Liesel "Liese" Prokop-Sykora (27 March 1941 – 31 December 2006) was an

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 ...

athlete An athlete is most commonly a person who competes in one or more sports involving physical strength, speed, power, or endurance. Sometimes, the word "athlete" is used to refer specifically to sport of athletics competitors, i.e. including track ...

and, later in her life, a politician. She competed mainly in the

pentathlon A pentathlon is a contest featuring five events. The name is derived from Greek language, Greek: combining the words ''pente'' (five) and -''athlon'' (competition) (). The first pentathlon was documented in Ancient Greece and was part of the Anci ...

Biography

Born as Liese Sykora in Tulln District,

Lower Austria Lower Austria ( , , abbreviated LA or NÖ) is one of the nine states of Austria, located in the northeastern corner of the country. Major cities are Amstetten, Lower Austria, Amstetten, Krems an der Donau, Wiener Neustadt and Sankt Pölten, which ...

, on 27 March 1941, she graduated 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 ...

with a degree in biology and sport. In 1965 she married her former coach, Gunnar Prokop. The couple had two sons and a daughter. in 1967, she became student world champion in

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

. She competed for Austria in the

1968 Summer Olympics The 1968 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Mexico 1968 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 12 to 27 October 1968, in Mexico City, Mexico. These were the first Ol ...

held in

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

in the Pentathlon where she won the silver medal. In 1969, she became European champion in

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

, breaking the world pentathlon record. In addition, she was Austrian champion in pentathlon,

long jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a gr ...

high jump The high jump is a track and field event in which competitors must jump unaided over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without dislodging it. In its modern, most-practiced format, a bar is placed between two standards with a crash mat f ...

, hurdles, relay and shot putting. Prokop began her political career in 1969 and became a member of the Parliament of Lower Austria. She served as regional minister from 1981 to 1992 and vice president of Lower Austria during the period between 1992 and 2004. She joined Assembly of European Regions (AER) in 1996 and held different administrative positions in the AER, including the president of the AER which she assumed from 2001 to 2004. Later she was made honorary president of the assembly. Beginning in December 2004 she was Austrian minister of interior for the conservative

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 ...

, becoming Austria's first female interior minister. She served in the cabinet led by

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

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 ...

until her death on 31 December 2006. She died unexpectedly of aortic dissection while being rushed to a

Sankt Pölten Sankt Pölten (; Central Bavarian: ''St. Pödn''), mostly abbreviated to the official name St. Pölten, is the capital and largest city of the States of Austria, State of Lower Austria in northeast Austria, with 55,538 inhabitants as of 1 Januar ...

hospital on New Year's Eve, 2006. Chancellor Wolfgang Schüssel became acting interior minister upon this incident. She was the sister of Maria Sykora, who competed at the 1972 Summer Olympics, and aunt of Winter Olympic bronze medalist Thomas Sykora. Her daughter, Karin Prokop is a professional handball player and politician.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Prokop, Liese 1941 births 2006 deaths University of Vienna alumni Athletes (track and field) at the 1964 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1968 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1972 Summer Olympics Austrian pentathletes Austrian female athletes Olympic athletes for Austria Olympic silver medalists for Austria European Athletics Championships medalists Austrian sportsperson-politicians Austrian People's Party politicians Ministers of the interior of Austria Deaths from aortic dissection Medalists at the 1968 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medalists in athletics (track and field) Women government ministers of Austria Female interior ministers Universiade medalists in athletics (track and field) FISU World University Games gold medalists for Austria 20th-century Austrian women politicians 20th-century Austrian politicians 21st-century Austrian women politicians 21st-century Austrian politicians Medalists at the 1967 Summer Universiade Assembly of European Regions Austrian Athletics Championships winners