Wolfgang Sobotka (born 5 January 1956 in
Waidhofen an der Ybbs
Waidhofen an der Ybbs (; Central Bavarian: ''Waidhofn aun da Ybbs'') is a statutory city ''(Statutarstadt)'' in the Austrian state of Lower Austria. The city had a population of 11,662 (in 131,52 km²) as of the 2001 census. It was first men ...
) 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 teacher, conductor and politician of the
Austrian People's Party (ÖVP) who has been the
president of the Austrian National Council since 20 December 2017.
Early life and education
The son of a teacher, Sobotka studied history 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 ...
,
cello
The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a bowed (sometimes plucked and occasionally hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually tuned in perfect fifths: from low to high, C2, G ...
and
music education at the
University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna
The University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna (german: link=no, Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst Wien, abbreviated MDW) is an Austrian university located in Vienna, established in 1817.
With a student body of over three thousa ...
, and conducting at the
Bruckner Conservatory,
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 ...
.
Career
From 1972 to 1998, he first was a teacher at the local music school in his hometown
Waidhofen an der Ybbs
Waidhofen an der Ybbs (; Central Bavarian: ''Waidhofn aun da Ybbs'') is a statutory city ''(Statutarstadt)'' in the Austrian state of Lower Austria. The city had a population of 11,662 (in 131,52 km²) as of the 2001 census. It was first men ...
and then head of the school. From 1980 to 1987 he was a grammar school teacher. From 1980 to 1987, he held the office of city archivist in that town and from 1989 to 1998 was a lecturer at the University of Music and Performing Arts, Vienna.
Political career
His political career began in 1982 when he became a member of the
Waidhofen town council. From 1988 to 1999 he was director of the town's music school; in 1989 he became the local party chairman; in 1992 he joined the city council; from 1992 to 1996, he was head of politics and education in the
People's Party of Lower Austria; from 1996 to 1998 he was mayor of
Waidhofen an der Ybbs
Waidhofen an der Ybbs (; Central Bavarian: ''Waidhofn aun da Ybbs'') is a statutory city ''(Statutarstadt)'' in the Austrian state of Lower Austria. The city had a population of 11,662 (in 131,52 km²) as of the 2001 census. It was first men ...
; in 1998 he joined the provincial government of Lower Austria as treasurer; in February 2009 he was appointed Deputy Governor; in 2010 he became state chairman of the ÖAAB. Since 2011 he has been the regional head of the ÖVP sub-organization NÖAAB (Lower Austrian Workers' and Employees' Federation). Since 2013, he has been leading the educational work group of the ÖAAB.
When the cost of the State Garden Show in
Tulln
Tulln an der Donau () is a historic town in the Austrian state of Lower Austria, the administrative seat of Tulln District. Because of its abundance of parks and gardens, Tulln is often referred to as ''Blumenstadt'' ("City of Flowers"), and "The C ...
increased from the planned five million to 21 million euros, the state audit office and the opposition criticized Sobotka; the FPÖ and the Greens called for his resignation. In April 2009,
Josef Leitner, who was then serving as deputy chairman of Lower Austria, criticized him because one billion of the 4.4 billion euros invested by that time had already been lost; in early June, Leitner stated that the loss amounted to 312 million euros. He initiated the successful action “Nature in the Garden” action and campaigned for the introduction of a commuter subsidy, called the commuter euro. Since 2012 he has been chairman of the advisory board of the
Alois Mock Institute.
On 9 April 2016 it was announced that Sobotka would succeed
Johanna Mikl-Leitner as Austrian Interior Minister. He assumed the post on 21 April, at which time Mikl-Leitner took Sobotka's position in the Lower Austrian state government. As Minister of the Interior, Sobotka was encouraged to pursue a tougher asylum policy and to enhance police powers. After the riots at the
G20 summit in Hamburg, he demanded further tightening of the right to demonstrate. Citing the rising crime rate, he demanded a reduction of the number of asylum seekers permitted into Austria. In 2017, Sobotka presented a proposal for a security policy that would grant police access to surveillance cameras on the railways, highways, and Vienna metro and that would permit them to monitor modern online communication if necessary. The proposal failed, however, because of opposition by the Social Democrats (SPÖ).
A performance of
Eine Kleine Nachtmusik played by the ''
Cappella Istropolitana
The Cappella Istropolitana is a Slovak chamber orchestra based in Bratislava, Slovakia
Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bo ...
'' and conducted by Sobotka was used in
Josef Hader Josef may refer to
*Josef (given name)
*Josef (surname) Josef is the surname of the following people:
* Jens Josef (born 1967), German composer of classical music, a flutist and academic teacher
* Michelle Josef (born 1954), Canadian musician and tr ...
’s 2017 film ''Wild Mouse''.
In the 2017 National Council elections, he was ÖVP's top candidate for Lower Austria. On 20 December 2017, Sobotka was elected by the Austrian National Council as its First President.
From 1998 to 2016 Sobotka was a provincial councilor in
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 ...
and from 2009 to 2016 also held the office of deputy governor of
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 ...
.
From 2016 to 2017 Sobotka served as
Austrian Federal Minister of the Interior in the governments of successive
Chancellors 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 ...
and
Christian Kern
Christian Kern (; born 4 January 1966) is an Austrian businessman and former politician who served as Chancellor of Austria from 17 May 2016 to 18 December 2017 and chairman of the Social Democratic Party from 25 June 2016 to 25 September 2018. ...
.
Other activities
*
National Fund of the Republic of Austria for Victims of National Socialism, Chair of the Board of Trustees (since 2017)
Personal life
Sobotka had four children with his first wife, who died in 1999. He has two children and two stepchildren with his second wife.
Honors
*2004: Cross of Merit of the Austrian Red Cross
*2016: Golden Commander's Cross with star for services to the province of Lower Austria
*: Knight Grand Cross of the
Order of Merit of the Italian Republic
The Order of Merit of the Italian Republic ( it, Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana) is the senior Italian order of merit. It was established in 1951 by the second President of the Italian Republic, Luigi Einaudi.
The highest-ranking ...
(10 February 2020)
Sito web del Quirinale: dettaglio decorato.
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References
Living people
Austrian People's Party politicians
Interior Ministers of Austria
Presidents of the National Council (Austria)
1956 births
Austrian people of Czech descent
21st-century Austrian politicians
People from Waidhofen an der Ybbs
Members of the National Council (Austria)
Mayors of places in Austria
Austrian conductors (music)
Cartellverband members
University of Vienna alumni
{{Austria-politician-stub