Norbert Darabos (born 31 May 1964) is 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 ...

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

. Currently, he serves as the president of the Austrian Study Centre for Peace and Conflict Resolution (ASPR). From 2007 to 2013, he served as Minister of National Defence under the chancellors Gusenbauer and Faymann. From 2015 to 2016, he was secretary general of the

Social Democratic Party of Austria The Social Democratic Party of Austria ( , SPÖ) is a social democratic political party in Austria. Founded in 1889 as the Social Democratic Workers' Party of Austria (, SDAPÖ) and later known as the Socialist Party of Austria () from 1945 unt ...

(SPÖ). He is married and has two children.

Personal life and political career

Darabos was born in

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. ...

. From 1982 to 1988 he studied history 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 ...

, where he graduated in 1988. In 1987/88 he made his

Alternative civilian service Alternative civilian service, also called alternative services, civilian service, non-military service, and substitute service, is a form of national service performed in lieu of military conscription for various reasons, such as conscientious o ...

. In the period 1988 till 1991 Darabos was chief executive of the federal branch of the Dr.-Karl-Renner-Institute in

Burgenland Burgenland (; ; ; Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian: ''Burgnland''; Slovene language, Slovene: ''Gradiščanska''; ) is the easternmost and least populous Bundesland (Austria), state of Austria. It consists of two statutory city (Austria), statut ...

, a social democratic think tank. Between 1991 and 1998 he was press speaker for the Governor of the Province of Burgenland, Karl Stix. Since 1998 he is executive secretary of the SPÖ Burgenland. On 19 May 1999 he became a member of the federal parliament. Between December 2000 till March 2003, Darabos was the head of the Social Democratic Group in the federal parliament of Burgenland. In March 2003, Darabos became secretary general of the Social Democratic Party of Austria. In 2004 he ran the election campaign of later

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 ...

Heinz Fischer Heinz Fischer Order of Prince Henry, GColIH, Order of Merit of the Italian Republic, OMRI, Order of the Seraphim, RSerafO, Military Order of Saint James of the Sword, GCollSE (; born 9 October 1938) is an Austrian politician who served as the pre ...

, and on 16 June 2004 he became a member of the

Austrian parliament The Austrian Parliament () is the bicameral federal legislature of Austria. It consists of two chambers – the National Council and the Federal Council. In specific cases, both houses convene as the Federal Assembly. The legislature meets i ...

(SPÖ). After the 2006 Austrian legislative election, in which the SPÖ gained the majority of the votes, Darabos became a member of the team that negotiated for a coalition with 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 ...

(ÖVP). In the following

Grand coalition A grand coalition is an arrangement in a multi-party parliamentary system in which the two largest political party, political parties of opposing political spectrum, political ideologies unite in a coalition government. Causes of a grand coali ...

, which took office on 11 January 2007, Darabos became Minister of National Defence. Since 2 December 2008 his duties also comprised sports. In 2010 Vienna's mayor Michael Häupl (SPÖ) suggested it should be decided whether young Austrians should still have to serve in the army. Darabos promised "full support" for Häupl's idea of abolishing the conscription, that for the 2013 Austrian conscription referendum takes place. On 11 March 2013 Darabos resigned as minister in order to return as Secretary General of his party, responsible for running the upcoming parliament elections.

Awards

In 2010, Darabos received the Grand Decoration for Services to the Republic of Austria in Gold with Sash (''Großes Goldenes Ehrenzeichen am Bande für die Verdienste um die Republik Österreich'').

Notes and references

External links

*
Norbert Darabos
at the Website of the Austrian Defense Ministry {{DEFAULTSORT:Darabos, Norbert 1964 births Government ministers of Austria Living people Members of the 22nd National Council (Austria) Members of the 23rd National Council (Austria) Members of the 24th National Council (Austria) Members of the 25th National Council (Austria) Ministers of defense of Austria Recipients of the Grand Decoration with Sash for Services to the Republic of Austria Social Democratic Party of Austria politicians