Muna Duzdar (born 22 August 1978) is an Austrian politician. She was a State secretary in the Austrian Federal Chancellery from 2016 to 2017. When she was appointed on 17 May 2016 she became the first

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

person to hold a post in the Austrian Federal government.

Early life and education

Duzdar was raised in Donaustadt, a district of

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. ...

, as the daughter of Palestinian immigrants. She studied

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the ar ...

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 ...

followed by postgraduate Master studies in

International law International law, also known as public international law and the law of nations, is the set of Rule of law, rules, norms, Customary law, legal customs and standards that State (polity), states and other actors feel an obligation to, and generall ...

at the Sorbonne University. On 9 November 2011 she passed her bar exam and has been working as a lawyer since 2012. During her studies she was working as law secretary at the Austrian Tenants' Association from 1999 to 2001. After that she worked for the Socialist Youth Austria as international secretary until 2004. This was followed by an internship at the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...

from 2004 to 2005. During her Master studies she worked as foreign language assistant in two Paris suburbs, Livry-Gargan and Clichy-sous-Bois from 2005 to 2006 and then in administrative positions at the Parti Socialiste in Paris.

Career

Duzdar started her political career in 2001 when she became a district councillor for Donaustadt. In 2010 she was sworn in as a member of the Federal Council where she took on the responsibility of speaker for foreign policy for the Social Democratic Party. She was also a member of several committees within the Federal Council. On 18 November 2012 Duzdar left the Federal Council and switched to the Vienna, where she was sworn in on 19 November 2012 taking over Karin Schrödl's position. Duzdar considers foreign policy, education, integration and housing as her main political focus areas. On 17 May 2016 Muna Duzdar was appointed as state secretary in the Federal Chancellery by Chancellor Christian Kern, who himself had assumed that position on 9 May 2016 after his predecessor Werner Faymann had stepped down. Until 2017, she was responsible for "Administration and Public Service", as well as "Diversity and Digitalization". She was elected into the National Council for the Social Democratic Party in 2017, after she was discharged as State secretary by the newly elected ÖVP-FPÖ government.

Personal life

Duzdar's parents are Palestinian immigrants. Her father was an employee of

UNIDO The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) (French: Organisation des Nations unies pour le développement industriel; French/Spanish acronym: ONUDI) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that assists countries in ...

, her mother was a housewife. She has five siblings and her native languages are German and Arabic. She describes herself as a non-practicing Muslima, which makes her the first member of the Austrian federal government that belongs to the Muslim faith. Duzdar was also the president of the Palestinian-Austrian Association.

References

External links

Muna Duzdar
at meineabgeordneten.at {{DEFAULTSORT:Duzdar, Muna 1978 births 21st-century Austrian women politicians Austrian expatriates in France Austrian Muslims Austrian people of Palestinian descent Living people Members of the 26th National Council (Austria) Members of the 27th National Council (Austria) Members of the Federal Council (Austria) Politicians from Vienna Social Democratic Party of Austria politicians University of Paris alumni University of Vienna alumni Women members of the National Council (Austria)