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 ...

, the Ministry of the Interior (german: Bundesministerium für Inneres, colloquially ''Innenministerium'', abbreviated: BMI) is a federal government agency serving as the interior ministry of the Austrian government. It is chiefly responsible for the

public security Public security or public safety is the prevention of and protection from events that could endanger the safety and security of the public from significant danger, injury, or property damage. It is often conducted by a state government to ensur ...

, but also deals with matters relating to

citizenship Citizenship is a "relationship between an individual and a state to which the individual owes allegiance and in turn is entitled to its protection". Each state determines the conditions under which it will recognize persons as its citizens, and ...

election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has opera ...

referendum A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...

plebiscite A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of ...

s and the alternative civilian service. The Ministry of the Interior is considered one of the most important ministries in Austria It operates and oversees the vast majority of the country's law enforcement agencies, including the

Federal Police A law enforcement agency (LEA) is any government agency responsible for the enforcement of the laws. Jurisdiction LEAs which have their ability to apply their powers restricted in some way are said to operate within a jurisdiction. LEAs ...

, the Criminal Police Office (BKA), the Directorate State Protection and Intelligence Service (DSN), the Bureau for Anticorruption (BAK), the Cobra Mission Command (EKO Cobra), the Aerial Police Force, and the Special Observatory Unit (SEO). The

Directorate General for the Public Security The Directorate General for Public Security (''Generaldirektion für die öffentliche Sicherheit'', "GDföS") is the governing body of general law enforcement in Austria and a division of the Ministry of the Interior. It oversees the Federal Polic ...

, which is primarily made up of career law enforcement officers, serves as the professional governing body of all these agencies, except for the BAK. Federal law enforcement agencies outside of the ministry's control include the

Military Police Military police (MP) are law enforcement agencies connected with, or part of, the military of a state. In wartime operations, the military police may support the main fighting force with force protection, convoy security, screening, rear rec ...

, the Fiscal Police, and the Judiciary Guard. The Palais Modena is the ministry's central headquarters, it is situated in the

centre Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics * Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentri ...

of Austria's capital

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

History

The Ministry was originally created as "Imperial and Royal Ministry of the Interior", serving as the empire-wide interior ministry for

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

. It was succeeded by the "state office of the Interior" (''Staatsamt des Innern'') of the First Republic in 1918, and later renamed into "Federal Ministry of the Interior". After the dissolution of Nazi Germany in 1945 the Ministry was reestablished into its current form. Until 1848 internal affairs of the country was under the responsibility of the Austro-Bohemian Court Chancellery which was established by Empress

Maria Theresia Maria Theresa Walburga Amalia Christina (german: Maria Theresia; 13 May 1717 – 29 November 1780) was ruler of the Habsburg dominions from 1740 until her death in 1780, and the only woman to hold the position '' suo jure'' (in her own right) ...

.Mario Muigg (2009
The Austrian Federal Ministry of the Interior in the 20th century
''SIAK Journal'' (3) Retrieved 20 October 2013 In 1848 the ministry was established with the name of the Ministry of the Interior. Between 1918 and 1920 it was called State Office of the Interior. Then it was merged with the ministry of education and was renamed as State Office and Federal Ministry of the Interior and of Education. The body was integrated into the federal government in 1923. Following

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

it was renamed into its current title, Federal Ministry of the Interior.

Responsibilities

The federal agency is charged with the matters of

and

civil status Vital records are records of life events kept under governmental authority, including birth certificates, marriage licenses (or marriage certificates), separation agreements, divorce certificates or divorce party and death certificates. In some ...

including

legal name A legal name is the name that identifies a person for legal, administrative and other official purposes. A person's legal birth name generally is the name of the person that was given for the purpose of registration of the birth and which then ap ...

s and popular

petition A petition is a request to do something, most commonly addressed to a government official or public entity. Petitions to a deity are a form of prayer called supplication. In the colloquial sense, a petition is a document addressed to some offi ...

s as well as emergency management and the alternative civilian service. As superior of the

Directorate General for Public Security The Directorate General for Public Security (''Generaldirektion für die öffentliche Sicherheit'', "GDföS") is the governing body of general law enforcement in Austria and a division of the Ministry of the Interior. It oversees the Federal Polic ...

, the Minister for the Interior is in charge of the

, the Directorate State Protection and Intelligence Service, the

EKO Cobra EKO Cobra (german: Einsatzkommando Cobra; "Task Force Cobra") is the police tactical unit of the Austrian Federal Ministry of the Interior. EKO Cobra is not part of the Austrian Federal Police, but instead is directly under the control of the ...

tactical unit as well as of the Federal Criminal Police Office. Beyond the jurisdiction of the Federal Chancellery, the Ministry is also responsible for the matters of the

Austrian states Austria is a federal republic made up of nine States (German: ''Länder''). Since ''Land'' is also the German word for "country", the term (literally ''federal states'') is often used instead to avoid ambiguity. The Constitution of Austria uses ...

and municipalities, foundations and

sovereign wealth fund A sovereign wealth fund (SWF), sovereign investment fund, or social wealth fund is a state-owned investment fund that invests in real and financial assets such as stocks, bonds, real estate, precious metals, or in alternative investments such as ...

Organization

The ministry consists of the minister of the interior and the general secretary, under whom there are four sections: the Central Administration, the

, Legal Affairs, IT and Services and Migration and International Affairs.. Its head and chief executive authority is the

Minister of the Interior An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...

(''Bundesminister''), currently

Gerhard Karner Gerhard Karner (born 13 November 1967 in Melk) is an Austrian politician currently serving as minister of the interior. From 2003, Karner was a member of the Lower Austrian state legislature. From 2003 to 2015, he was managing director of the Pe ...

. Next in rank is the General secretary (''Generalsekretär''), currently Helmut Tomac, who serves as the agency's head of operations and second-highest-ranking official.

References

External links

* (in

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 ...

) {{DEFAULTSORT:Federal Ministry of the Interior 1848 establishments in the Austrian Empire Austria, Interior

Interior

History

Responsibilities

Organization

See also

References

External links