Hartwig Löger (; born 15 July 1965) is an

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

n politician and former business executive who served as

minister of finance A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfolio ...

from 2017 to 2019. From 2011 to 2017 he was chief executive officer of UNIQA Austria. On 22 May 2019, following the Ibiza affair, he was named

vice chancellor A vice-chancellor (commonly called a VC) serves as the chief executive of a university in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia, Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Kenya, other Commonwealth countr ...

, and on 28 May 2019, he was sworn in as acting

chancellor Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...

after Austria's first ever successful vote of no confidence against a cabinet, leaving this post on 3 June 2019.

Early life and education

Löger was born in Selzthal in

Styria Styria ( ; ; ; ) is an Austrian Federal states of Austria, state in the southeast of the country. With an area of approximately , Styria is Austria's second largest state, after Lower Austria. It is bordered to the south by Slovenia, and cloc ...

and graduated in 1983 at the ''Stiftsgymnasium Admont''. Originally striving for a career as pilot, Löger started an ''Offiziersanwärterausbildung'' at the ''

Bundesheer The Austrian Armed Forces () are the combined military forces of Austria. The military consists of 16,000 active-duty personnel and 125,600 reservists. The military budget is 1.0% of national GDP (including pensions) or €3.317 billion (202 ...

'' and made the pilots entrance exam there. Because of a knee injury Löger failed the exam and randomly ended up in the insurance branch. 1987/88 he started visiting a course for insurance economy at the

Vienna University of Economics and Business The Vienna University of Economics and Business ( , WU) is a public research university in Vienna, Austria. The university received triple accreditation (AACSB, EQUIS and AMBA). History WU was founded on 1 October 1898 as '' k.u.k. Exportakade ...

and from 1999 to 2001 he completed an international management course (IMEA) at the University of St. Gallen.

Career

From 1985 to 1989 Löger worked as a customer adviser for an insurance agent. Subsequently, he started working for

Allianz Allianz SE ( , ) is a German Multinational corporation, multinational financial services company headquartered in Munich, Germany. Its core businesses are insurance and asset management. Allianz is the world's largest List of largest insurance ...

until 1996 as

sales manager Sales management is a business discipline which is focused on the practical application of sales techniques and the management of a firm's sales operations. It is an important business function as net sales, through the sale of products and ...

for the region

, then as assistant to the management at the Grazer Wechselseitige and until 2002 as sales manager at the ''Donau Versicherung AG''. From 2002 to 2017 he worked for the

Uniqa Insurance Group The Uniqa Insurance Group AG (corporately styled "UNIQA") is one of the largest insurance groups in its core markets of Austria and Central and Eastern Europe and has approximately 40 companies in 22 countries and serve about 10.5 million custom ...

, first as managing director of the ''UNIQA International Versicherungs-Holding GmbH'' and later, until 2011, as head of the exclusive sales department. In 2011 he became a senior corporate officer at UNIQA and the chief executive officer of UNIQA Austria. In December 2017 he was succeeded as CEO by Kurt Svoboda. From 2014 to February 2018 Löger served as president of the Sports Union. Since 2011 he has been a member of the

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

state institutions of the People's Party Business Union.

Political career

Löger served as

Minister of Finance A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfolio ...

in the

coalition government A coalition government, or coalition cabinet, is a government by political parties that enter into a power-sharing arrangement of the executive. Coalition governments usually occur when no single party has achieved an absolute majority after an ...

Chancellor Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...

Sebastian Kurz Sebastian Kurz (; born 27 August 1986) is an Austrian former politician who served twice as Chancellor of Austria, first from 2017 to 2019 and then again from 2020 to 2021. Kurz was born and raised in Meidling, Vienna. He entered politics by ...

. He was nominated by the People's Party for this position. Alongside Gernot Blümel, Günther Helm (Hofer KG) und Wolfgang Leitner, Löger has been serving as member of the nominating committee of the Industrieholding since January 2018. The committee decides who is sent to the supervisory board of companies with state share participation.

Other activities

European Union organizations

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 (2018–2019) *

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 (2018–2019)

International organizations

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 (2018–2019) *

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 (2018–2019) *

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 (2018–2019) * Inter-American Investment Corporation (IIC), Ex-Officio Member of the Board of Governors (2018–2019) *

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 (2018–2019 *

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 (2018–2019)Board of Governors

Non-profit organizations

Kunsthistorisches Museum The Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien ( "Vienna Museum of art history, Art History", often referred to as the "Museum of Fine Arts, Vienna") is an art museum in Vienna, Austria. Housed in its festive palatial building on the Vienna Ring Road, i ...

, President of the Circle of Friends * KURIER Aid Austria, Vice President * Verband der Versicherungsunternehmen Österreichs (VVO), Vice President

Personal life

Löger is married, has two children and lives in

in Austria.

References

External links

*
BMF: Minister of Finance Hartwig Löger

Hartwig Löger
on www.meineabgeordneten.at {{DEFAULTSORT:Loger, Hartwig 1965 births Living people 21st-century chancellors of Austria Austrian People's Party politicians Ministers of finance of Austria People from Liezen District Vienna University of Economics and Business alumni University of St. Gallen alumni Vice-chancellors of Austria Allianz people