Caspar Einem (6 May 1948 – 9 September 2021) was an Austrian politician and minister (

SPÖ 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 ...

). He served as a board member of Jetalliance.

Life and career

Einem was born in

Salzburg Salzburg (, ; literally "Salt-Castle"; bar, Soizbuag, label=Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian) is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020, it had a population of 156,872. The town is on the site of the ...

Allied-occupied Austria The Allied occupation of Austria started on 8 May 1945 with the fall of Nazi Germany and ended with the Austrian State Treaty on 27 July 1955. After the in 1938, Austria had generally been recognized as part of Nazi Germany. In 1943, however, ...

, the son of composer

Gottfried von Einem Gottfried von Einem (24 January 1918 – 12 July 1996) was an Austrian composer. He is known chiefly for his operas influenced by the music of Stravinsky and Prokofiev, as well as by jazz. He also composed pieces for piano, violin and organ. Biog ...

and his wife Lianne, née ''von Bismarck''. After studying

jurisprudence Jurisprudence, or legal theory, is the theoretical study of the propriety of law. Scholars of jurisprudence seek to explain the nature of law in its most general form and they also seek to achieve a deeper understanding of legal reasoning a ...

in Vienna, gaining the degree of

Dr. jur. A Doctor of Law is a degree in law. The application of the term varies from country to country and includes degrees such as the Doctor of Juridical Science (J.S.D. or S.J.D), Juris Doctor (J.D.), Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), and Legum Doctor (LL. ...

in 1971, Einem worked as a

probation officer A probation and parole officer is an official appointed or sworn to investigate, report on, and supervise the conduct of convicted offenders on probation or those released from incarceration to community supervision such as parole. Most probati ...

in Vienna and

. After this, he worked for the Austrian Chamber of Workers. In 1991, he became a manager for the

OMV OMV (formerly abbreviation for Österreichische Mineralölverwaltung Aktiengesellschaft ('' en, Austrian Mineral Oil Administration Stock Company'')) is an Austrian multinational integrated oil, gas and petrochemical company which is headquart ...

, Austria's biggest gas and oil company, where he eventually was director of the department for gas. He was vice-president of the

European Forum Alpbach The European Forum Alpbach (EFA) is an Austrian nonprofit organisation and foundation based in Vienna, Austria. It is best known for hosting the event of the same name in the village of Alpbach. It is an interdisciplinary platform for science, po ...

Political career

In 1994, Einem became Secretary of State, which boosted his career. From 1995 until 1997 he was

Minister of the Interior An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...

of Austria, and later, until 2000, Minister for Science, Traffic and the Arts. In his time as Interior Minister, it was his task to clear up the series of briefcase bomb attacks that haunted Austria in those years. Since the election victory of

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

FPÖ The Freedom Party of Austria (german: Freiheitliche Partei Österreichs, FPÖ) is a right-wing populist and national-conservative political party in Austria. It was led by Norbert Hofer from September 2019 to 1 June 2021.Staff (1 June 2021"Aust ...

in 2000, he was a member of the

National Council of Austria The National Council (german: Nationalrat) is one of the two houses of the Austrian Parliament and is frequently referred to as the lower house. The Politics of Austria, constitution endows the National Council with far more power than the Federa ...

. He was elected in the Central-Western-District of Vienna (

Alsergrund Alsergrund (; Central Bavarian: ''Oisagrund'') is the ninth district of Vienna, Austria (german: 9. Bezirk, Alsergrund). It is located just north of the first, central district, Innere Stadt. Alsergrund was incorporated in 1862, with seven suburbs. ...

), where he was also chairman of the local SPÖ organisation until 2008. Einem was deputy chairman of his party's parliamentary group, spokesman for European Affairs and a highly influential figure in his party. He is considered a

liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

leftist Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...

and a staunch

anti-fascist Anti-fascism is a political movement in opposition to fascist ideologies, groups and individuals. Beginning in European countries in the 1920s, it was at its most significant shortly before and during World War II, where the Axis powers were ...

, always rejecting any kind of collaboration with

or BZÖ. He served as President of the Social Democratic University Alumni Association, as well as of one of the European

social partner {{cleanup-rewrite, article, date=June 2014 Social partners are groups that cooperate in working relationships to achieve a mutually agreed-upon goal, typically for the benefit of all involved groups. Examples of social partners include employers, em ...

CEEP SGI Europe (known as CEEP - European Centre of Employers and Enterprises providing Public Services and Services of General Interest until December 2020 Press release"A New Start for Services of General Interest in Europe: CEEP becomes SGI Europe"/re ...

and its

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 section VÖWG. In October 2012, Einem publicly announced becoming one of the board members of the chartered airplane provider Jetalliance and to withdraw from politics.

Private life

Einem was married; the couple had a son. He died at age 73.

Notes

References

External links

*
The Austrian Parliament on Caspar Einem
{{DEFAULTSORT:Einem, Caspar 1948 births 2021 deaths Austrian untitled nobility Politicians from Salzburg Government ministers of Austria Members of the National Council (Austria) Social Democratic Party of Austria politicians Interior ministers of Austria Austrian anti-fascists