Thomas Klestil (; 4 November 1932 – 6 July 2004) was an Austrian diplomat and politician who served as President of Austria from 1992 to his death in 2004. He was elected in 1992 and re-elected into office in 1998.

Biography until 1992

Born 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 ...

to a

working class The working class (or labouring class) comprises those engaged in manual-labour occupations or industrial work, who are remunerated via waged or salaried contracts. Working-class occupations (see also " Designation of workers by collar colo ...

family — his father was a tramway employee — Klestil went to school in

Landstraße Landstraße (; Central Bavarian: ''Laundstrossn'') is the 3rd municipal district of Vienna, Austria (german: 3. Bezirk). It is near the center of Vienna and was established in the 19th century. Landstraße is a heavily populated urban area with m ...

where he made friends with Joe Zawinul. He studied at the

Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration The Vienna University of Economics and Business (german: Wirtschaftsuniversität Wien, WU) is a public research university in Vienna, Austria, the largest university focusing on business, management and economics in Europe. It has been ranked as ...

and received his doctorate in 1957. After entering the civil service he worked in Austria as well as abroad, e.g. for

OECD The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; french: Organisation de coopération et de développement économiques, ''OCDE'') is an intergovernmental organisation with 38 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate e ...

. In 1969, he established the Austrian

consulate-general A consul is an official representative of the government of one state in the territory of another, normally acting to assist and protect the citizens of the consul's own country, as well as to facilitate trade and friendship between the people ...

in Los Angeles, where he befriended Arnold Schwarzenegger. Fluent in English, Klestil was the Austrian ambassador to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...

(1978–1982) and Ambassador to the United States (1982–1987) prior to his election as president.

Presidency

After being nominated by the conservative Austrian People's Party to run for Federal President, he succeeded

Kurt Waldheim Kurt Josef Waldheim (; 21 December 1918 – 14 June 2007) was an Austrian politician and diplomat. Waldheim was the Secretary-General of the United Nations from 1972 to 1981 and president of Austria from 1986 to 1992. While he was running for t ...

on 8 July 1992. However, in the course of his two terms of office, Klestil's alienation from his own party became increasingly obvious, so much so that there was open antagonism between Federal Chancellor Wolfgang Schüssel and Klestil when, in 2000, the latter had to swear in the newly formed coalition government with

Jörg Haider Jörg Haider (; 26 January 1950 – 11 October 2008) was an Austrian politician. He was Governor of Carinthia on two occasions, the long-time leader of the Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) and later Chairman of the Alliance for the Future of ...

's Austrian Freedom Party. Klestil, who during his election campaign had vowed to be an "active" president, repeatedly criticized the Austrian government and, in an interview with a Swiss daily given in 2003, stated that, theoretically speaking, it was in his power to dismiss the government any time he found it necessary to do so. As a matter of fact, the Austrian constitution gives far-reaching powers to the federal president, but these had never been exercised by any of Klestil's predecessors.

Support of Kiryat Mattersdorf

Klestil gave his support to the development of Kiryat Mattersdorf, a

Haredi Haredi Judaism ( he, ', ; also spelled ''Charedi'' in English; plural ''Haredim'' or ''Charedim'') consists of groups within Orthodox Judaism that are characterized by their strict adherence to ''halakha'' (Jewish law) and traditions, in oppos ...

Jewish neighborhood in northern

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

founded by the Mattersdorfer Rav, Rabbi Shmuel Ehrenfeld, in 1959 in memory of the

Siebengemeinden The Siebengemeinden ( he, שֶבַע קְהִלּוֹת; en, Seven Communities, hu, Hét hitközség) were seven Jewish communities located in Kismarton (today Eisenstadt, Austria) and its surrounding area. The groups are known as ''Sheva Kehill ...

(Seven Communities) of

Burgenland Burgenland (; hu, Őrvidék; hr, Gradišće; Austro-Bavarian: ''Burgnland;'' Slovene: ''Gradiščanska'') is the easternmost and least populous state of Austria. It consists of two statutory cities and seven rural districts, with a total of ...

that were destroyed in the

Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; ...

, Mattersdorf being one of them. Ehrenfeld's son, Rabbi Akiva Ehrenfeld, who served as president of the neighborhood, established close ties with the Austrian government to obtain funding for several institutions, including a kindergarten and the Neveh Simcha nursing home. Following Klestil's official state visit to Israel in 1994, which included a side tour of Kiryat Mattersdorf, Klestil hosted Ehrenfeld at an official reception at the

Hofburg Palace The Hofburg is the former principal imperial palace of the Habsburg dynasty. Located in the centre of Vienna, it was built in the 13th century and expanded several times afterwards. It also served as the imperial winter residence, as Schönbrunn ...

in Vienna on 24 January 1995.

Personal life

Klestil met his future wife Edith Wielander (1932–2011) at the age of 17 in 1949. The marriage took place in 1957 and until the election as Austrian president in 1992, the couple had three children together. The couple separated in 1994, when Klestil made public that he had a love affair with diplomat Margot Löffler. The couple divorced in September 1998, and Klestil married Löffler three months later. When Klestil died in 2004, Edith attended the funeral service. Klestil suffered from health issues related to his lungs, including a serious illness in 1996.

Death and burial

Coat of Arms of Thomas Klestil (Order of the Seraphim)

On 5 July 2004, three days before he was to leave office, he suffered a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which ma ...

or heart failure, probably caused by his long-term lung problems, and was left in critical condition. He died on 6 July at 23:33 local time at the AKH (''Allgemeines Krankenhaus'' – General Hospital) in Vienna from

multiple organ failure Multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS) is altered organ function in an acutely ill patient requiring medical intervention to achieve homeostasis. Although Irwin and Rippe cautioned in 2005 that the use of "multiple organ failure" or "multisy ...

. On 10 July 2004, the funeral service was held in St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna, and he was interred in the presidential crypt at Vienna's Central Cemetery ( Zentralfriedhof). Among the notable dignitaries who attended his funeral were Russian president

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...

, former Austrian president and UN secretary-general

, and Austrian-born Governor of California Arnold Schwarzenegger. Klestil was the fifth president of Austria to die in office since 1950.

Honours and awards

* : Great Star of Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria (20 December 1992) * : Grand Cross with Collar 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 ...

(27 January 1993) * : Grand Cross of the

Order of the Netherlands Lion The Order of the Netherlands Lion, also known as the Order of the Lion of the Netherlands ( nl, De Orde van de Nederlandse Leeuw, french: L'Ordre du Lion Néerlandais) is a Dutch order of chivalry founded by King William I of the Netherlands on ...

(22 February 1994) * : Grand Collar of the Order of the Liberator General San Martín (1995) * : Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St. Michael and St. George * : Grand Cross of the Order of St. Olav (8 April 1996) * : Knight of the

Royal Order of the Seraphim The Royal Order of the Seraphim ( sv, Kungliga Serafimerorden; ''Seraphim'' being a category of angels) is a Swedish order of chivalry created by King Frederick I on 23 February 1748, together with the Order of the Sword and the Order of the P ...

(5 February 1997) * : Knight of the Collar of the

Order of Isabella the Catholic The Order of Isabella the Catholic ( es, Orden de Isabel la Católica) is a Spanish civil order and honor granted to persons and institutions in recognition of extraordinary services to the homeland or the promotion of international relations a ...

(8 July 1997) * : Grand Cross of the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

(21 August 1998) * : Order of the White Eagle (23 September 1998) * : Grand Collar of the

Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise The Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise ( uk, Орден князя Ярослава Мудрого) is an award of Ukraine. It is awarded for distinguished services to the state and people of the Ukrainian nation in the field of state building, ...

(13 October 1998) * : Grand Cross (or 1st Class) of the Order of the White Double Cross (1 November 1998)Slovak republic website
State honours
: 1st Class received in 1998 (click on "Holders of the Order of the 1st Class White Double Cross" to see the holders' table) * : Collar of the Order of the Star of Romania (22 January 1999) * : Knight Grand Cross of the Grand Order of King Tomislav ("For outstanding contribution to the promotion of friendship and development co-operation between the Republic of Croatia and the Republic of Austria." – 2 March 2001) * Grand Gold Medal with Star for services to the city of Vienna (3 October 2002) * : Order of the Athir (13 March 2003)

References

External links

Official homepage of the Austrian president

{{DEFAULTSORT:Klestil, Thomas 1932 births 2004 deaths 20th-century Austrian people Presidents of Austria Austrian diplomats Ambassadors of Austria to the United States Vienna University of Economics and Business alumni Burials at the Vienna Central Cemetery Permanent Representatives of Austria to the United Nations Grand Croix of the Légion d'honneur Collars of the Order of Isabella the Catholic Knights Grand Cross with Collar of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic Honorary Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George Recipients of the Order of the Netherlands Lion First Class of the Order of the Star of Romania Austrian people of Czech descent People from Landstraße Recipients of the Order of the White Eagle (Poland) Recipients of the Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise, 1st class