Andreas Josef Maurer (7 September 1919 – 25 October 2010) 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 (

ÖVP 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 ...

) and farmers' advocate who served as governor 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 1966 to 1981.

Early life

Maurer was born in

Trautmannsdorf an der Leitha Trautmannsdorf an der Leitha is a town in the district of Bruck an der Leitha in Lower Austria in Austria. Geography Trautmannsdorf an der Leitha lies in the industrial area of Lower Austrica. The Leitha River The Leitha (; or , formerly ; Cz ...

, and was raised on his parents' farm. From 1925 to 1933 he attended school in Trautmannsdorf, and afterwards attended agricultural technical school in

Bruck an der Leitha Bruck an der Leitha ( bar, label=Central Bavarian, Bruck aun da Leitha; "Bridge on the Leitha") is a town in the state of Lower Austria of Austria on the border of Burgenland, marked by the Leitha river. In 2018 it had a population of around 8,00 ...

. He was a soldier in the

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previous ...

from 1940 to 1945, and married Hermine Berger in 1944.

Political career

From 1946, Maurer was politically active as a farmers' representative, and then entered local politics, serving on the Trautmannsdorf city council from 1951 to 1956. In 1959 he was elected to the ''Landtag'' of Lower Austria, where he served until 1964. From 1964 to 1966 he was an official (''Landesrat'') in the provincial government of Lower Austria, as well as President of the Austrian Farmers' Federation. From 1970 to 1989 he was chairman of the Lower Austrian Farmers' Federation. From 24 November 1966 to 22 January 1981, Maurer was the ''

Landeshauptmann Landeshauptmann (if male) or Landeshauptfrau (if female) (, "state captain", plural ''Landeshauptleute'') is the chairman of a state government and the supreme official of an Austrian state and the Italian autonomous provinces of South Tyrol an ...

'' (Governor) of Lower Austria. During this lengthy term, he oversaw development of the state's road system, as well as a general process of modernization. His government enacted

compulsory education Compulsory education refers to a period of education that is required of all people and is imposed by the government. This education may take place at a registered school or at other places. Compulsory school attendance or compulsory schooling ...

, a regional planning law, a nature protection law, and a new state constitution.

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Maurer, Andreas 1919 births 2010 deaths Governors of Lower Austria (after 1918) Mayors of places in Austria People from Bruck an der Leitha District Austrian prisoners of war