Heinrich Ritter von Wittek (29 January 1844 – 9 April 1930) was 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 Christian Social Party (CS). He served as head of the '' k.k.'' Railway Ministry and as

Minister-President A minister-president or minister president is the head of government in a number of European countries or subnational governments with a parliamentary or semi-presidential system of government where they preside over the council of ministers. I ...

of Cisleithania for four weeks in 1899/1900.

Life

Heinrich Wittek was born in the

Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...

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 ...

, the eldest son of Johann Marzellin Wittek (1801–1876), an officer of the

Imperial and Royal Army The Common Army (german: Gemeinsame Armee, hu, Közös Hadsereg) as it was officially designated by the Imperial and Royal Military Administration, was the largest part of the Austro-Hungarian land forces from 1867 to 1914, the other two eleme ...

, who shortly after Heinrich's birth was appointed an educator of the Habsburg archdukes, the sons of Archduke Franz Karl. The boy grew up at the Austrian court and especially befriended with Archduke Ludwig Viktor, younger brother of Emperor

Franz Joseph I Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I (german: Franz Joseph Karl, hu, Ferenc József Károly, 18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the other states of the Habsburg monarchy from 2 December 1848 until his ...

, who was almost of the same age. His father was ennobled in 1858 and elevated to the hereditary rank of ''

Ritter Ritter (German for "knight") is a designation used as a title of nobility in German-speaking areas. Traditionally it denotes the second-lowest rank within the nobility, standing above " Edler" and below "Freiherr" (Baron). As with most titles a ...

'' in 1871. Lageplan-der-Tauernbahn-(1921)

Wittek attended the Vienna ''

Schottengymnasium Schottengymnasium (officially the Öffentliches Schottengymnasium der Benediktiner in Wien) is an independent Catholic gymnasium with public status in the First District of Vienna. The school was founded in 1807 by imperial decree, and is consi ...

'', where he obtained his ''

Matura or its translated terms (''Mature'', ''Matur'', , , , , , ) is a Latin name for the secondary school exit exam or "maturity diploma" in various European countries, including Albania, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, C ...

'' degree, and went on to study law 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 ...

. Having received his doctorate, he began a career as a state official at the Austrian Ministry of Commerce, where he was concerned with the establishment of the

Imperial Royal Austrian State Railways The Imperial-Royal State Railways (german: k.k. Staatsbahnen) abbr. ''kkStB'') or Imperial-Royal Austrian State Railways (''k.k. österreichische Staatsbahnen'',The name incorporating "Austrian" appears, for example, in the 1907 official state ha ...

upon the

Long Depression The Long Depression was a worldwide price and economic recession, beginning in 1873 and running either through March 1879, or 1896, depending on the metrics used. It was most severe in Europe and the United States, which had been experiencing st ...

from 1873 onwards. As a proven expert, he was promoted to head of the railway department in 1886 and led the ministry for a short while in 1895. On 30 November 1897, Wittek was appointed Railway Minister in the Austrian government of Minister-President

Paul Gautsch von Frankenthurn Paul Gautsch Freiherr von Frankenthurn (26 February 1851 – 20 April 1918) was an Austrian statesman who served three times as Minister-President of Cisleithania. Biography Paul Gautsch was born in Döbling (a Vienna suburb incorporated in 189 ...

, a post he held in various succeeding Austrian cabinets until 1 May 1905. Upon the resignation of Count Manfred von Clary-Aldringen on 21 December 1899, he also served as acting Austrian Minister-President until the appointment of

Ernest von Koerber Ernest Karl Franz Joseph Thomas Friedrich von Koerber (6 November 1850 – 5 March 1919) was an Austrian liberal statesman who served as prime minister of the Austrian portion of Austria-Hungary from 1900 to 1904 and again in 1916. Biography E ...

on 18 January 1900. During Wittek's time in office, the public railroad network of the

was significantly enlarged by an extensive construction programme, as decided by the Austrian Imperial Council parliament in 1901, including the Alpine

Bohinj Bohinj (; german: Wochein), or the Bohinj Valley ( sl, Bohinjska dolina) or Bohinj Basin ( sl, Bohinjska kotlina), is a 20 km long and 5 km wide basin in the Julian Alps, in the Upper Carniola region of northwestern Slovenia. It is trav ...

and

Tauern Railway The Tauern Railway (german: Tauernbahn) is an Austrian railway line between Schwarzach- Sankt Veit in the state of Salzburg and Spittal an der Drau in Carinthia. It is part of one of the most important north-south trunk routes (''Magistrale'') in ...

lines. Wittek is also credited with improving the social conditions of the railway employees. However, as the building projects suffered substantial cost overruns, he lost support and finally handed in his resignation on 1 May 1905. A few days later, his CS party colleague Mayor

Karl Lueger Karl Lueger (; 24 October 1844 – 10 March 1910) was an Austrian politician, mayor of Vienna, and leader and founder of the Austrian Christian Social Party. He is credited with the transformation of the city of Vienna into a modern city. The pop ...

made him an honorary citizen of Vienna. On August 16 he was appointed life peer of the Austrian

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminste ...

by Emperor

. Upon the 1907 legislative election, he succeeded Mayor Karl Lueger as a CS member of the House of Deputies. Wittek died in Vienna and was buried in the

Hietzing Cemetery The Hietzing Cemetery is a cemetery in Hietzing, the 13th district of Vienna. Notable burials (selection) * Alban Berg (1885–1935), composer * Jean-Baptiste Clery (1759–1809), valet to King Louis XVI * Franz Conrad von Hötzendorf (1852 ...

References

External links

Entry
on Aeiou Encyclopedia
Ottův slovník naučný nové doby

Life

References

External links

See also