Peter Westenthaler (born "Peter Hojač", 6 November 1967,

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. ...

) 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 ...

n politician. He assumed his mother's maiden name Westenthaler instead of his former surname Hojač (

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus *Czech (surnam ...

). A member of

Jörg Haider Jörg Haider (; 26 January 1950 – 11 October 2008) was an Austrian politician. He was Governor of Carinthia on two occasions, the long-time leader of the Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) and later Chairman of the Alliance for the Future of Au ...

Freedom Party of Austria The Freedom Party of Austria (, FPÖ) is a political party in Austria, variously described as far-right, right-wing populist, national-conservative, and Eurosceptic. It has been led by Herbert Kickl since 2021. It is the largest of five part ...

(FPÖ) up to the so-called "

Knittelfeld Putsch Knittelfeld Putsch refers to a conference of the Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) which took place on 7 September 2002 in the small Austrian town of Knittelfeld, Styria, called due to political differences within the party leadership. The events res ...

" of 2002, he then worked for

Frank Stronach Frank Stronach (born 6 September 1932) is an Austro-Canadian billionaire businessman and politician. He is the founder of Magna International, an international automotive parts company based in Aurora, Ontario, Canada, Granite Real Estate ...

Magna Steyr Magna Steyr Fahrzeugtechnik GmbH & Co KG is an automobile manufacturer based in Graz, Styria, Austria, where its primary manufacturing plant is also located. It is a subsidiary of Canadian-based Magna International and was previously part of th ...

, and in June 2006 was elected chairman of the newly founded

Alliance for the Future of Austria The Alliance for the Future of Austria (; BZÖ) is a right-wing populist, national conservative political party in Austria. The BZÖ was founded on 3 April 2005 by Jörg Haider as a moderate splinter from the Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) ...

(BZÖ). As leader of the BZÖ, Westenthaler was engaged in a heated dispute with FPÖ chairman

Heinz-Christian Strache Heinz-Christian Strache (; born 12 June 1969) is an Austrian politician and dental technician who served as Vice-Chancellor of Austria from 2017 to 2019 before resigning owing to his involvement in the Ibiza affair. He was also Minister of ...

over which of the two political parties is the legal successor to the former FPÖ (the party before the split of 2005 which was a candidate at the

2002 Austrian legislative election Early parliamentary elections were held in Austria on 24 November 2002, after internal divisions in the Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) culminating in the Knittelfeld Putsch led to the resignation of several leading FPÖ members. The Austrian Pe ...

). On 30 August 2008, Peter Westenthaler was officially replaced as chairman of the

(BZÖ) by party founder

. In 2017, Westenthaler was convicted of fraud and embezzlement and sentenced to two and a half years imprisonment. He was released from prison in January of 2019. In March of 2024, Westenthaler became a member of the Board of Trustees of the Austrian Broadcasting Corporation, having been nominated by the

Austrian Freedom Party The Freedom Party of Austria (, FPÖ) is a political party in Austria, variously described as far-right, right-wing populist, national-conservative, and Eurosceptic. It has been led by Herbert Kickl since 2021. It is the largest of five parties ...

. The council representing journalists at the Austrian Broadcasting Corporation criticized Westenthaler's appointment, citing concerns that he could have a conflict of interest, as he continues to be employed by other news media organizations. Westenthaler is employed by OE24.TV as a regular contributor to their debate programmes. As of 2024, Westenthaler was not a member of any political party.

Personal life

Westenthaler is married and has a daughter.

References

1967 births Living people 21st-century Austrian politicians Freedom Party of Austria politicians Alliance for the Future of Austria politicians Austrian politicians convicted of crimes {{Austria-politician-stub