Doris Schmidauer (born 21 September 1963) is an Austrian

environmentalist An environmentalist is a person who is concerned with and/or advocates for the protection of the environment. An environmentalist can be considered a supporter of the goals of the environmental movement, "a political and ethical movement that s ...

and party official for the

Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence. Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundati ...

. Schmidauer has served as the First Lady of Austria since January 2017 as the wife of Austrian

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese f ...

Alexander Van der Bellen Alexander Van der Bellen (; born 18 January 1944) is the current president of Austria. He previously served as a professor of economics at the University of Vienna, and after joining politics, as the spokesman of the Austrian Green Party. ...

Biography

Doris Schmidauer was born in

Grieskirchen Grieskirchen is a town in Austria. It is capital of the Grieskirchen district of Upper Austria, in the Trattnachtal valley. Notable people * Franz Födermayr (1933–2020), musicologist, was born in the town. * Otto Prechtler (1813–1881), dra ...

Upper Austria Upper Austria (german: Oberösterreich ; bar, Obaöstareich) is one of the nine states or 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, an ...

, on 21 September 1963, to Doris and Ernst Schmidauer. Her father, Ernst Schmidauer (1934–2018), was a school director at Johann Eisterer State School and a brass band

conductor Conductor or conduction may refer to: Music * Conductor (music), a person who leads a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra. * ''Conductor'' (album), an album by indie rock band The Comas * Conduction, a type of structured free improvisation ...

. Schmidauer was raised in

Peuerbach Peuerbach is a town in Austria, in Grieskirchen (district) Bezirk Grieskirchen is a district of the state of Upper Austria in Austria. Municipalities Towns (''Städte'') are indicated in boldface; market towns (''Marktgemeinden'') in ''it ...

, a small town in Grieskirchen District. She attended primary school in Peuerbach and graduated from a girls' high school in the city of

Wels Wels (; Central Bavarian: ''Wös'') is a city in Upper Austria, on the Traun River near Linz. It is the county seat of Wels-Land, and with a population of approximately 60,000, the eighth largest city in Austria. Geography Wels is in the ...

in June 1982. Schmidauer moved to

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

, where she graduated with a degree in

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and ...

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 h ...

in 1988. Her thesis dealt with the history of the Österreichischen Nitrogenwerke AG. As a student, Schmidauer participated in the 1984 Occupation of the Hainburger Au, to help preserve a large flood plain and wetlands area near Vienna. She credits the campaign to save the Hainburger Au as the beginning of her work in

ecology Ecology () is the study of the relationships between living organisms, including humans, and their physical environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community, ecosystem, and biosphere level. Ecology overl ...

and

environmentalism Environmentalism or environmental rights is a broad Philosophy of life, philosophy, ideology, and social movement regarding concerns for environmental protection and improvement of the health of the environment (biophysical), environment, par ...

. The Hainburger Au was saved from development and became part of the Danube-Auen National Park in 1996. Schmidauer, who described her political views as "left-liberal," has worked for the

Austrian Green Party Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...

for nearly 30 years. She began working for the Green Party as a new hire in December 1989. Schmidauer worked as the personal assistant and political aide to

, a prominent Green Party politician (and her future husband) from 1996 until 1999. She then served as the Managing Director of the Green Party Parliamentary Club from October 1999 until January 2018. In December 2015, Doris Schmidauer married Alexander Van der Bellen following a longtime relationship. Doris Schmidauer has no children, while Van der Bellen has two sons from his first marriage. Schmidauer became First Lady in January 2017 when Van der Bellen assumed the presidency of Austria. She expressed a desire to continue working within the Green Party's leadership while fulfilling her obligations as first lady and wife of the president. She left her position as manager of the Greens Parliamentary Club in January 2018 to focus on the duties of the first lady. In a speech on

International Women's Day International Women's Day (IWD) is a global holiday list of minor secular observances#March, celebrated annually on March 8 as a focal point in the women's rights, women's rights movement, bringing attention to issues such as gender equality, ...

2019, Schmidauer criticized the lack of women on the boards of directors of domestic Austrian companies.She noted that, out 186 total board members, only nine were women.

Honours

Foreign honours

*: 1st Class of the

Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana The Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana ( et, Maarjamaa Risti teenetemärk, sometimes translated as the Order of the Cross of St. Mary's Land) was instituted by the President of Estonia, Lennart Meri, on 16 May 1995 to honour the independence of t ...

(21 May 2021) *: Knight Grand Cross of the

Order of Merit of the Italian Republic The Order of Merit of the Italian Republic ( it, Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana) is the senior Italian order of merit. It was established in 1951 by the second President of the Italian Republic, Luigi Einaudi. The highest-rankin ...

(27 June 2019) *: Dame Grand Cross of the Order of the Crown (27 June 2022) *: Grand Cross of the

Order of Merit The Order of Merit (french: link=no, Ordre du Mérite) is an order of merit for the Commonwealth realms, recognising distinguished service in the armed forces, science, art, literature, or for the promotion of culture. Established in 1902 by ...

(18 June 2019) *: Grand Gwanghwa Medal of the Order of Diplomatic Service Merit (14 June 2021)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schmidauer, Doris Living people 1963 births Spouses of presidents of Austria The Greens – The Green Alternative politicians Austrian environmentalists Austrian women in politics University of Vienna alumni People from Grieskirchen District Doris Grand Crosses of the Order of the House of Orange