Sixtus Lanner (12 May 1934 – 13 July 2022) was an Austrian farmer, engineer, and politician who served in the

National Council of Austria The National Council (german: Nationalrat) is one of the two houses of the Austrian Parliament and is frequently referred to as the lower house. The constitution endows the National Council with far more power than the Federal Council. Responsi ...

as a member of the Austrian People's Party (ÖVP). Lanner served in parliament for a total of 25 years from 1971 until 1996. Lanner was also the

secretary-general Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the organization. The term is derived ...

of the ÖVP from 1976 to 1981. Described as a ''Bauernbua'' (peasant-boy) from the

Tyrolean Unterland The Tyrolean Unterland (german: Tiroler Unterland) is that part of the Austrian state of Tyrol east of its capital city, Innsbruck, excluding East Tyrol. Extent and language The Tyrolean Unterland should not be confused with the Tyrolean Lower I ...

, Lanner was a staunch advocate for rural affairs, and has been described as the "father of rural life" in Austria. Lanner was regarded as an influential member of the ÖVP.

Early life and education

Lanner was born on 12 May 1934 in village of Oberau in

Wildschönau Wildschönau is a municipality within the district of Kufstein in the state of Tyrol 6 km south of Wörgl. The 24 km long high valley near Wörgl is one of the district's tourist centers. Besides a few hamlets, the municipality consists ...

Tyrol Tyrol (; historically the Tyrole; de-AT, Tirol ; it, Tirolo) is a historical region in the Alps - in Northern Italy and western Austria. The area was historically the core of the County of Tyrol, part of the Holy Roman Empire, Austrian Emp ...

. His father was an alpine farmer, while his mother was the local postmaster. Lanner and his three siblings grew up on their parents' farm, with Lanner working as a farmhand. When Lanner decided to attend higher education at the age of 20, he was an alpine farmer with just an elementary education. Beginning in 1954, Lanner attended the Higher Federal College for Alpine Agriculture in

Seefeld in Tirol Seefeld in Tirol is an old farming village, now a major tourist resort, in Innsbruck-Land District in the Austrian state of Tyrol with a local population of 3,312 (as of 1 January 2013). The village is located about northwest of Innsbruck on a pl ...

, graduating in 1956. In 1960, he attended the

University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna The University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, or simply BOKU (derived from its German name, Universität für Bodenkultur Wien, ), founded in 1872, is an education and research centre for renewable resources in Vienna, Austria. BOK ...

(BOKU), receiving a

Diplom-Ingenieur An engineer's degree is an advanced academic degree in engineering which is conferred in Europe, some countries of Latin America, North Africa and a few institutions in the United States. The degree may require a thesis but always requires a non- ...

later that year. Lanner attended the

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Univer ...

in the United States from 1960 until 1961, when he returned to Austria to study at the Vienna University of World Trade, graduating in 1963. Concurrently, Lanner was working on his PhD in

soil science Soil science is the study of soil as a natural resource on the surface of the Earth including soil formation, classification and mapping; physical, chemical, biological, and fertility properties of soils; and these properties in relation to th ...

at BOKU, which he received in 1964. After completing his education, Lanner worked as a commercial and agricultural engineer.

Political career

Lanner's political career began in 1963, when he gave a speech at a conference for the Austrian Chambers of Agriculture. In 1971, Lanner was elected to the

as a member of the Austrian People's Party (ÖVP). Lanner served in parliament for 25 years, retiring in 1996 after the 1995 Austrian legislative election. In 1974, Lanner represented Austria in the

Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) is the parliamentary arm of the Council of Europe, a 46-nation international organisation dedicated to upholding human rights, democracy and the rule of law. The Assembly is made up ...

. Lanner was a high-ranking and influential member of the ÖVP. From 1969 until 1976, Lanner was the director of the , and he also served as the head of the Department of Agricultural Policy and Integration. From 1976 to 1981, Lanner was the

of the ÖVP, serving under party chairmen and

Alois Mock Alois Mock (10 June 1934 – 1 June 2017) was an Austrian politician and member of the Austrian People's Party (ÖVP). He was Vice Chancellor of Austria from 1987 to 1989. As foreign minister, he helped take Austria into the European Union. Lif ...

. From 1976 until 1982, Lanner was also the vice president of the European Union of Christian Democrats, and from 1987 until 1992, he was president of the Agricultural Commission of the Council of Europe. In 1988, Lanner chaired the Austrian National Committee for Rural Areas, and in 1992, he chaired the East-West Committee of the Council of Europe for Rural Development. In 1996, Lanner wrote a book called ''The Pride of the Farmers''. Throughout his career, Lanner was known for his advocacy for Austrian agriculture, and he was regarded as "one of the most prominent representatives of the farmers and rural areas". Lanner also advocated for digitization and

decentralization Decentralization or decentralisation is the process by which the activities of an organization, particularly those regarding planning and decision making, are distributed or delegated away from a central, authoritative location or group. Conce ...

Personal life and death

Lanner's wife Angela died in 2017. They had three children together. Lanner was a close friend of

Heinz Fischer Heinz Fischer Order of Prince Henry, GColIH Order of Merit of the Italian Republic, OMRI Royal Order of the Seraphim, RSerafO Military Order of Saint James of the Sword, GCollSE (; born 9 October 1938) is a former Austrian politician. He took off ...

, the former president of Austria and member of the opposing Social Democratic Party of Austria. Lanner died in Tyrol on 13 July 2022.

Karl Nehammer Karl Nehammer (; born 18 October 1972) is an Austrian politician who is the 32nd and current Chancellor of Austria since 6 December 2021. A member of the Austrian People's Party (ÖVP), he previously was Minister of the Interior from 2020 to 202 ...

, the

chancellor of Austria The chancellor of the Republic of Austria () is the head of government of the Republic of Austria. The position corresponds to that of Prime Minister in several other parliamentary democracies. Current officeholder is Karl Nehammer of the Aus ...

, stated that Lanner was a "connecting politician who always put the common ground in the foreground and therefore enjoyed the highest reputation across party lines". Lanner is buried in his hometown of Oberau.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lanner, Sixtus 1934 births 2022 deaths People from Kufstein District 20th-century Austrian politicians Members of the National Council (Austria) Austrian People's Party politicians 20th-century Austrian engineers Austrian farmers University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign alumni Vienna University of Economics and Business alumni University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna alumni European People's Party politicians Members of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe