Johann Georg "Hans Jörg" Schelling (; born 27 December 1953) is an Austrian entrepreneur and politician of the

Austrian People's Party The Austrian People's Party ( , ÖVP ) is a Christian-democratic and liberal-conservative political party in Austria. Since January 2025, the party has been led by Christian Stocker (as an acting leader). It is currently the second-largest p ...

and who served as Minister of Finance of Austria in the governments of 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.

Early career

A native of

Vorarlberg Vorarlberg ( ; ; , , or ) is the westernmost States of Austria, state () of Austria. It has the second-smallest geographical area after Vienna and, although it also has the second-smallest population, it is the state with the second-highest popu ...

in western Austria, Schelling was a millionaire

management consultant Management consulting is the practice of providing consulting services to organizations to improve their performance or in any way to assist in achieving organizational objectives. Organizations may draw upon the services of management consultant ...

before entering politics. Over the course of his career, he made a fortune by building two separate home-furnishing chains into market leaders.

Political career

During his time in office as Minister of Finance, Schelling was in charge of managing the fallout of the

2008 financial crisis The 2008 financial crisis, also known as the global financial crisis (GFC), was a major worldwide financial crisis centered in the United States. The causes of the 2008 crisis included excessive speculation on housing values by both homeowners ...

. In 2016, he closed FIMBAG, the agency it set up in 2008 during the crisis to oversee state aid granted to troubled lenders. He successfully pushed through legislation paving the way for the government to reach settlements with the creditors of defunct bank Hypo Alpe Adria and remove a millstone from the country's public finances. Under Schelling's leadership, Austria asked

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

in 2015 to hand over tax data linked to leaked client data of multinational banking and financial services company

HSBC HSBC Holdings plc ( zh, t_hk=滙豐; initialism from its founding member The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation) is a British universal bank and financial services group headquartered in London, England, with historical and business li ...

which had admitted failings in compliance at its Swiss private bank. He also supported state-owned utility OMV in its negotiations on an asset swap with

Gazprom PJSC Gazprom ( rus, Газпром, , ɡɐsˈprom) is a Russian State-owned enterprise, majority state-owned multinational Energy industry, energy corporation headquartered in the Lakhta Center in Saint Petersburg. The Gazprom name is a contract ...

and in 2016 took part in the ceremony, in which OMV agreed to exchange a stake in its Norwegian business for a stake in the Russian group's Achimov oil and gas exploration blocks; the deal was later abandoned due to opposition from Norway. From 2015, Schelling chaired the group of EU Member States that want to adopt a common tax on financial transactions.

Life after politics

In 2019, Schelling was nominated to serve as a member of the supervisory board at OMV; shortly after, the nomination was withdrawn due to a potential breach of the Austrian government's rules on a cooling-off period for former ministers.

Other activities

Corporate boards

* Österreichische Volksbanken-Aktiengesellschaft (ÖVAG), Chairman of the Supervisory Board (2012–2014) *

Nord Stream 2 Nord Stream 2 (German language, German–English language, English mixed expression for "North Stream 2"; ) is a natural gas pipeline from Russia to Germany running through the Baltic Sea, financed by Gazprom and several European energy compani ...

, Adviser (2018–present)

Regulatory bodies

African Development Bank The African Development Bank Group (AfDB, also known as BAD in French) is a multilateral development finance institution, headquartered in Abidjan, Ivory Coast since September 2014. The AfDB is a financial provider to African governments and ...

(AfDB), Ex-Officio Member of the Board of Governors (2015–2017) *

Asian Development Bank The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is a regional development bank to promote social and economic development in Asia. The bank is headquartered in Metro Manila, Philippines and maintains 31 field offices around the world. The bank was establishe ...

(ADB), Ex-Officio Member of the Board of Governors (2014–2017) *

Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) is a multilateral development bank and international financial institution that aims to collectively improve economic and social outcomes in Asia. It is the world's second largest multi-lateral d ...

(AIIB), Ex-Officio Member of the Board of Governors (2015–2017) *

European Bank for Reconstruction and Development The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, shortened to EBRD ( French: ''Banque européenne pour la reconstruction et le développement'' or ''BERD''), is an international financial institution founded in 1991 in Paris. As a multilat ...

(EBRD), Ex-Officio Member of the Board of Governors (2014–2017) *

European Investment Bank The European Investment Bank (EIB) is the European Union's investment bank and is owned by the 27 member states. It is the largest multilateral financial institution in the world. The EIB finances and invests both through equity and debt sol ...

(EIB), Ex-Officio Member of the Board of Governors (2014–2017) *

European Stability Mechanism The European Stability Mechanism (ESM) is an intergovernmental organization located in Luxembourg City, which operates under public international law for all eurozone member states having ratified a special ESM intergovernmental treaty. It was ...

(ESM), Member of the Board of Governors (2014–2017) * Inter-American Investment Corporation (IIC), Ex-Officio Member of the Board of Governors (2014–2017) *

Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency The Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) is an international financial institution which offers political risk insurance and credit enhancement guarantees. These guarantees help investors protect foreign direct investments against ...

(MIGA),

World Bank Group The World Bank Group (WBG) is a family of five international organizations that make leveraged loans to developing countries. It is the largest and best-known development bank in the world and an observer at the United Nations Development Group ...

, Ex-Officio Member of the Board of Governors (2014–2017) *

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and Grant (money), grants to the governments of Least developed countries, low- and Developing country, middle-income countries for the purposes of economic development ...

, Ex-Officio Member of the Board of Governors (2014–2017)

Non-profit organizations

* Federation of Social Insurance Providers, Chairman of the Board (2009–2014

Personal life

Schelling is married and has two daughters. He is a collector of modern art and enjoys spending time on Stiftsweingut Herzogenburg, the vineyard he operates in his adopted province of Lower Austria.Michael Shields (7 July 2015)
Furniture magnate Schelling steers Austrian finance overhaul
''

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide writing in 16 languages. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency ...

''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schelling, Hans Jorg 1953 births Austrian People's Party politicians Ministers of finance of Austria Living people People from Hohenems People from Sankt Pölten 21st-century Austrian politicians