Leonore Gewessler (; born 15 September 1977) is an Austrian

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politician who served as Minister for Climate Action, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation and Technology in the Nehammer government.

Early life

Education

Gewessler earned a political science degree (MA) from 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 ...

Political career

From 2014 until 2019, Gewessler served as head of Austria's largest environmental charity and lobbying group Global 2000. In this capacity, she championed a popular campaign against the expansion of the ageing Soviet-era Mochovce Nuclear Power Plant in neighbouring Slovakia, just 100 km from the Austrian border.Sam Jones (March 2, 2020)
Austrian Greens’ ‘super minister’ takes the reins
''

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''. In the negotiations on a

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following the

2019 Austrian legislative election Nineteen or 19 may refer to: * 19 (number) * One of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019 Films * ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film * ''Nineteen'' (1987 film), a 1987 science fiction film * '' 19-Nineteen'', a 2009 South Korean film * '' ...

, Gewessler was a member of the Green Party's delegation.

Role in the passing of the Nature Restoration Law

On 17 June 2024, Gewessler played a pivotal role in the passage of the European Union's Nature Restoration Law, a key element of the

European Green Deal The European Green Deal, approved in 2020, is a set of policy initiatives by the European Commission with the overarching aim of making the European Union (EU) climate neutral in 2050. The plan is to review each existing law on its climate meri ...

aimed at restoring 20% of the EU's land and sea by the end of the decade. Despite significant opposition, including a joint statement by Austria's federal states against the law, Gewessler announced her support for it, citing her inability to reconcile letting the opportunity pass without having tried everything. This decision, however, placed her in a contentious legal grey area due to opposition from most Austrian federal states and her coalition partners, the centre-right

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). After Gewessler's vote, the Austrian People's Party filed a lawsuit against her, accusing her of

malfeasance in office Malfeasance in office is any unlawful conduct that is often grounds for a Just cause (employment law), just cause removal of an elected official by statute or recall election, or even additionally a crime. Malfeasance in office contrasts with Mi ...

and announced a complaint with the

European Court of Justice The European Court of Justice (ECJ), officially the Court of Justice (), is the supreme court of the European Union in matters of European Union law. As a part of the Court of Justice of the European Union, it is tasked with interpreting ...

(ECJ) to render Gewessler's vote of the law void. Although the impact of an ECJ complaint was questionable, a conviction for malfeasance in office could carry a sentence of imprisonment of up to 10 years. In 2022, the Austrian government filed a legal challenge to prevent the European Union from including nuclear energy as a category of green investment. Leonore Gewessler said the categorization was "

greenwashing Greenwashing (a compound word modeled on "whitewash"), also called green sheen, is a form of advertising or marketing spin that deceptively uses green PR and green marketing to persuade the public that an organization's products, goals, or ...

." Defenders of the categorization see

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, which produces low

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relative to many energy sources, as key to reducing greenhouse-gas emissions.

References

External links

Leonore Gewessler
on the

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website 1977 births 21st-century Austrian women politicians Austrian environmentalists Government ministers of Austria Living people Members of the 27th National Council (Austria) Members of the 28th National Council (Austria) Politicians from Graz The Greens (Austria) politicians University of Vienna alumni Women government ministers of Austria Women members of the National Council (Austria) {{Austria-politician-stub