Margit Fischer (née Binder; born 28 June 1943) is an Austrian former fabric designer and First Lady of Austria from 2006 until 2016 as the wife of former

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Heinz Fischer Heinz Fischer Order of Prince Henry, GColIH, Order of Merit of the Italian Republic, OMRI, Order of the Seraphim, RSerafO, Military Order of Saint James of the Sword, GCollSE (; born 9 October 1938) is an Austrian politician who served as the pre ...

Biography

Fischer was born in

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

. Her parents, Otto and Anna Binder, were social democrats and

Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

who fled to Sweden during the

Nazi regime Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a totalitarian dictat ...

. Mrs Fischer speaks Swedish fluently. In 1949, her family returned to Austria. She attended grammar school in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

and began studying arts at the

University of Vienna The University of Vienna (, ) is a public university, public research university in Vienna, Austria. Founded by Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria, Duke Rudolph IV in 1365, it is the oldest university in the German-speaking world and among the largest ...

. In 1968, she married Heinz Fischer, a social democratic politician. In 2004, her husband was elected Austrian president and she became the first lady of Austria. The couple have two children: Philip (born 1972) and Lisa (born 1975).

Functions in Austria

* Former Vice-President of ''Rettet das Kind Österreich'' (Save the Children Austria) (1992-1998) * Former President of ''Verein zur Gründung und zum Betrieb einer Erlebnisausstellung zu den Naturwissenschaften'' (Association for the creation and operation of an interactive exhibition about the natural sciences) (1993-2000) * Chairperson of ''Österreichischer Frauenrat'' (Austrian Women's Council) (since 1995) * Chairperson of ''Science Center Netzwerk'' (Science Center Network Society) (since 2005)

Awards

* 2006 - — Grand Cross of Merit

Order pro merito Melitensi The Order of Merit (; ) is the order of merit of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, established in 1920. It is awarded to recipients who have brought honour to the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, promoted Christian values and for chari ...

of the

Sovereign Military Order of Malta The Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM), officially the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta, and commonly known as the Order of Malta or the Knights of Malta, is a Catholic lay religious ...

* 2007 - - Knight Grand Cross of the

Order of Merit of the Italian Republic The Order of Merit of the Italian Republic () is the most senior Italian order of merit. It was established in 1951 by the second President of Italy, President of the Italian Republic, Luigi Einaudi. The highest-ranking honour of the Republi ...

* 2007 - — Commander Grand Cross of the

Order of the Polar Star The Royal Order of the Polar Star (Swedish language, Swedish: ''Kungliga Nordstjärneorden''), sometimes translated as the Royal Order of the North Star, is a Swedish order of chivalry created by Frederick I of Sweden, King Frederick I on 23 F ...

* 2009 - — Grand Cross of the Order of Saint James of the Sword * 2013 - — Grand Cross of the Order of Adolphe of Nassau

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fischer, Margit 1943 births Living people Austrian Jews Swedish Jews Swedish expatriates in Austria Spouses of presidents of Austria People from Stockholm Commanders Grand Cross of the Order of the Polar Star