Michael Arthur Josef Jakob Hainisch (; 15 August 1858 – 26 February 1940) was an Austrian politician who served as the first

president of Austria The president of Austria () is the head of state of the Austria, Republic of Austria. The office of the president was established in 1920 by the Constituent National Assembly (Austria), Constituent National Assembly of the First Austrian Repu ...

from 1920 to 1928, after the fall of the monarchy at the end of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

Origins

Hainisch was born and named after his father who was a factory owner. His mother Marianne Hainisch was a leader in the suffrage movement. He started out as a lawyer and an official of the Treasury and of the Education Department, but then retired to his estates in

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 ...

and

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 ...

, where he carried on model farming, became a leader of the Austrian branch of the Fabian movement, and one of the founders of the Central People's Library. In later years he moved away from radical socialism to become a conservative agrarian.

Presidency

Hainisch held aloof from political parties. He was chosen president because of his personal authority, although he was not a member of the parliament. He was an independent candidate. He was elected and assumed office in 1920, and stayed for two periods until 1928. He was married to Emilia Figdor, the descendant of a prominent Viennese assimilated Jewish family. Emilia's father, Gustav, was a town councillor of the city of Vienna. As a president, he worked hard to improve the dire situation Austria found itself after the war. He did a lot to develop the

agricultural sector Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created f ...

, encouraged the

electrification Electrification is the process of powering by electricity and, in many contexts, the introduction of such power by changing over from an earlier power source. In the context of history of technology and economic development, electrification refe ...

of the

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

, tried to develop more

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the Commerce, commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. World Tourism Organization, UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as ...

especially in the

Alps The Alps () are some of the highest and most extensive mountain ranges in Europe, stretching approximately across eight Alpine countries (from west to east): Monaco, France, Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria and Slovenia. ...

. Trade with neighbouring countries such as Germany was encouraged. He also became a protector of local traditions and

culture Culture ( ) is a concept that encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, Attitude (psychology), attitudes ...

and initiated the creation of the law of protected monuments. He became also an honorary member of the Akademie der Wissenschaften (Academy of Sciences). In 1928, main parties proposed to amend the constitution in order to reelect Hainisch for a third term. Federal Chancellor

Ignaz Seipel Ignaz Seipel (19 July 1876 – 2 August 1932) was an Austrian Catholic priest and conservative politician, who served as the List of Chancellors of Austria, Chancellor of the First Austrian Republic twice during the 1920s and leader of the Chris ...

proposed a one-year term for Hainisch, but Hainisch declined a third term. He subsequently served as Commerce Minister from 1929 to 1930. Controversially, he supported

Pan-German Pan-Germanism ( or '), also occasionally known as Pan-Germanicism, is a pan-nationalist political idea. Pan-Germanism seeks to unify all ethnic Germans, German-speaking people, and possibly also non-German Germanic peoples – into a sin ...

ideas and later supported 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 ...

of Austria to

Nazi-Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a totalitarian dictator ...

in 1938, as did many of his compatriots. He died in February 1940, just nearly two years after the Anschluss and a few months 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 ...

started.

Works

He was a fertile author of works on sociology and politics: * ''Zukunft der Oesterreicher'' ("The future of the Austrians," 1892) * ''Zur Wahlreform'' ("Towards electoral reform," 1895) * ''Kampf ums Dasein und Sozialpolitik'' ("The fight for existence and social politics," 1899) * ''Heimarbeit'' (1906) * ''Fleischnot und Alpine Landwirtschaft''

Awards

*Grand Cross of the

Order of the White Lion The Order of the White Lion () is the highest order of the Czech Republic. It continues a Czechoslovak order of the same name created in 1922 as an award for foreigners (Czechoslovakia having no civilian decoration for its citizens in the 192 ...

, Czechoslovakia (1926)Czechoslovak Order of the White Lion 1923–1990
''prazskyhradarchiv.cz.'' Retrieved 4 November 2024 *

Wilhelm Exner Medal The Wilhelm Exner Medal has been awarded by the Austrian Industry Association, (ÖGV), for excellence in research and science since 1921. The medal is dedicated to Wilhelm Exner (1840–1931), former president of the Association, who initialize ...

, 1926

References

External links

Hofburg.at: Michael Hainisch

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hainisch, Michael 1858 births 1940 deaths People from Neunkirchen District, Austria Presidents of Austria Ambassadors of Austria to Peru University of Vienna alumni Grand Crosses of the Order of the White Lion 20th-century Austrian politicians People from Austria-Hungary Leipzig University alumni