Alois Mock (10 June 1934 – 1 June 2017) was an

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

n politician and member of the

Austrian People's Party The Austrian People's Party (german: Österreichische Volkspartei , ÖVP ) is a Christian-democratic and liberal-conservative political party in Austria. Since December 2021, the party has been led provisionally by Karl Nehammer. It is currentl ...

(ÖVP). He was

Vice Chancellor of Austria The vice-chancellor of Austria is a member of the Government of Austria and is the deputy to the Chancellor of Austria, Chancellor. It is functionally equivalent to a deputy prime minister in other countries with parliamentary systems. Descripti ...

from 1987 to 1989. As

foreign minister A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between cou ...

, he helped take Austria into the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

Life

Born in Euratsfeld,

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 ...

, to August and Mathilde Mock, he studied law at the

University of Vienna The University of Vienna (german: Universität Wien) is a public research university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world. With its long and rich histor ...

and later

international law International law (also known as public international law and the law of nations) is the set of rules, norms, and standards generally recognized as binding between states. It establishes normative guidelines and a common conceptual framework for ...

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nat ...

and

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

. In Vienna, he became a member of K.A.V. Norica Wien, a Roman Catholic student fraternity, which is a member of the

Cartellverband The Union of Catholic German Student Fraternities (german: Cartellverband der katholischen deutschen Studentenverbindungen or ''Cartellverband'' (CV)) is a German umbrella organization of Catholic male student fraternities (Studentenverbindung). ...

. From 1961, he advised

Austrian chancellor The chancellor of the Republic of Austria () is the head of government of the Austria, Republic of Austria. The position corresponds to that of Prime minister, Prime Minister in several other parliamentary democracies. Current officeholder is ...

Josef Klaus on

European Economic Community The European Economic Community (EEC) was a regional organization created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957,Today the largely rewritten treaty continues in force as the ''Treaty on the functioning of the European Union'', as renamed by the Lisb ...

and

EFTA The European Free Trade Association (EFTA) is a regional trade organization and free trade area consisting of four European states: Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. The organization operates in parallel with the European U ...

policies. From 1962 till 1966, he worked at Austria's mission to the

OECD The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; french: Organisation de coopération et de développement économiques, ''OCDE'') is an intergovernmental organisation with 38 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate e ...

in Paris. In 1966 he became Klaus's cabinet secretary. From 1969 to 1970 was the youngest education minister in Austrian history. After the

parliamentary A parliamentary system, or parliamentarian democracy, is a system of democracy, democratic government, governance of a sovereign state, state (or subordinate entity) where the Executive (government), executive derives its democratic legitimacy ...

elections 1971 - in which the

Social Democratic Party of Austria The Social Democratic Party of Austria (german: Sozialdemokratische Partei Österreichs , SPÖ), founded and known as the Social Democratic Workers' Party of Austria (german: link=no, Sozialdemokratische Arbeiterpartei Österreichs, SDAPÖ) unti ...

(SPÖ) under

Bruno Kreisky Bruno Kreisky (; 22 January 1911 – 29 July 1990) was an Austrian social democratic politician who served as Foreign Minister from 1959 to 1966 and as Chancellor from 1970 to 1983. Aged 72 at the end of his chancellorship, he was the oldes ...

won a majority — he became a member of parliament and

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

of Euratsfeld. From 1971 to 1978, he chaired the ÖAAB, the most important grouping of the ÖVP. From 1978 to 1987, he was the leader of the ÖVP parliamentary group, and from 1979, he also was ÖVP federal party chairman. He was later to be succeeded by

Josef Riegler Josef may refer to *Josef (given name) *Josef (surname) Josef is the surname of the following people: * Jens Josef (born 1967), German composer of classical music, a flutist and academic teacher * Michelle Josef (born 1954), Canadian musician and tr ...

Erhard Busek Erhard Busek (25 March 1941 – 13 March 2022) was an Austrian politician from the Christian-conservative People's Party ( ÖVP). Throughout his political career, he was widely regarded as one of the leaders of the party's liberal wing. He was ...

and

Wolfgang Schüssel Wolfgang Schüssel (; born 7 June 1945) is an Austrian People's Party politician. He was Chancellor of Austria for two consecutive terms from February 2000 to January 2007. While being recognised as a rare example of an active reformer in conte ...

. In 1979, Mock became

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

of the

European Democrat Union The European Democrat Union (EDU) is one of the three European wings of the International Democrat Union, along with the European People's Party (EPP) and the Alliance of Conservatives and Reformists in Europe (ACRE). Its members include Christia ...

(EDU), and from 1983 to 1987 also was president of the

International Democratic Union The International Democrat Union (IDU) is an international alliance of centre-right political parties. Headquartered in Munich, Germany, the IDU consists of 84 full and associate members from 65 countries. It is chaired by Stephen Harper, ...

(IDU). At the

1983 elections The following elections occurred in the year 1983. Africa * 1983 Cameroonian parliamentary election * 1983 Equatorial Guinean legislative election * 1983 Kenyan general election * 1983 Malagasy parliamentary election * 1983 Malawian general elec ...

, the ÖVP obtained nearly the same percentage as Kreisky's SPÖ. Kreisky didn't want to go on without an absolute majority and stepped down. Following the

1986 elections The following elections occurred in the year 1986. Africa * 1986 Angolan legislative election * 1986 Gabonese presidential election * 1986 Mozambican general election * 1986 Sierra Leonean parliamentary election * 1986 Somali presidential elec ...

, Alois Mock was Austrian vice chancellor in the government of

Franz Vranitzky Franz Vranitzky (; born 4 October 1937) is an Austrian politician. A member of the Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ), he was Chancellor of Austria from 1986 to 1997. Early life and career As the son of a foundryman, Vranitzky was born in ...

(SPÖ) from 1987 to 1989. From 1987 to 1995, he was foreign minister, leading Austria into the

. He became one of Austria's most popular politicians. In June 1989, together with his Hungarian colleague

Gyula Horn Gyula János Horn (5 July 1932 – 19 June 2013) was a Hungarian politician who served as Prime Minister of Hungary from 1994 to 1998. Horn is remembered as the last Communist Minister of Foreign Affairs who played a major role in the demolishi ...

, he cut the wires of the

Iron Curtain The Iron Curtain was the political boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II in 1945 until the end of the Cold War in 1991. The term symbolizes the efforts by the Soviet Union (USSR) to block itself and its s ...

near Sopron at the fortified border to

Communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

neighbour Hungary. As a result, during the following months, thousands of

East German East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

citizens were able to exit the Eastern Bloc In 1991, he urged

Hans-Dietrich Genscher Hans-Dietrich Genscher (21 March 1927 – 31 March 2016) was a German statesman and a member of the liberal Free Democratic Party (FDP), who served as Federal Minister of the Interior from 1969 to 1974, and as Federal Minister for Foreign Affa ...

and

Helmut Kohl Helmut Josef Michael Kohl (; 3 April 1930 – 16 June 2017) was a German politician who served as Chancellor of Germany from 1982 to 1998 and Leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) from 1973 to 1998. Kohl's 16-year tenure is the longes ...

to recognize

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

and

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...

as independent states as soon as possible. In November 1989 Mock was one of the founders of the Central European cooperative Pentagonale, which later grew from 5 countries to the 18 of the CEI (

Central European Initiative The Central European Initiative (CEI) is a forum of regional cooperation in Central and Eastern Europe, counting 18 member states. It was formed in Budapest in 1989. The body was developed on the basis of earlier experiences with The Alps-Adriatic ...

). In 1999, he retired from parliament because of

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. The symptoms usually emerge slowly, and as the disease worsens, non-motor symptoms becom ...

. At the time of his death Mock was a Member of the Advisory Board of th
Global Panel Foundation
an NGO that works behind the scenes in crisis areas around the world.

Death

Mock died on 1 June 2017 from complications of

at the age of 82.https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2017/06/01/world/europe/ap-eu-austria-obit-alois-mock.html?

Honours and awards

* Grand Gold Medal with Ribbon for Services to the Republic of Austria *Golden Commander's Cross with the Star of Honour for Services to the province of Lower Austria *Grand Gold Medal of the province of Upper Austria *Medal of Tyrol *Large Order Montfort of Vorarlberg *Carinthian Order in Gold *

Grand Cross of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (german: Verdienstorden der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, or , BVO) is the only federal decoration of Germany. It is awarded for special achievements in political, economic, cultural, intellect ...

* Grand Cross of Merit of the Italian Republic *

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon, ...

(France) *Grand Cross of the

Order of Orange-Nassau The Order of Orange-Nassau ( nl, Orde van Oranje-Nassau, links=no) is a civil and military Dutch order of chivalry founded on 4 April 1892 by the queen regent, Emma of the Netherlands. The order is a chivalric order open to "everyone who has ...

(Netherlands) *Grand Cross of the

Order of Merit of the Principality of Liechtenstein The Order of Merit of the Principality of Liechtenstein (german: Fürstlich liechtensteinischer Verdienstorden) is an order of merit of the Principality of Liechtenstein that is awarded for services rendered to the principality. Prince Franz I fo ...

Grand Order of King Dmitar Zvonimir The Grand Order of King Dmitar Zvonimir ( hr, Velered kralja Dmitra Zvonimira s lentom i Danicom), or more fully the Grand Order of King Dmitar Zvonimir with sash and Morning Star (''Velered kralja Dmitra Zvonimira s lentom i Danicom''), is an Ord ...

(Croatia) *

Order of the Dragon of Bosnia Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of ...

* Mother Teresa Medal (Albania) *Grand Cross of Merit of the Republic of Cyprus *

Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland The Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland ( pl, Order Zasługi Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej) is a Polish order of merit created in 1974, awarded to persons who have rendered great service to Poland. It is granted to foreigners or Poles resident ab ...

Order of Stara Planina Orders, decorations and medals of Bulgaria are regulated by the law on the Orders and Medals of the Republic of Bulgaria of 29 May 2003. The National Military History Museum of Bulgaria in Sofia currently has over 150 Bulgarian Orders in the co ...

, 1st class (Bulgaria) *

Order of the Star of Jordan The Order of the Star of Jordan (Wisam al-Kawkab al-Urduni) or The Order of Hussein ibn Ali (Wisam al-Hussein ibn Ali) is an award and military decoration of the sovereign state of Jordan and is awarded for military or civil merit. It was founde ...

(Jordan) *Grand Officer's Cross of the Order of Umayyad Syria *

Order of Diplomatic Service Merit The Order of Diplomatic Service Merit (Hangul: 수교훈장) is one of South Korea's orders of merit. It is awarded by the President of South Korea for "outstanding meritorious services in the interest of enhancing national prestige and promoting ...

Gwanghwa Medal (South Korea) *Grand Cross of the

Order of Bernardo O'Higgins The Order of Bernardo O'Higgins ( es, Orden de Bernardo O'Higgins) is an award issued by Chile. It is the highest civilian honor awarded to non-Chilean citizens. This award was established in 1965 and named after one of the founders of the Chilean ...

(Chile) *Grand Cross of the

Order of the Liberator San Martin Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of ...

(Argentina) * Star of Mahaputera, 2nd class (Indonesia) *

Order of the Rising Sun The is a Japanese order, established in 1875 by Emperor Meiji. The Order was the first national decoration awarded by the Japanese government, created on 10 April 1875 by decree of the Council of State. The badge features rays of sunlight ...

(Japan) *Grand Cross of the Order of St. Gregory *Grand Commander of the

Order of the Star of Romania The Order of the Star of Romania (Romanian: ''Ordinul Steaua României'') is Romania's highest civil Order and second highest State decoration after the defunct Order of Michael the Brave. It is awarded by the President of Romania. It has five r ...

*Grand Order of Merit of South Tyrol *Peace Connection Mostar (Bosnia-Herzegovina) *Commander's Cross with the Star of

Order of Merit of the Republic of Hungary The Hungarian Order of Merit ( hu, Magyar Érdemrend) is the fourth highest State Order of Hungary. Founded in 1991, the order is a revival of an original order founded in 1946 and abolished in 1949. Its origins, however, can be traced to the O ...

*Great merit of the Province of South Tyrol (Alto Adige) *National Order of faithful service in the rank of Commander (Romania)

References

External links

The Global Panel Foundation
, - , width="30%" align="center" , Preceded by:

Josef Taus Josef may refer to *Josef (given name) *Josef (surname) Josef is the surname of the following people: * Jens Josef (born 1967), German composer of classical music, a flutist and academic teacher * Michelle Josef (born 1954), Canadian musician and tr ...

, width="40%" align="center" , Chair of the Austrian People's Party
1979–1989 , width="30%" align="center" rowspan=2,

, - , width="30%" align="center" , Preceded by:

Norbert Steger Norbert Steger (born 6 March 1944) is an Austrian lawyer and former politician for the Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ). He was the FPÖ party leader from 1980 to 1986, and Vice Chancellor A chancellor is a leader of a college or university, us ...

, width="40%" align="center" ,

Vice-Chancellor of Austria The vice-chancellor of Austria is a member of the Government of Austria and is the deputy to the Chancellor of Austria, Chancellor. It is functionally equivalent to a deputy prime minister in other countries with parliamentary systems. Descripti ...

1987–1989 , - , width="30%" align="center" , Preceded by:
Peter Jankowitsch , width="40%" align="center" ,

Minister of Foreign Affairs A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between cou ...

1987–1995 , width="30%" align="center" , Succeeded by:

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Mock, Alois 1934 births 2017 deaths Burials at Döbling Cemetery Austrian Ministers of Defence Foreign ministers of Austria Members of the National Council (Austria) Neurological disease deaths in Austria Deaths from Parkinson's disease Vice-Chancellors of Austria Austrian People's Party politicians Grand Crosses 1st class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Recipients of the Decoration for Services to the Republic of Austria Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic Commander's Crosses with Star of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Hungary (civil) Recipients of the Legion of Honour Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Orange-Nassau Recipients of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland Grand Crosses of the Order of the Liberator General San Martin Recipients of the Order of the Rising Sun Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Gregory the Great Recipients of the Order of the Star of Romania