Jörg Haider (; 26 January 1950 – 11 October 2008)
was an Austrian politician. He was
Governor
A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...
of
Carinthia
Carinthia ( ; ; ) is the southernmost and least densely populated States of Austria, Austrian state, in the Eastern Alps, and is noted for its mountains and lakes. The Lake Wolayer is a mountain lake on the Carinthian side of the Carnic Main ...
on two occasions, the long-time leader of the
Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) and later Chairman of the
Alliance for the Future of Austria (Bündnis Zukunft Österreich, BZÖ), a breakaway party from the FPÖ.
Haider was a controversial figure within Austria and abroad. Several countries imposed mild diplomatic sanctions against his party's participation in government alongside
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 ...
's
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), starting from 2000.
Haider died in a car accident shortly after leading the BZÖ in the
2008 Austrian parliamentary elections.
Personal life
Parents
Haider's parents had been early members of the
Austrian Nazi Party (DNSAP, the Austrian affiliate of the NSDAP, the German
Nazi Party
The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party ( or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported the ideology of Nazism. Its precursor ...
). Haider's father, Robert Haider, was a shoemaker. His mother, Dorothea Rupp, was the daughter of a well-to-do physician and head of the
gynaecology
Gynaecology or gynecology (see American and British English spelling differences) is the area of medicine concerned with conditions affecting the female reproductive system. It is often paired with the field of obstetrics, which focuses on pre ...
ward at the general hospital of
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 ...
.
Robert Haider joined the DNSAP in 1929 as a fifteen-year-old boy, four years before
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...
came to power in Germany. He remained a member even after the Nazi Party was banned in Austria and after
Engelbert Dollfuss had dissolved the Austrian parliament and established the ''
Ständestaat'', a
fascist
Fascism ( ) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural soci ...
dictatorship.
In 1933, Robert Haider moved to
Bavaria
Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...
but returned to Austria the following year after the failed Nazi attempt to overthrow the Austrian government with the
July Putsch. He was arrested and chose to move back to Germany where he joined the Austrian Legion, a division of the ''
Sturmabteilung
The (; SA; or 'Storm Troopers') was the original paramilitary organisation under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party of Germany. It played a significant role in Adolf Hitler's rise to power, Hitler's rise to power in the 1920s and early 1930s. I ...
''.
Haider senior completed a two-year military service in Germany and returned to Austria in 1938 after it was
annexed by Nazi Germany (the ''
Anschluss
The (, or , ), also known as the (, ), was the annexation of the Federal State of Austria into Nazi Germany on 12 March 1938.
The idea of an (a united Austria and Germany that would form a "German Question, Greater Germany") arose after t ...
''). From 1940 on, he fought as a junior officer on the Western and Eastern Fronts in Europe during the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. Having been wounded several times, he was discharged from the ''
Wehrmacht
The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the German Army (1935–1945), ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmac ...
'' with the rank of lieutenant. In 1945, he married Dorothea Rupp, at that time a leader in the ''
Bund Deutscher Mädel'' (''BDM'').
Following the end of the war, Haider's parents were investigated as part of the
denazification process, conducted to determine what measures should be taken against them because of their NSDAP membership (proceedings against all former Nazis—NSDAP members and collaborators—were undertaken as a matter of law in both Austria and Germany after the war ended).
They were labelled as "''Minderbelastet''" (meaning "compromised to a lesser degree", i.e. low-ranking in the NSDAP structure). Robert Haider found a job in a shoe factory. Dorothea Haider, who had been a teacher, was prohibited from teaching for a few years following the end of the war.
Robert was forced to dig graves. Haider's mother eventually outlived him, turning ninety on the day he died.
Early life
Haider 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 town of
Bad Goisern
Bad or BAD may refer to:
Common meanings
*Evil, the opposite of moral good
*Error, Erroneous, inaccurate or incorrect
*Unhealthy, or counter to well-being
*Antagonist, the threat or obstacle of moral good
Acronyms
* BAD-2, a Soviet armored tr ...
in 1950, a time when his parents' finances were rather moderate, and his elder sister,
Ursula, was four years old. He performed well at primary school and attended high school in
Bad Ischl despite his parents' financial situation. Haider was reportedly always at the top of his class at high school. During his time in
Bad Ischl, he had first contacts with nationalist organisations, such as the ''
Burschenschaft Albia'', a right-wing student group.
After he graduated with highest distinction in 1968, he was drafted into the
Austrian Army, where he voluntarily spent more than the compulsory nine months (called "the voluntary one year"). After his discharge in 1969, he moved to
Vienna
Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...
and began studying Law and Political Science at the
University of Vienna
The University of Vienna (, ) is a public university, public research university in Vienna, Austria. Founded by Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria, Duke Rudolph IV in 1365, it is the oldest university in the German-speaking world and among the largest ...
. He graduated in 1973 with the title of
Dr iur. During his studies, he was affiliated again with a Burschenschaft: ''Silvania''. In 1974, he started to work at the University of Vienna law faculty in the department of constitutional law.
Marriage and children
Haider was married to Claudia Hoffmann from 1May 1976 until his death. They had two daughters.
Bärental estate
Throughout his career Haider had concentrated his politics on Carinthia. His personal life was heavily connected with this part of Austria: Haider became wealthy in 1983 when he inherited the estate of Wilhelm Webhofer, who had owned a large parcel of land in Carinthia commonly known as "Bärental" (bear valley). This estate has a history that came up in the 1990s in the
Austrian media.
The land had been owned by an Italian Jew until 1941. At that point in time the Nazis still hesitated to take possession of property owned by non-German Jews without any compensation. Inside
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
, Jewish property was not yet open for confiscation and the Mussolini government was not inclined to allow this to happen to Jewish nationals abroad either. Thus when the estate was sold in 1941, one Josef Webhofer (a former resident of
South Tyrol
South Tyrol ( , ; ; ), officially the Autonomous Province of Bolzano – South Tyrol, is an autonomous administrative division, autonomous provinces of Italy, province in northern Italy. Together with Trentino, South Tyrol forms the autonomo ...
, Italy, and an
Optant) paid 300,000
Reichsmark (equivalent to million euros in ) to obtain title to the land. After the war, Mathilde Roifer, the widow of the former Jewish owner of Bärental, demanded compensation.
Despite a panel finding that the property was fairly sold, Webhofer paid Roifer an additional sum of approximately 661,000
schillings (equivalent to million euros in ). In 1955 Josef Webhofer's son, Wilhelm, not a blood relative of Haider but rather a "Wahlonkel" or uncle-by-choice, inherited the estate and later bequeathed it to Haider.
Political career
Rise to power in the FPÖ
The Austrian Freedom Party (FPÖ) was founded in 1955, and initially was a mixture of various political currents opposed both to the
political catholicism of 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 ...
and the
socialist
Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...
views of the
Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ).
With its roots in the
Pan-German movement, it included both
German-nationalist and liberal political views. In 1970 Haider became the leader of the FPÖ youth movement and headed it until 1975. Haider rose rapidly through the party ranks. In 1972, at the age of 22, he was already a well-established leader and was made party affairs manager of the Carinthian FPÖ in 1976. In 1979 he was the youngest delegate among the 183 members of parliament, at age 29.
Beginning in 1983 his policies became more aggressive, when he rose to party head of the Carinthian FPÖ and started to criticise the leaders of the FPÖ, which at that time was still a minor political movement in Austria, usually winning only about 5–6% of the vote.
The decisive point of his career came in 1986 when he defeated Austrian
Vice Chancellor
A vice-chancellor (commonly called a VC) serves as the chief executive of a university in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia, Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Kenya, other Commonwealth countr ...
Norbert Steger in the vote for party leadership at the party convention in September in
Innsbruck
Innsbruck (; ) is the capital of Tyrol (federal state), Tyrol and the List of cities and towns in Austria, fifth-largest city in Austria. On the Inn (river), River Inn, at its junction with the Wipptal, Wipp Valley, which provides access to the ...
; many delegates feared that Steger's liberal political views and his coalition with the Social Democrats threatened the party's existence. Haider represented the pan-German nationalist wing of the party, opposed to the classical liberal one led by Steger.
Political struggle in Carinthia
Until 1989, the SPÖ held an absolute majority in the Austrian province of Carinthia; when it received less than 50% of seats in 1989, ÖVP and FPÖ formed a coalition and elected Haider as ''
Landeshauptmann'' (governor) of Carinthia.
In 1991, in a debate in the regional parliament, a Socialist leader attacked Haider's plan of reducing unemployment payments for people seen as "freeloaders", calling it forced work placement reminiscent of Nazi policies. Haider replied, "No, they didn't have that in the Third Reich, because in the Third Reich they had a proper employment policy, which not even your government in Vienna can manage to bring about." Haider claimed that the legislators understood his comment as a criticism of the present Austrian government, but in the days that followed the SPÖ joined with the ÖVP in a
vote of no confidence
A motion or vote of no confidence (or the inverse, a motion or vote of confidence) is a motion and corresponding vote thereon in a deliberative assembly (usually a legislative body) as to whether an officer (typically an executive) is deemed fi ...
against him.
Haider had to resign his post as governor and the FPÖ–ÖVP coalition was replaced by an SPÖ–ÖVP coalition. Although the remark was costly both for Haider and the FPÖ, a country-wide poll reported that 42% of Austrians considered the press's treatment exaggerated, and 33% believed Haider's remarks to be based in fact.
In 1999, Haider again was elected governor of Carinthia by the Carinthian parliament, where the FPÖ now held a plurality of more than 42%. Even after the FPÖ fell to only 10% from 27% in the national elections in 2002, Haider's support in Carinthia did not diminish and he succeeded in the 2004 elections receiving a slightly higher percentage (42.5%) than in 1999.
FPÖ chairman
Haider as opposition leader
Under Haider's leadership, the FPÖ moved to the right, reflecting Haider's
nationalist
Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation,Anthony D. Smith, Smith, A ...
,
anti-immigration, and
anti-EU views. Haider relied primarily on populism (see below) to advance his interests. From 1986 when Haider became the FPÖ's chairman the party's share in elections rose from 5% in the
1983 elections to almost 27% in
1999
1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons.
Events January
* January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers.
* January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...
.
In a 1988 interview he claimed that the idea of
Austrian nationhood (separate from the German nation) was an "ideological monstrosity" ''(ideologische Mißgeburt)''. Seven years later, he distanced himself from this statement and instead defined the FPÖ as a "classic Austrian patriotic party", as fewer and fewer Austrians identified with the German nation. However, Haider's German nationalist roots were still evident in his rejection of minority rights for non-German-speaking ethnic groups, hostility towards European integration and immigration.
With Haider practically leading the FPÖ single-handedly, he was able to unite the scattered, divided extreme-right in Austria and establish a party that was not so much founded on leading personalities or an ideology but on just one leader – Haider himself, who used to change his opinions frequently. His style of governing the party became authoritarian in the following years, however his followers did not challenge his ultimate authority in the party, especially because Haider was able to gain one victory after another in elections.
An exception was the split off by the
Liberal Forum in 1993 headed by Heide Schmidt, who had served as Haider's deputy chairman and run as the FPÖ's candidate for presidency in 1992. The liberals initially gained the support of about 6% of the voters nationwide, but Schmidt was not able to uphold this support and the Liberal Forum subsequently dropped out of parliament in 1999.
FPÖ's mixture of populism, anti-establishment and nationalist themes steadily gained support over the years. In addition to far-right voters, the FPÖ was able to attract voters from both the Social Democrats and the Conservatives in both the national and regional elections of the 1990s, mostly those who were fed up with decades of government by the 'Great Coalition' (see also:
Proporz).
Coalition government with Wolfgang Schüssel's People's party
In 2000, Haider's Freedom Party unexpectedly came in second after the Social Democrats (SPÖ) in the
1999 parliamentary elections. After efforts to renew the grand coalition failed, the ÖVP reached an agreement with the FPÖ. In the normal course of events, Haider would have become chancellor. However, it soon became apparent that he was too controversial to be part of the government, let alone lead it. Haider thus stepped aside in favour of ÖVP leader
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 ...
.
The coalition caused widespread outrage both in Austria and the rest of Europe. The heads of government of the other fourteen EU members decided to cease cooperation with the Austrian government, as it was felt in many countries that the
cordon sanitaire against coalitions with parties considered as right-wing extremists, which had mostly held in Western Europe since 1945, had been breached. For several months, other national leaders shunned diplomatic contacts with members of the Schüssel government. Supporters of the government often blamed social democrats and President
Thomas Klestil for these sanctions, and questioned their loyalty to the country.
At the end of February 2000, Haider stepped down from the leadership of the Freedom Party.
Susanne Riess-Passer succeeded him, and thus became Vice-Chancellor when the coalition agreement was formally signed on 4 February. This was widely regarded as a cynical move to appease foreign criticism, as he appeared to continue to control the party from behind the scenes. Riess-Passer was widely viewed as being only pro forma in charge. Haider proclaimed that his move was just the fulfillment of his promise to Carinthian FPÖ voters that he had given prior to the election that had been held that same year.
Following analyses of the diplomatic sanctions, EU leaders came to believe that the measures were counterproductive and returned to normality in September 2000, even though the coalition remained unchanged.
Collapse of the first coalition and decline of the Freedom Party

In September 2002, after a special party convention in
Knittelfeld
Knittelfeld () is a city in Styria, Austria, located on the banks of the Mur River, Mur river.
The name of the town has become notorious for the Knittelfeld Putsch of September 7, 2002, a party meeting of the Freedom Party of Austria, which resul ...
(
Styria
Styria ( ; ; ; ) is an Austrian Federal states of Austria, state in the southeast of the country. With an area of approximately , Styria is Austria's second largest state, after Lower Austria. It is bordered to the south by Slovenia, and cloc ...
), the so-called
Knittelfeld Putsch,
Riess-Passer lost the support of many party members. This meeting is also sometimes considered as a rebellion against the members which are currently involved in the government, which was thought to be started or at least supported by Haider. Thus Riess-Passer resigned as Vice Chancellor and Party Chairwoman. With her, Karl-Heinz Grasser, the finance minister, and Peter Westenthaler, the head of the Freedom Party's Parliament Club, also resigned.
This triggered
general elections in November, which resulted in a victory with 42.3% of the vote for the conservative
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) led by Federal Chancellor
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 ...
. Haider's Freedom Party, which in 1999 was slightly stronger than Schüssel's party, was reduced to 10.16% of the vote.
In response, Haider stated that he had demanded that the leader of the FPÖ must step down to allow him to be leader, and on being refused, stated that he would leave federal politics permanently.
In October 2003, in a cabinet reshuffle instigated by Haider,
Herbert Haupt stepped down as Vice Chancellor and was replaced by
Hubert Gorbach.
On 7 March 2004, the FPÖ won a plurality (42.5%) of the vote in the elections for the Carinthian parliament. On 31 March 2004, Haider was re-elected Governor of Carinthia by the FPÖ and SPÖ members of the state parliament.
However, outside Carinthia, Haider's charisma seemed to have largely lost its appeal among voters. The FPÖ incurred devastating losses in several regional elections, the
2004 European elections and in elections for the Austrian Chamber of Commerce. In each of those elections, it lost between one half to two thirds of their previous voters.
Creation of a new party
As a consequence, the FPÖ, whose chair was Haider's sister, Ursula Haubner, was riven with internal strife. On 4 April 2005, Haider, Haubner, Vice Chancellor Hubert Gorbach and other leading figures of the FPÖ announced the creation of a new party called
Alliance for the Future of Austria (Bündnis Zukunft Österreich, BZÖ) with Haider as leader. In effect, this split the FPÖ into two parties.
In the following months, the BZÖ tried to establish itself within the Austrian political landscape, but met little success. Haider and his new party remained in the coalition with the People's party, leading to fierce fights between the FPÖ and BZÖ following the split-up. Subsequent polls showed that both parties were losing voter approval and in danger of failing to reach the critical 4% of the national vote barrier required for representation in parliament.
In the 2006 general elections, the BZÖ received 4.1% of votes, thus narrowly securing its representation of 7 seats in parliament. The FPÖ, now led by
Heinz-Christian Strache surpassed initial expectations, receiving 11.0% of the vote, 532 votes behind the
Greens.
From June 2006 to August 2008, the BZÖ was led by
Peter Westenthaler. On 30 August 2008, shortly before the
legislative election, Haider re-assumed the party chairmanship. Subsequently, the BZÖ received 10.7% of votes, and the FPÖ 17.5% of votes.
Stefan Petzner
Stefan Petzner, Haider's designated successor as party chairman, stated in an
ORF radio interview on 19 October 2008, that at the time of Haider's death he and the politician were in a relationship which "went far beyond friendship" with the full knowledge of the latter's wife.
Petzner also said that "Jörg and I were connected by something truly special. He was the man of my life ()."
The term ''Lebensmensch'' can imply an intimate relationship but can also be interpreted as "icon" or "mentor".
[article by William J. Kole, Associated Press](_blank)
– Fri 24 October, 7:31 am titled: ''Was Austrian far-right leader Joerg Haider gay?'' Associated Press reported Petzner's comments as "Jörg and I were connected by something truly special. He was the man of my life ... I loved him as a best friend."
Haider had neither confirmed nor denied the widespread rumours about his
sexuality
Human sexuality is the way people experience and express themselves sexually. This involves biological, psychological, physical, erotic, emotional, social, or spiritual feelings and behaviors. Because it is a broad term, which has varied ...
, but he was often criticised for surrounding himself with young men in his political movement, which was nicknamed 'Haider's boys' party'.
Political views
Since beginning his political career in the 1970s, Haider was critical of mainstream Austrian politics. He used simple slogans to raise his popularity by exploiting issues where he saw the general public perceived injustice or the self-interest of big party politics (specifically the SPÖ and 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 ...
).
In a 27 September 2008 talk show on
ORF television, Haider described the boards of directors of numerous world banks as "
mafia
"Mafia", as an informal or general term, is often used to describe criminal organizations that bear a strong similarity to the Sicilian Mafia, original Mafia in Sicily, to the Italian-American Mafia, or to other Organized crime in Italy, organiz ...
". Haider also advocated the creation of heavier punishments for banking managers and proposed the creation of a special Legal Court against financial crimes, in one of his last interviews to the Austrian daily ''
Kleine Zeitung''.
Haider supported fighting against inflation, and paying a minimum salary of €1000 per month, as well as €1000 per month for mothers. He also supported reforming the Austrian social insurance system with one insurance company per profession. Until 2005 Haider was for the entry of Turkey into the European Union. Later, he urged that decisions like the treaty for the European Union, or the entrance of Turkey into the European Union should be decided by a referendum.
Immigration
Throughout his career, Haider vigorously
opposed immigration and
Islam
Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...
. In the early 1990s, Haider proclaimed:
Language policy
One of Haider's main political struggles was the one against
bilingualism in southern Carinthia, where an
indigenous Slovene ethnic-linguistic community, known as the
Carinthian Slovenes, lives. Already in the 1980s, Haider pursued a policy of
segregation in schools, insisting on physically dividing the Slovene and German-speaking pupils in elementary schools in southern Carinthia. In December 2001, the Austrian Constitutional Court ruled that topographic road signs in all settlements in Carinthia which have had more than 10% of
Slovene-speaking inhabitants over a longer period of time, should be written both in German and Slovene. Haider refused to carry out this decision, which has been reiterated by the Court several times thereafter, and publicly threatened to sue the president of the Constitutional Court. Instead of erecting hundreds of new bilingual signs, as ruled by the court, Haider ordered the removal of several existing ones, which triggered a wave of protest among the local Slovene minority, including acts of civil disobedience.
In May 2006, Haider personally moved the road sign of the town of
Bleiburg () in south-eastern Carinthia for several meters (yards) as the response to the decision of the Constitutional Court which ruled the sign was unconstitutional because it was written only in German. He compared himself to
Jesus Christ
Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...
who moved the stone over his tomb, provoking indignation by the local
Roman Catholic
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
clergy. After the Court condemned his action as illegal, Haider threatened to call a regional referendum on the issue, for which he was publicly admonished by the Federal President
Heinz Fischer. The referendum was blocked by the decision of the Federal institutions which found it unconstitutional. In December 2006, Haider tried to bypass the ruling of the Constitutional Court by attaching less prominent plaques with Slovene placenames to German road signs, which was again found unconstitutional by the Constitutional Court. Haider nevertheless disregarded the Court's decision and pursued his action.
In his last speech, delivered on the celebration of the 88th anniversary of the
Carinthian Plebiscite only a few hours before his death, Haider reiterated his opposition to any kind of visual bilingualism in the region and warned the
Slovene politicians "not to play with fire".
Support from Muammar al-Gaddafi and Saddam Hussein
Haider was also known to have visited Iraq to meet
Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein (28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician and revolutionary who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 1979 until Saddam Hussein statue destruction, his overthrow in 2003 during the 2003 invasion of Ira ...
on the eve of the
2003 Iraq War, as well as having had a friendship with
Muammar Gaddafi
Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi (20 October 2011) was a Libyan military officer, revolutionary, politician and political theorist who ruled Libya from 1969 until Killing of Muammar Gaddafi, his assassination by Libyan Anti-Gaddafi ...
when
Libya
Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...
was an international
pariah.
Criticism by Arnold Schwarzenegger
In 2000, Austrian-American politician
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (born July30, 1947) is an Austrian and American actor, businessman, former politician, and former professional bodybuilder, known for his roles in high-profile action films. Governorship of Arnold Schwarzenegger, ...
criticised anti-immigrant remarks made by Haider: "As an immigrant myself, I am offended by anyone who makes anti-immigrant statements, and it is my opinion that someone who makes statements like Haider's has no place in government. I have never supported him in the past and do not now. I am hopeful that Austria will find a way through this. As an Austrian-born, I am so saddened that, with all the progress we have made working for an open and tolerant society, one man's statements can taint world opinion of an entire country. I know that there are many tolerant people in Austria. It is my hope that their voices can and will be heard."
Allegations of Nazi sympathies and anti-semitism
Haider was frequently criticized for statements in praise of Nazi policies, or considered antisemitic. International reports on Haider often referred to his remark that the Nazi government had produced a "proper employment policy" as compared to the SPÖ government. He was forced to resign as governor of the Carinthia province in 1991 because of the incident. Haider years later apologized.
On one occasion during a parliamentary debate, Haider described World War II concentration camps as "punishment camps".
On several occasions Haider made remarks about Austrian World War II veterans that were represented as broad endorsement of the war and of the Nazi
SS. Speaking to a gathering of veterans from several countries in 1990, he said that the veterans were "decent people of good character" and "remain true to their convictions". Haider stated that he did not specifically address
Waffen-SS
The (; ) was the military branch, combat branch of the Nazi Party's paramilitary ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) organisation. Its formations included men from Nazi Germany, along with Waffen-SS foreign volunteers and conscripts, volunteers and conscr ...
veterans with his remarks.
On another occasion, he said, "the Waffen-SS was part of the
Wehrmacht
The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the German Army (1935–1945), ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmac ...
(German military) and because of that it deserves every honour and recognition". The Waffen-SS was in fact not part of the Wehrmacht. In 2000, at a gathering of Wehrmacht veterans in
Ulrichsberg, including Waffen-SS veterans, he said, "Those who come to Ulrichsberg are not the old Nazis. They are not neo-Nazis, they are not criminals."
Haider also compared the deportation of Jews by the Nazis to the
expulsion of
Sudeten Germans from
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''ÄŒesko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...
after
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. His detractors pointed to a
punning reference to the leader of the Jewish community of Vienna,
Ariel Muzicant; Haider indicated that he did not understand how someone named Ariel (also
the name of a popular laundry detergent) could have gathered so much filth, implying the real estate agent's business methods were crooked.
Haider's critics characterized the remark as antisemitic.
He maintained that Muzicant faked antisemitic hate letters to himself. He later withdrew this and other accusations, and apologized for his "derogatory remarks".
Haider was closely watched by
Mossad
The Institute for Intelligence and Special Operations (), popularly known as Mossad ( , ), is the national intelligence agency of the Israel, State of Israel. It is one of the main entities in the Israeli Intelligence Community, along with M ...
, the Israeli secret service; FPÖ secretary general
Peter Sichrovsky – a
Jewish-Austrian politician and formerly one of Haider's closest aides – had gathered inside information on Haider's controversial contacts with prominent "
Arab
Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world.
Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of years ...
dictators". Due to Haider's perceived contacts to
Holocaust deniers, the
Israeli Foreign Ministry on 29 September 2008 declared it was heavily concerned about the 2008
Austrian elections;
a spokesman of the ministry said that Israeli officials were "very worried about the rise to power of people who promote
hatred,
Holocaust denial
Historical negationism, Denial of the Holocaust is an antisemitic conspiracy theory that asserts that the genocide of Jews by the Nazi Party, Nazis is a fabrication or exaggeration. It includes making one or more of the following false claims:
...
, and befriend
Neo-Nazi
Neo-Nazism comprises the post–World War II militant, social, and political movements that seek to revive and reinstate Nazism, Nazi ideology. Neo-Nazis employ their ideology to promote hatred and Supremacism#Racial, racial supremacy (ofte ...
s. We see it as a disturbing development and are following the matter very closely."
Death and aftermath
Haider died of injuries from a car crash at Lambichl in
Köttmannsdorf near
Klagenfurt, in the state of Carinthia, in the early hours of 11 October 2008. He had been on his way to celebrate his mother's 90th birthday. Police reported that the
Volkswagen Phaeton that Haider had been driving came off the road, rolled down an embankment, and overturned,
causing him "severe head and chest injuries". He had also allegedly been meeting with a young man, after having previously quarreled with
Stefan Petzner that same evening.
He was alone in the government car and no other vehicles were involved.
At the time of the crash, Haider's car was travelling at 142 km/h (88 mph) or faster, more than twice the legal speed limit of 70 km/h (43 mph) for that part of the Loiblpass road. An initial investigation uncovered no signs of foul play,
and conspiracy theories about the death have been strongly rejected by the Austrian police. Haider's widow denies that her husband was gay and questions the official account of the accident. Haider's blood alcohol level at the time of the crash was 1.8 mg/L, more than three times the legal limit of 0.5 mg/L. This fact was noted by both Haider's spokesman and the state prosecutor. The director general of the Carinthian administration declared that in case the Governor had been intoxicated, the state would have the right to recourse for the damaged car against Haider's descendants.
Austrian President
Heinz Fischer said of Haider's death that it was a "human tragedy". Reactions in the press were mixed. Wolfgang Fellner, publisher of ''
Österreich'', wrote that he had: "fought bitterly" with Haider, but "finally, Haider became a gentle, considerate, almost wise politician ... Alas, he was once again too fast." Haider "died as he lived: always full throttle, always over the limit", Fellner concluded. However, pointed out in the ''
Kronen Zeitung'' that while Haider had enjoyed a "comet-like rise" in politics, he had also "ever again embarked on self-destructive actions and provoked opposition." The Chief Editor of ''
Kurier'', , wrote that "however much his brown tones, xenophobia and aggressive populism were to be rejected ... Haider's criticism of the dominant conditions of the 1980s and 90s was partly also justified", and he had "named, fought and in part also changed" those conditions.
On 25 January 2009, the Lippitzbachbrücke, a motorway bridge in Carinthia, was renamed to "Jörg-Haider-Brücke". That year, the consequences of Haider's financial policies became apparent when the Bavarian-Carinthian
Hypo Alpe-Adria-Bank International got into serious difficulties, later leading to the bank's nationalisation. Swiss paper ''
Tagesanzeiger'' wrote about "Haider's money destruction machine". In 2009,
Carinthia
Carinthia ( ; ; ) is the southernmost and least densely populated States of Austria, Austrian state, in the Eastern Alps, and is noted for its mountains and lakes. The Lake Wolayer is a mountain lake on the Carinthian side of the Carnic Main ...
had the highest per-capita debt in
Austria
Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...
.
Posthumous controversies
Haider's widow, Claudia, sued the German newspaper ''
Bild-Zeitung'' for publishing interviews with a man claiming to have been Jörg Haider's lover for many years.
In October 2009, an Austrian court ruled it illegal for media to call Haider a homosexual, because it would be a "breach of personal and privacy rights". In its ruling, the court threatened a fine of up to €100,000 for anybody "who claims or distributes the claim that Jörg Haider was a homosexual and/or bisexual and/or that he has had a male lover".
Newspapers sentenced for 'gay Haider' reports
', AustrianTimes.at, 19 November 2009. The
Graz
Graz () is the capital of the Austrian Federal states of Austria, federal state of Styria and the List of cities and towns in Austria, second-largest city in Austria, after Vienna. On 1 January 2025, Graz had a population of 306,068 (343,461 inc ...
provincial court also issued the same preliminary injunctions against ''Bild-Zeitung'', the Austrian paper ''
Österreich'' and the Austrian magazine ''
NEWS
News is information about current events. This may be provided through many different Media (communication), media: word of mouth, printing, Mail, postal systems, broadcasting, Telecommunications, electronic communication, or through the te ...
''.
According to a confiscated black booklet handwritten by Walter Meischberger, a former Freedom Party politician, Austrian authorities said they would examine a diary that allegedly detailed money transfers from
Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein (28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician and revolutionary who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 1979 until Saddam Hussein statue destruction, his overthrow in 2003 during the 2003 invasion of Ira ...
and Muammar Gaddafi. The diary reportedly mentions a US$58.7 million transfer from Gaddafi, as well as more than US$13.3 million that unidentified individuals brought back from Iraq. It also references an anonymous confidant who supposedly brought a suitcase filled with $6.6 million from Switzerland to
Munich
Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...
for investment purposes; the money was supposed to have come from a Swiss account belonging to the deceased
Uday Hussein and
Qusay Hussein.
See also
*
Christoph Blocher, similar figure in Switzerland for the
Swiss People's Party
The Swiss People's Party (, SVP; , PPS), also known as the Democratic Union of the Centre (, UDC; , UDC), is a national-conservative and right-wing populist political party in Switzerland. Chaired by Marcel Dettling, it is the largest party in ...
References
Further reading
* Höbelt, Lothar. ''Jörg Haider and the politics of Austria, 1986–2000''. West Lafayette, Indiana: Purdue University Press, 2002.
* Rosellini, Jay Julian. "Haider, Jelinek, and the Austrian Culture Wars". Charleston: CreateSpace, 2009.
* Wilsford, David, ed. ''Political leaders of contemporary Western Europe: a biographical dictionary'' (Greenwood, 1995) pp 183–188.
* Wodak, Ruth & Anton Pelinka. ''The Haider phenomenon in Austria''. New Brunswick, N.J.: Transaction Publishers, 2002.
Other languages
* Goldmann, Harald & Hannes Krall & Klaus Ottomeyer. ''Jörg Haider und sein Publikum: eine sozialpsychologische Untersuchung''. Klagenfurt: Drava, 1992.
* Haider, Jörg. ''Die Freiheit, die ich meine''. Frankfurt/Main: Ullstein, 1993.
* Tributsch, Gudmund (ed.). ''Schlagwort Haider: ein politisches Lexikon seiner Aussprüche von 1986 bis heute mit einem Essay von Franz Januschek''. Published: Wien: Falter, 1994.
* Lionel BALAND, Jörg Haider, le phénix. Histoire de la famille politique libérale et nationale en Autriche. Éditions des Cimes, Paris, 2012. ()
External links
Dr. Jörg Haider at the Austrian Parliament website
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Haider, Jorg
1950 births
2008 deaths
Alliance for the Future of Austria politicians
Austrian anti-communists
Austrian Roman Catholics
Austrian critics of Islam
Freedom Party of Austria politicians
German nationalists
Governors of Carinthia
People from Bad Goisern
Political controversies in Austria
Right-wing populism in Austria
Road incident deaths in Austria
University of Vienna alumni
Politicians affected by a party expulsion process
Anti-Slovene sentiment