Peter Hanke (born 28 March 1964) is an

Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ** Austria-Hungary ** Austria ...

politician serving as Minister for Climate Action, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation and Technology in the government of

Christian Stocker Christian Stocker (; born 20 March 1960) is an Austrian politician who has been the 29th chancellor of Austria since March 2025. A member of the People's Party (ÖVP), he has been a member of the National Council since 2019 and acting Chair o ...

as a member of the

Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties Form ...

. He served as the councillor for Finance and Economy of the City of Vienna from 2020 to 2025, as well as manager of Wien Holding from 2002 to 2018.

Career

Peter Hanke was born on 28 March 1964 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. ...

. He is the son of socialdemocratic politician Erik Hanke (1933 - 2025). He studied business administration at the University of Economics and Business, where he wrote a thesis on the attractiveness factors of a freight distribution center in Vienna, but did not complete the final defense required to obtain his diploma. He joined Wien Holding, a holding company owned by the City of Vienna, in 1993, where he held a variety of positions, and eventually became managing director in 2002. On May 24, 2018, following a proposal by newly elected Mayor Michael Ludwig, the manager was appointed Executive City Councillor responsible for Finance, Economic Affairs, Digitalization, and International Relations. In addition to his existing responsibilities in finance and the economy, he also assumed oversight of the City of Vienna's press and information services. After the 2020 Viennese elections, the responsibility for overseeing the Vienna public utilities (Wiener Stadtwerke) was added to his role. Since March 3, 2025, Hanke has served as the Minister for Climate Action, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation, and Technology in the

Stocker government The Stocker government (German language, German: ''Bundesregierung'' ''Stocker'') was sworn in as the Government of Austria on 3 March 2025. It is headed by Chancellor of Austria, Chancellor Christian Stocker. It is the first tripartite coalition ...

. His appointment was not without political tension. Left-wing SPÖ leader

Andreas Babler Andreas "Andi" Babler (born 25 February 1973) is an Austrian politician who has been the leader of the Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ) since June 2023 and vice-chancellor of Austria since March 2025. He has been described as being a le ...

had favored other candidates for the ministerial post, including close ally Michaela Schmidt, and economist Markus Marterbauer. Despite this, Vienna Mayor

Michael Ludwig Michael Ludwig (born 3 April 1961) is an Austrian politician of the Social Democratic Party (SPÖ). Since May 2018, he has been Mayor and Governor of Vienna, the capital and largest city of Austria. Since January 2018, he has also served as cha ...

pushed for Hanke’s nomination, highlighting the ongoing power struggle between the federal SPÖ leadership under Babler and the more centrist Vienna branch.

Personal life

He is married to Sabine Hanke. In his free time, he runs long-distance and plays tennis.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hanke, Peter 1964 births Living people Social Democratic Party of Austria politicians 21st-century Austrian politicians