Harald Ofner (born 25 October 1932,

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

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 ...

) is an Austrian lawyer and politician for the

Freedom Party of Austria 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 ...

(FPÖ). From 1942 to 1945 Ofner attended the Nazi-era

National Political Institutes of Education National Political Institutes of Education (german: Nationalpolitische Erziehungsanstalten; officially abbreviated NPEA, commonly abbreviated Napola for ''Nationalpolitische Lehranstalt'' meaning National Political Teaching Institute) were ...

Traiskirchen Traiskirchen is a town in the district of Baden in Lower Austria in Austria. It is 20 km south of Vienna, in the Thermenlinie region, known for its wine and heurigers. Traiskirchen is home to the Traiskirchen Lions basketball team. The town ...

near Vienna. Subsequently, he became a heavy current electrician. He attended a

Matura or its translated terms (''Mature'', ''Matur'', , , , , , ) is a Latin name for the secondary school exit exam or "maturity diploma" in various European countries, including Albania, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech ...

school and studied law (Dr. iur., 1958). By 1965, he was a lawyer. His political career began in the town council of

Mödling Mödling () is the capital of the Austrian Mödling (district), district of the same name located approximately 14 km south of Vienna. Mödling lies in Lower Austria's industrial zone (Industrieviertel). The Mödlingbach, a brook which rises ...

. From 1976 to 1986, he was a provincial team leader of the FPÖ

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 ...

branch. From 1979 to 1983, and from 1986 to 2002 he was a deputy to the National Council. From 1983 to 1987, Ofner was Austrian justice minister in the governments of

Fred Sinowatz Alfred Sinowatz (5 February 192911 August 2008) was an Austrian politician of the Social Democratic Party (SPÖ), who served as Chancellor of Austria from 1983 to 1986. Prior to becoming Chancellor, he had served as Minister of Education from 19 ...

and

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 ...

. Ofner previously defended Peter Paul Rainer in 2000. Rainer, which by 1997 was the former party chairman and co-founder of the

South Tyrol it, Provincia Autonoma di Bolzano – Alto Adige lld, Provinzia Autonoma de Balsan/Bulsan – Südtirol , settlement_type = Autonomous province , image_skyline = , image_alt ...

-based FPÖ offshoot

Die Freiheitlichen ''Die Freiheitlichen'' (), abbreviated dF, is a Regionalism (politics), regionalist, Separatism, separatist and National conservatism, national-conservative List of political parties in South Tyrol, political party in South Tyrol, Italy. The pa ...

, had shot Christian Waldner, one of the other co-founding members of Die Freiheitlichen. Despite efforts by Ofner, Rainer was, shortly after his arrest in the

Rudolfsheim-Fünfhaus Rudolfsheim-Fünfhaus () is the 15th municipal District of Vienna, Austria (german: 15. Bezirk). It is in central Vienna, west of Innere Stadt. It borders Neubau and Mariahilf in the east, Meidling and Hietzing in the south, Penzing in the wes ...

district of Vienna, extradited to

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

Trivia

During the

Lucona ''Lucona'' was a ship sunk in the Indian Ocean on 23 January 1977 by a bomb planted by Austrian businessman Udo Proksch, as part of an insurance fraud. Proksch, the owner of the cargo, also then-owner of famous Viennese confectioners Demel, claime ...

affair, the then Minister of Justice Ofner actuated in a parliamentary debate the saying: Meaning "The soup is too thin" in English, he meant that the evidence for an accusation was not sufficient. Since then, this saying has been used in judicial and journalist circles for similar cases.„Die Suppe ist zu dünn“ - Zwei Monate bedingt für Mensdorff
OÖ Nachrichten auf ''www.nachrichten.at'', 17.

References

External links

* *
Audio recordings with Harald Ofner
in the online archive of the Österreichischen Mediathek (speeches, radio reports) {{DEFAULTSORT:Ofner, Harald Members of the National Council (Austria) University of Vienna alumni Freedom Party of Austria politicians 1932 births Lawyers from Vienna Order of the Dannebrog Living people Justice ministers of Austria