Hilde Hawlicek (born 14 April 1942) is 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 retired politician and former Minister for Education, Arts and Sport.

Early life

Hawlicek was born and grew up in

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

. She was a member of the Socialist Youth Austria and

Socialist Students of Austria The Socialist Students of Austria (german: Verband Sozialistischer StudentInnen Österreichs, VSStÖ) is a socialist and social democratic student organization at Austrian universities. History The preliminary organization of the VSStÖ was fo ...

. She studied

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

and

history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

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 hist ...

for a

teaching degree Teacher education or teacher training refers to programs, policies, procedures, and provision designed to equip (prospective) teachers with the knowledge, attitudes, behaviors, approaches, methodologies and skills they require to perform their ...

, which she completed in 1965, followed by

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

studies at Vienna's .

Career

Hawlicek later worked as a schoolteacher until she was appointed to the Federal Council for the Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ) in 1971. In 1976 she left the Federal Council to become a member of the National Council, and in 1979 became part of the Austrian delegation to 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 ...

. In 1987 she became Minister for Education, Arts and Sport in the second cabinet 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 ...

. During her time in office, Hawlicek worked on reducing gender inequality in the education system by opening up all types of schools for girls. She introduced better

sex education Sex education, also known as sexual education, sexuality education or sex ed, is the instruction of issues relating to human sexuality, including emotional relations and responsibilities, human sexual anatomy, sexual activity, sexual reproduc ...

and other reforms to the curriculum. She enabled the creation of bilingual schools for

Carinthian Slovenes Carinthian Slovenes or Carinthian Slovenians ( sl, Koroški Slovenci; german: Kärntner Slowenen) are the indigenous minority of Slovene ethnicity, living within borders of the Austrian state of Carinthia, neighboring Slovenia. Their status of ...

. Hawlicek also defended the play ''

Heldenplatz Heldenplatz (german: Heroes' Square) is a public space in front of the Hofburg Palace in Vienna, Austria. Located in the Innere Stadt borough, the President of Austria resides in the adjoining Hofburg wing, while the Federal Chancellery is on adj ...

'', which was controversial for its portrayal of

nationalism Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...

and

antisemitism in Austria Antisemitism (also spelled anti-Semitism)—prejudice, hatred of, or discrimination against Jews— has experienced a long history of expression since the days of ancient civilizations, with most of it having originated in the Christianity, Chris ...

, against censorship. She left the ministry after the 1990 election and resumed her parliamentary activities. When Austria joined 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 de ...

in 1995, Hawlicek was one of the 21 appointed Austrian delegates in the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...

. In the following 1996 election, she became an elected

member of the European Parliament A Member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the ECSC) first met in 1952, its ...

until 1999.

Awards and honours

AUT Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria - 7th Class BAR

Grand Decoration of Honour in Silver for Services to the Republic of Austria The Decoration of Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria (german: Ehrenzeichen für Verdienste um die Republik Österreich) is a state decoration of the Republic of Austria. It is divided into 15 classes and is the highest award in the A ...

(1980) *

AUT Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria - 2nd Class BAR

Grand Decoration of Honour in Gold with Sash for Services to the Republic of Austria (1990) * Einspieler Prize (2007) * Grand Order of Merit of

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

(2010) *

Cross of Honour for Science and Art 1 klass Rib

Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Art, First Class (2012)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hawlicek, Hilde 1942 births Living people 20th-century Austrian women politicians 20th-century Austrian politicians 21st-century Austrian women politicians 21st-century Austrian politicians Politicians from Vienna Social Democratic Party of Austria politicians Members of the Federal Council (Austria) Members of the National Council (Austria) Recipients of the Grand Decoration with Sash for Services to the Republic of Austria Recipients of the Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Art, 1st class University of Vienna alumni Education ministers of Austria Sports ministers of Austria