 2016. On 9 May 2016, he resigned from both positions amid widening critic ...

, and Minister

Gabriele Heinisch-Hosek Gabriele Heinisch-Hosek (born 16 December 1961) is an Austrians, Austrian politician. She served as minister without portfolio between 2 December 2008 and 16 December 2013. In addition, she was the federal minister for women and civil service wit ...

, as well as by editors like Barbara Coudenhove-Kalergi and numerous European speakers of parliament like

Norbert Lammert Norbert Lammert (born 16 November 1948) is a German politician of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). He served as the 12th president of the Bundestag from 2005 to 2017. Early life and education The son of a baker, Lammert attended gymnasium ...

, Guido Westerwelle, Josip Leko,

Ranko Krivokapić Ranko Krivokapić (; born August 17, 1961) is a Montenegrin politician who served as the minister of foreign affairs from April to October 2022. He is a former long-term President of the Parliament of Montenegro from 2003 to 2016, and the Presi ...

, Ulrike Lunacek,

Katalin Szili Katalin Szili (born 13 May 1956) is a Hungarian politician and jurist, a former Member of the National Assembly (Hungary), National Assembly, who served as Speaker of the National Assembly of Hungary, Speaker of the National Assembly from 2002 H ...

, and Pia Locatelli. Prammer was cremated at

Feuerhalle Simmering Feuerhalle Simmering is a crematorium with attached urn burial ground in the Simmering (Vienna), Simmering district of Vienna, Austria. It lies at the end of an alley, directly opposite Vienna Central Cemetery's main gate. Description Opened o ...

and her ashes buried in

Vienna Central Cemetery The Vienna Central Cemetery () is one of the largest Cemetery, cemeteries in the world by number of interred, and is the most well-known among Vienna's nearly 50 cemeteries. The cemetery's name is descriptive of its significance as Vienna's big ...

. Prammer was married (1980–2001) and had two children.

Honours

* ''Grand Decoration of Honour in Gold with Sash'' for Services to the Republic of Austria (2000) * In 2014, she received a membership of the legion of honor as a ''Commandeur de la Légion d'Honneur (C. LH)'' for her merits as a women's rights advocate and her role in implementing democratic valueshttp://www.ots.at/presseaussendung/OTS_20140118_OTS0007/hoechste-franzoesische-auszeichnung-fuer-barbara-prammer * 1st Class / ''Knights Grand Cross Order of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic'' (2007)

References

External links

*
Barbara Prammer
{{DEFAULTSORT:Prammer, Barbara 1954 births 2014 deaths 20th-century Austrian politicians 20th-century Austrian women politicians 21st-century Austrian women politicians Austrian socialist feminists Commanders of the Legion of Honour Deaths from pancreatic cancer in Austria Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic Members of the 21st National Council (Austria) Members of the 22nd National Council (Austria) Members of the 23rd National Council (Austria) Members of the 24th National Council (Austria) Members of the 25th National Council (Austria) People from Vöcklabruck District Presidents of the National Council (Austria) Recipients of the Grand Decoration with Sash for Services to the Republic of Austria Social Democratic Party of Austria politicians Women members of the National Council (Austria)

Biography

Honours

See also

References

External links