Reinhold Mitterlehner (; born 10 December 1955) 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 of 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) who served as minister of economy in Austria's government from 2008 until 2017. In September 2014 he also became vice chancellor of Austria and chairman of the ÖVP. On 9 May 2016 he briefly assumed powers and duties as Acting Chancellor of Austria while his coalition partner, 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 ...

, underwent a change in leadership. After a series of quarrels within the grand coalition as well as his own party, Mitterlehner announced his resignation on 10 May 2017, which became effective on 17 May 2017.

Early life and education

Mitterlehner was born in Helfenberg,

Upper Austria Upper Austria ( ; ; ) is one of the nine States of Austria, states of Austria. Its capital is Linz. Upper Austria borders Germany and the Czech Republic, as well as the other Austrian states of Lower Austria, Styria, and Salzburg (state), Salzbur ...

, on 10 December 1955. He holds a doctorate in law, which he received from the

Johannes Kepler University Linz The Johannes Kepler University Linz (German: ''Johannes Kepler Universität Linz'', short: ''JKU'') is a public university in Austria. It is located in Linz, the capital of Upper Austria. It offers bachelor's, master's, diploma and doctoral degre ...

in 1980. He then attended a post-graduate course in association management in

Fribourg or is the capital of the Cantons of Switzerland, Swiss canton of Canton of Fribourg, Fribourg and district of Sarine (district), La Sarine. Located on both sides of the river Saane/Sarine, on the Swiss Plateau, it is a major economic, adminis ...

Career

From 1980 to 1992 Mitterlehner worked at the Upper Austrian economic chamber, where he assumed various posts, including the head of the marketing department. From 1992 to 2000 he served as the secretary general of the Austrian Economic League (ÖWB) 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. ...

. In addition, he was a local politician in Ahorn from 1991 to 1997. He was appointed party chairman for Rohrbach District in May 2002.

Member of the Austrian Parliament, 2000–2008

A member of the

(ÖVP), Mitterlehner was elected to 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 ...

on 8 February 2000, where he served on the Committee on Labour and Social Affairs (2000–2008); the Committee on Economic Affairs (2000–2008); and the finance committee (2003–2008), among others. Meanwhile, also in 2000, Mitterlehner was named deputy secretary general of the Austrian federal economic chamber (WKO), holding that post until 2008.

Federal Minister of Economic Affairs, 2008–2017

Following the 2008 national elections, on 2 December 2008, Mitterlehner was appointed as Federal Minister of Economy, Family and Youth as part of the coalition government led by Chancellor Werner Faymann. In 2008, he was also named vice president of the Austrian Energy Agency. Mitterlehner was one of the leading candidates to succeed Josef Pröll, who left the leadership of the party in April 2011. Instead, from 2011 to 2014 he was deputy federal chairman of the People's Party and only became the successor of

Michael Spindelegger Michael Spindelegger (; born 21 December 1959) is an Austrian politician. He served in the cabinet of Chancellor Werner Faymann as Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs, foreign minister of Austria from 2008 to 2013 and as Fina ...

as party chairman in September 2014 from whom he also took the position of Vice Chancellor of Austria. At the time, Mitterlehner said he would prefer not to serve as finance minister as well, a dual role that Spindelegger had performed. After the ÖVP lost votes in provincial elections to the right-wing, anti-immigration Freedom Party (FPÖ) in 2015, Mitterlehner publicly threatened to quit the coalition government if Faymann's Social Democrat partners did not toughen their policies on migrants and shrink the welfare state.

Other activities

Corporate boards

* Oberösterreichische Versicherung (OÖ), Chairman of the Supervisory Board (since 2019) * Global Hydro Energy, Member of the Advisory Board

Non-profit organizations

* Österreichische Forschungsgemeinschaft (ÖFG), President (since 2018)Reinhold Mitterlehner neuer Präsident der Forschungsgemeinschaft
''

Der Standard ''Der Standard'' () is an Austrian daily newspaper published in Vienna. It is considered a newspaper of record for Austria. History and profile ''Der Standard'' was founded by Oscar Bronner as a financial newspaper and published its first editio ...

'', July 3, 2018. * National Fund of the Republic of Austria for Victims of National Socialism, ex officio member of the board of trustees * Industriewissenschaftliches Institut (IWI), member of the board of trustees * International Association for the Exchange of Students for Technical Experience (IAESTE), member of the board of trustees

Personal life

Mitterlehner is married and has three daughters.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mitterlehner, Reinhold 1955 births 21st-century chancellors of Austria Austrian People's Party politicians Government ministers of Austria Johannes Kepler University Linz alumni Living people Members of the 21st National Council (Austria) 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) People from Rohrbach District Vice-chancellors of Austria