Reinhold Mitterlehner (born 10 December 1955) 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 politician of the
Austrian People's Party
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 ...
(ÖVP) who served as minister of economy in
Austria's government from 2008 until 2017. In September 2014 he also became vice chancellor of Austria and chairman of the ÖVP. On 9 May 2016 he briefly assumed powers and duties as Acting Chancellor of Austria while his coalition partner, the
Social Democratic Party
The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology.
Active parties
For ...
, underwent a change in leadership. After a series of quarrels within the grand coalition as well as his own party, Mitterlehner announced his resignation on 10 May 2017, which became effective on 17 May 2017.
Early life and education
Mitterlehner was born in
Helfenberg,
Upper Austria
Upper Austria (german: Oberösterreich ; bar, Obaöstareich) is one of the nine states or of Austria. Its capital is Linz. Upper Austria borders Germany and the Czech Republic, as well as the other Austrian states of Lower Austria, Styria, a ...
, on 10 December 1955.
He holds a doctorate in law, which he received from the Johannes Kepler University Linz
The Johannes Kepler University Linz (German: ''Johannes Kepler Universität Linz'', short: ''JKU'') is a public institution of higher education in Austria. It is located in Linz, the capital of Upper Austria. It offers bachelor's, master's, d ...
in 1980.[ He then attended a post-graduate course in association management in ]Fribourg
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, twintowns = Rueil-Malmaison (France)
, website = www.ville-fribourg.ch
, Location of , Location of ()
() o ...
.
Career
From 1980 to 1992 Mitterlehner worked at the Upper Austrian economic chamber, where he assumed various posts, including the head of the marketing department. From 1992 to 2000 he served as the secretary general of the Austrian Economic League (ÖWB) 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 ...
.[ In addition, he was a local politician in Ahorn from 1991 to 1997.][ He was appointed party chairman for ]Rohrbach District
Bezirk Rohrbach is a district in the state of Upper Austria in Austria.
Municipalities
Towns (''Städte'') are indicated in boldface; market towns (''Marktgemeinden'') in ''italics''; suburbs, hamlets and other subdivisions of a municipality are i ...
in May 2002.[
]
Member of the Austrian Parliament, 2000–2008
A member of the Austrian People's Party
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 ...
(ÖVP),[ Mitterlehner was elected to the ]Austrian Parliament
The Austrian Parliament (german: Österreichisches Parlament) is the bicameral federal legislature of the Austrian Republic. It consists of two chambers – the National Council and the Federal Council. In specific cases, both houses convene ...
on 8 February 2000,[ where he served on the Committee on Labour and Social Affairs (2000–2008); the Committee on Economic Affairs (2000–2008); and the finance committee (2003–2008), among others.
Meanwhile, also in 2000, Mitterlehner was named deputy secretary general of the Austrian federal economic chamber (WKO), holding that post until 2008.][
]
Federal Minister of Economic Affairs, 2008–2017
Following the 2008 national elections, on 2 December 2008, Mitterlehner was appointed as Federal Minister of Economy, Family and Youth as part of the coalition government led by Chancellor Werner Faymann
Werner Faymann (; born 4 May 1960) is an Austrian former politician who was Chancellor of Austria and chairman of the Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ) from 2008 to 2016. On 9 May 2016, he resigned from both positions amid widening critic ...
. In 2008, he was also named vice president of the Austrian Energy Agency.[
Mitterlehner was one of the leading candidates to succeed ]Josef Pröll
Josef Pröll (born 14 September 1968, in Stockerau, Austria) is an Austrian former politician who was the chairman of the Austrian People's Party from 2008 until 2011. He was Vice Chancellor and Minister of Finance.
Previously, he was the Feder ...
, who left the leadership of the party in April 2011. Instead, from 2011 to 2014 he was deputy federal chairman of the People's Party and only became the successor of Michael Spindelegger
Michael Spindelegger (born 21 December 1959) is an Austrian politician. He served in the cabinet of Chancellor Werner Faymann as foreign minister of Austria from 2008 to 2013 and as finance minister from 2013 to 2014; additionally, he held the o ...
as party chairman in September 2014 from whom he also took the position of Vice Chancellor of Austria.[ At the time, Mitterlehner said he would prefer not to serve as finance minister as well, a dual role that Spindelegger had performed.
After the ÖVP lost votes in provincial elections to the right-wing, anti-immigration Freedom Party (FPÖ) in 2015, Mitterlehner publicly threatened to quit the coalition government if Faymann's Social Democrat partners did not toughen their policies on migrants and shrink the welfare state.
]
Other activities
Corporate boards
* Oberösterreichische Versicherung (OÖ), Chairman of the Supervisory Board (since 2019)
* Global Hydro Energy, Member of the Advisory Board
Non-profit organizations
* Österreichische Forschungsgemeinschaft (ÖFG), President (since 2018)Reinhold Mitterlehner neuer Präsident der Forschungsgemeinschaft
''Der Standard
''Der Standard'' is an Austrian daily newspaper published in Vienna.
History and profile
''Der Standard'' was founded by Oscar Bronner as a financial newspaper and published its first edition on 19 October 1988. German media company Axel Springe ...
'', July 3, 2018.
* , ex officio member of the board of trustees
* Industriewissenschaftliches Institut (IWI), member of the board of trustees
* International Association for the Exchange of Students for Technical Experience (IAESTE), member of the board of trustees
Personal life
Mitterlehner is married and has three daughters.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mitterlehner, Reinhold
1955 births
21st-century Chancellors of Austria
Austrian People's Party politicians
Chancellors of Austria
Government ministers of Austria
Johannes Kepler University Linz alumni
Living people
Members of the Austrian Parliament
People from Rohrbach District
Vice-Chancellors of Austria
21st-century Austrian politicians