Sixtus Lanner (12 May 1934 – 13 July 2022) was an Austrian farmer, engineer, and politician who served in the

National Council of Austria The National Council (, ) is one of the two houses of the Austrian Parliament and is frequently referred to as the lower house. The constitution endows the National Council with far more power than the Federal Council. Responsibilities The Nat ...

as a member 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). Lanner served in parliament for a total of 25 years from 1971 until 1996. Lanner was also the

secretary-general Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, Power (social and political), power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the org ...

of the ÖVP from 1976 to 1981. Described as a ''Bauernbua'' (peasant-boy) from the

Tyrolean Unterland The Tyrolean Unterland () is that part of the Austrian state of Tyrol east of its capital city, Innsbruck, excluding East Tyrol. Extent and language The Tyrolean Unterland should not be confused with the Tyrolean Lower Inn Valley (''Tiroler Unt ...

, Lanner was a staunch advocate for rural affairs, and has been described as the "father of rural life" in Austria. Lanner was regarded as an influential member of the ÖVP.

Early life and education

Lanner was born on 12 May 1934 in village of Oberau in

Wildschönau Wildschönau is a municipality within the district of Kufstein in the state of Tyrol 6 km south of Wörgl. The 24 km long high valley near Wörgl is one of the district's tourist centers. Besides a few hamlets, the municipality cons ...

Tyrol Tyrol ( ; historically the Tyrole; ; ) is a historical region in the Alps of Northern Italy and western Austria. The area was historically the core of the County of Tyrol, part of the Holy Roman Empire, Austrian Empire and Austria-Hungary, f ...

. His father was an alpine farmer, while his mother was the local postmaster. Lanner and his three siblings grew up on their parents' farm, with Lanner working as a farmhand. When Lanner decided to attend higher education at the age of 20, he was an alpine farmer with just an elementary education. Beginning in 1954, Lanner attended the Higher Federal College for Alpine Agriculture in

Seefeld in Tirol Seefeld in Tirol is an old farming village, now a major tourist resort, in Innsbruck-Land District in the Austrian state of Tyrol (state), Tyrol with a local population of 3,312 (as of 1 January 2013). The village is located about northwest of Inn ...

, graduating in 1956. In 1960, he attended the

University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna The University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, or simply BOKU (derived from its German name, , ), founded in 1872, is an education and research centre for renewable resources in Vienna, Austria. BOKU combines expertise in the field ...

(BOKU), receiving a

Diplom-Ingenieur An engineer's degree is an advanced academic degree in engineering which is conferred in Europe, some countries of Asia and Latin America, North Africa and a few institutions in the United States. The degree may require a thesis but always require ...

later that year. Lanner attended the

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United ...

in the United States from 1960 until 1961, when he returned to Austria to study at the Vienna University of World Trade, graduating in 1963. Concurrently, Lanner was working on his PhD in

soil science Soil science is the study of soil as a natural resource on the surface of the Earth including soil formation, soil classification, classification and Soil survey, mapping; Soil physics, physical, Soil chemistry, chemical, Soil biology, biologica ...

at BOKU, which he received in 1964. After completing his education, Lanner worked as a commercial and agricultural engineer.

Political career

Lanner's political career began in 1963, when he gave a speech at a conference for the Austrian Chambers of Agriculture. In 1971, Lanner was elected to the

as a member of the

(ÖVP). Lanner served in parliament for 25 years, retiring in 1996 after the 1995 Austrian legislative election. In 1974, Lanner represented Austria in the

Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) is the parliamentary arm of the Council of Europe, a 46-nation international organisation dedicated to upholding human rights, democracy and the rule of law. The Assembly is made up of ...

. Lanner was a high-ranking and influential member of the ÖVP. From 1969 until 1976, Lanner was the director of the , and he also served as the head of the Department of Agricultural Policy and Integration. From 1976 to 1981, Lanner was the

of the ÖVP, serving under party chairmen Josef Taus and

Alois Mock Alois Mock (; 10 June 1934 – 1 June 2017) was an Austrian politician and member of the Austrian People's Party (ÖVP). He was Vice Chancellor of Austria from 1987 to 1989. As foreign minister, he helped take Austria into the European Union. L ...

. From 1976 until 1982, Lanner was also the vice president of the

European Union of Christian Democrats European, or Europeans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe and other West ...

, and from 1987 until 1992, he was president of the Agricultural Commission of the

Council of Europe The Council of Europe (CoE; , CdE) is an international organisation with the goal of upholding human rights, democracy and the Law in Europe, rule of law in Europe. Founded in 1949, it is Europe's oldest intergovernmental organisation, represe ...

. In 1988, Lanner chaired the Austrian National Committee for Rural Areas, and in 1992, he chaired the East-West Committee of the Council of Europe for Rural Development. In 1996, Lanner wrote a book called ''The Pride of the Farmers''. Throughout his career, Lanner was known for his advocacy for Austrian agriculture, and he was regarded as "one of the most prominent representatives of the farmers and rural areas". Lanner also advocated for

digitization Digitization is the process of converting information into a digital (i.e. computer-readable) format.Collins Dictionary. (n.d.). Definition of 'digitize'. Retrieved December 15, 2021, from https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/ ...

and

decentralization Decentralization or decentralisation is the process by which the activities of an organization, particularly those related to planning and decision-making, are distributed or delegated away from a central, authoritative location or group and gi ...

Personal life and death

Lanner's wife Angela died in 2017. They had three children together. Lanner was a close friend of

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 ...

, the former

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 ...

and member of the opposing

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 ...

. Lanner died in Tyrol on 13 July 2022.

Karl Nehammer Karl Nehammer (; born 18 October 1972) is an Austrian politician who served as the 28th chancellor of Austria from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Austrian People's Party (ÖVP), he previously was Minister of the Interior (Austria), Minister of th ...

, the

chancellor of Austria The chancellor of Austria, officially the federal chancellor of the Republic of Austria (), is the head of government of the Austria, Republic of Austria. List of chancellors of Austria, Twenty-nine people have served as chancellor. The curre ...

, stated that Lanner was a "connecting politician who always put the common ground in the foreground and therefore enjoyed the highest reputation across party lines". Lanner is buried in his hometown of Oberau.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lanner, Sixtus 1934 births 2022 deaths 20th-century Austrian engineers 20th-century farmers 21st-century Austrian engineers 21st-century Austrian politicians Austrian farmers Austrian People's Party politicians European People's Party politicians Members of the 13th National Council (Austria) Members of the 14th National Council (Austria) Members of the 15th National Council (Austria) Members of the 16th National Council (Austria) Members of the 17th National Council (Austria) Members of the 18th National Council (Austria) Members of the 19th National Council (Austria) Members of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe People from Kufstein District University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign alumni University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna alumni Vienna University of Economics and Business alumni