Rudolf Brestel (16 May 1816 in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

– 3 March 1881) was an Austrian politician.

Life and career

Rudolf Brestel was an assistant at the Vienna Observatory from 1836 to 1840 and then taught mathematics at the Universities of Olomouc and Vienna. In 1848, he was elected as a Liberal deputy in the Austrian parliament (''Reichstag''). After the defeat of the revolution of 1848-1849, he lost his position as a professor and was persecuted for his political views. He was active in publishing and, in 1856, was ''Sekretär'' at the Creditanstalt Bank. In 1861 he was elected to the state parliament of

Lower Austria Lower Austria (german: Niederösterreich; Austro-Bavarian: ''Niedaöstareich'', ''Niedaestareich'') is one of the nine states of Austria, located in the northeastern corner of the country. Since 1986, the capital of Lower Austria has been Sankt P ...

from where he was elected to the Imperial Council from 1864 to 1881. On 30 December 1867 he was appointed by

Emperor Franz Joseph I Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I (german: Franz Joseph Karl, hu, Ferenc József Károly, 18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the other states of the Habsburg monarchy from 2 December 1848 until his ...

as Finance Minister (''Finanzminister'') in the so-called "

Citizen's Ministry The "Citizens' Ministry" (''Bürgerministerium'') is a term used in a political debate, and later in historical literature. It also applies to the "Doctors' Ministry" (''Doktorenministerium''). They are used as summary descriptions for the fou ...

" (''Bürgerministerium'') under Minister-President Auersperg until his resignation on 4 April 1870 (effective on 12 April). In this capacity, he managed to reduce the deficit through tax increases and conversion of government debt to property debt.

Legacy

In 1883 Vienna's 16th District (

Ottakring Ottakring () is the 16th District in the city of Vienna, Austria (german: 16. Bezirk, Ottakring). It is located west of the central districts, north of Penzing and south of Hernals. Ottakring has some heavily populated urban areas with many resid ...

) named the ''Brestelgasse'' in his honour.

References

* Brestel Rudolf. In: Österreichisches Biographisches Lexikon 1815–1950 (ÖBL). Band 1, Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, Wien 1957, S. 113. * Reinhold Lorenz: Brestel, Rudolf. In: Neue Deutsche Biographie (NDB). Band 2, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1955, S. 601 (Digitalisat). 1816 births 1881 deaths Politicians from Vienna Constitutional Party (Austria) politicians Finance Ministers of Austria Members of the Imperial Diet (Austria) Members of the Austrian House of Deputies (1861–1867) Members of the Austrian House of Deputies (1867–1870) Members of the Austrian House of Deputies (1870–1871) Members of the Austrian House of Deputies (1871–1873) Members of the Austrian House of Deputies (1873–1879) Members of the Austrian House of Deputies (1879–1885) {{Austria-politician-stub