Karoline Edtstadler (; born 28 March 1981) is an Austrian lawyer and politician who has served as minister for the EU and the Constitution at the Austrian Chancellery in the governments of Chancellors

Sebastian Kurz Sebastian Kurz (; born 27 August 1986) is a former Austrian politician who twice served as chancellor of Austria, initially from December 2017 to May 2019 and then a second time from January 2020 to October 2021. Kurz was born and raised in ...

Alexander Schallenberg Alexander Georg Nicolas Schallenberg (; born 20 June 1969) is an Austrian diplomat, jurist and politician who has served as Minister of Foreign Affairs in the government of Chancellor Karl Nehammer since 2021, previously holding the office from ...

and

Karl Nehammer Karl Nehammer (; born 18 October 1972) is an Austrian politician who is the 32nd and current Chancellor of Austria since 6 December 2021. A member of the Austrian People's Party (ÖVP), he previously was Minister of the Interior from 2020 to 202 ...

since 2020. A member of the Austrian People's Party (ÖVP), she previously served as a State Secretary at the

Ministry of the Interior An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs. Lists of current ministries of internal affairs Named "ministry" * Ministr ...

from 2017 to 2019 and a

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 ...

(MEP) from 2019 until 2020.

Early life and career

Edtstadler is the daughter of former director of the Salzburg state provincial parliament Karl W. Edtstadler, and was raised in Elixhausen in the

Salzburg-Umgebung The Bezirk Salzburg-Umgebung (German, "surrounding area of Salzburg") is an administrative district ('' Bezirk'') in the federal state of Salzburg, Austria, and congruent with the Flachgau region (), except for the Statutarstadt of Salzburg, whic ...

district. She attended elementary school in Elixhausen and went on to the Salzburg Fine Arts Grammar School. Edtstadler studied law at the

University of Salzburg The University of Salzburg (german: Universität Salzburg), also known as the Paris Lodron University of Salzburg (''Paris-Lodron-Universität Salzburg'', PLUS), is an Austrian public university in Salzburg municipality, Salzburg state, named af ...

and graduated in 2004 with a magistra degree. Court internships at the Mondsee district court and at the Salzburg Regional Court followed. In 2006 she became a judge's candidate at the higher regional court of

Linz Linz ( , ; cs, Linec) is the capital of Upper Austria and third-largest city in Austria. In the north of the country, it is on the Danube south of the Czech border. In 2018, the population was 204,846. In 2009, it was a European Capital ...

and in 2008 she became a judge at the Salzburg regional court. In 2010, Edtstadler passed relatively heavy sentences on two upstanding brothers, who had been charged with injuring a police officer at a demonstration against the asylum policy of minister of the interior

Maria Fekter Maria Theresia Fekter is an Politics of Austria, Austrian politician (Austrian People's Party, ÖVP) and was the Austrian Minister of Finance between 2011 and 2013. Before that, she was Minister of the Interior. On 27 June 2008, it was announced ...

. The higher regional court of Linz reversed the judgements in significant points, as even the public prosecutor considered the sentences to be too heavy. The president of the regional court Hans Rathgeb praised Edtstadler's work at the court: "She was a very goal-oriented and experienced judge". In October 2011, Edtstadler moved to Section IV (Criminal Law) in the

Ministry of Justice A Ministry of Justice is a common type of government department that serves as a justice ministry. Lists of current ministries of justice Named "Ministry" * Ministry of Justice (Abkhazia) * Ministry of Justice (Afghanistan) * Ministry of Just ...

. From 2014, she was a personal expert in the cabinet of Minister of Justice

Wolfgang Brandstetter Wolfgang Brandstetter is an independent Austrian politician and legal scholar who served as a member of the Constitutional Court of Austria from 2018 to 2021. He previously served as the Minister of Justice of Austria, as well as the country's Vice ...

, where she was involved in the reform of the criminal code and of criminal law relating to young offenders. In early 2015, she became Senior Prosecutor at the Vienna Corruption Prosecutor's Office, while she remained assigned to the Ministry of Justice. From May 2016 she was a legal employee at the

European Court of Human Rights The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR or ECtHR), also known as the Strasbourg Court, is an international court of the Council of Europe which interprets the European Convention on Human Rights. The court hears applications alleging that ...

(ECHR) in Strasbourg.

Political career

Career in national politics

From 2004 to 2006, Edtstadler served as councilor in

Henndorf am Wallersee Henndorf am Wallersee, commonly named Henndorf, is a municipality of 5,025 inhabitants in the district of Salzburg-Umgebung in the state of Salzburg in Austria. History The town was first mentioned in 6th century. Geography Henndorf is located ...

for the

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 ...

. From 2017 until 2019, Edtstadler served as secretary of state in the Austrian

, in the government of Chancellor

Member of the European Parliament, 2019–2020

In the

2019 European Parliament election The 2019 European Parliament election was held between 23 and 26 May 2019, the ninth parliamentary election since the first direct elections in 1979. A total of 751 Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) represent more than 512 million peop ...

, Edtstadler was number two on her party's list, following

Othmar Karas Othmar Karas (born 24 December 1957) is an Austrian politician who has been serving as the First Vice-President of the European Parliament since January 2022, having been a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) since 1999. He is a member of the ...

. As

, she served on the

Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs The Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) is a committee of the European Parliament that is responsible for protecting civil liberties and human rights, as listed in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. ...

and on the Subcommittee on Human Rights. Within the centre-right

European People's Party Group The European People's Party Group (EPP Group) is a centre-right political group of the European Parliament consisting of deputies (MEPs) from the member parties of the European People's Party (EPP). Sometimes it also includes independent MEP ...

(EPP), she led the ÖVP delegation.

Return to national politics

Since 2020, Edtstadler has been serving as minister for the EU and the Constitution at the Austrian Chancellery in the government of Chancellor

. In addition, she has been co-chairing of the EPP European Affairs Ministers Meeting (alongside

Helen McEntee Helen McEntee (born 8 June 1986) is an Irish Fine Gael politician who has served as Minister for Justice from June 2020 to November 2022. From April to November 2021, she became a minister without portfolio during a period of maternity leave ...

), which gathers the center-right EPP ministers ahead of meetings of the

General Affairs Council The General Affairs Council is a configuration of the Council of the European Union and meets once a month. Meetings bring together the Foreign Ministers of the Member States. Ministers responsible for European Affairs also participate depending o ...

(GAC). In 2022,

United Nations Secretary-General The secretary-general of the United Nations (UNSG or SG) is the chief administrative officer of the United Nations and head of the United Nations Secretariat, one of the six principal organs of the United Nations. The role of the secretary-g ...

António Guterres appointed Edtstadler to serve on his inaugural

Internet Governance Forum The Internet Governance Forum (IGF) is a multistakeholder governance group for policy dialogue on issues of Internet governance. It brings together all stakeholders in the Internet governance debate, whether they represent governments, the priv ...

(IGF) Leadership Panel.Internet Governance Forum Leadership Panel
�

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...

, press release of 16 August 2022.

Personal life

Edtstadler has a son and lives in Salzburg.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Edtstadler, Karoline 1981 births Living people Austrian People's Party politicians MEPs for Austria 2019–2024 21st-century Austrian women politicians 21st-century Austrian politicians Austrian jurists Austrian civil servants Women jurists Women civil servants