Franz Fischler (born 23 September 1946) is an Austrian politician from the
Austrian People's Party
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 ...
(ÖVP). He was the European Union's Commissioner for Agriculture, Rural Development and Fisheries (1995–2004).
He also was President of the
European Forum Alpbach.
Franz Fischler is married with Adelheid (Heidi) Hausmann in 1973 . They have two sons , Klaus and Georg and two daughters , Bernadette and Ursula.
Education and early career
Born in
Absam,
Tyrol
Tyrol ( ; historically the Tyrole; ; ) is a historical region in the Alps of Northern Italy and western Austria. The area was historically the core of the County of Tyrol, part of the Holy Roman Empire, Austrian Empire and Austria-Hungary, f ...
Fischler studied agriculture at the
University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences Vienna, and finished as Dr rer.nat.oec. in 1978.
He worked as University assistant from 1973 to 1979, then for the Tyrol Chamber of Agriculture, finally as its director from 1985 to 1989.
Political career

Between 1989 and 1994 Fischler was Federal Minister for Agriculture and Forestry, and since 1990 elected Member of
National Council.
In 1995 he became European Commissioner in
Brussels
Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...
, responsible for agriculture and rural development.
In 1999 fisheries also became part of his responsibilities.
At the 1999 Berlin summit, Fischler had significant influence on the
Agenda 2000.
In 2011 Austria has decided to nominate Fischler as a candidate for the position of director general of
FAO
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations; . (FAO) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger and improve nutrition ...
; the position went to
José Graziano da Silva instead.
Other activities
*
Trilateral Commission, Member of the European Group.
*
Institute for Advanced Studies (IHS), Chair of the Board of Trustees
Board of Trustees
Institute for Advanced Studies (IHS).
Further reading
*
::''See also'':
Notes and references
External links
Franz Fischler Consult
Franz Fischler for Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO)
1946 births
Living people
Austrian European commissioners
Agriculture ministers of Austria
University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna alumni
Austrian agronomists
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