List of chancellors of Austria

The chancellor of Austria is the head of government of the Austrian Republic, appointed by the president and regarded as the country's de facto chief executive. The chancellor chairs and leads the Government, which also includes the vice-chancellor and the ministers.[1]

Clockwise from top left:

• Renner was the first Chancellor of German-Austria, the First Republic and the Second Republic
• Dollfuss turned the First Republic into a dictatorship and is a key figure of fascism
• Kurz was the world's youngest head of government during almost all of his incumbency
• Kreisky is known as one of the world's perhaps most successful socialist leaders

Following World War I, the office was originally established by the Provisional National Assembly on 30 October 1918 as state chancellor of the Republic of German-Austria, and its first holder, Karl Renner, was appointed by the State Council. After the Allies declined a union between Austria and Germany,[2] German-Austria established the First Austrian Republic and soon afterwards renamed the office from state chancellor to federal chancellor – the first federal chancellor was Michael Mayr. Ten chancellors served under the First Republic until Chancellor Engelbert Dollfuss established the authoritarian and dictatorial Federal State of Austria.[3] Following Dollfuss's Assassination by the Nazis,[4] Kurt Schuschnigg succeeded him as chancellor and upheld the dictatorship,[5] until he was superseded by Arthur Seyss-Inquart, who held the office for two days until Austria was annexed by Nazi Germany.[6]

Austria under National Socialism lost its initial system of government and was headed by Reichsstatthalter Arthur Seyss-Inquart (1938–1939), Reich Commissioner Josef Bürckel[7] (1939–1940) and Reichsstatthalter Baldur von Schirach[8] (1940–1945). In 1940, the country was renamed to Ostmark, completely lost autonomy and became a domestic component of Nazi Germany.[9][10] After the liberation of Vienna and the dissolution of Nazi Germany, Austria resumed its republican form of government.[11] However, the country remained under allied occupation until 1955[12] and thus both the President and Chancellor were subordinate to the Allied Control Council.

Since the establishment of the republic, the People's and the Social Democratic Party have largely dominated every aspect of politics. The People's Party/Christian Social Party chaired 19 governments and was the second largest force in eight other governments; the Social Democratic Party/Social Democratic Workers' Party chaired eleven governments and was the second largest force in five other governments. The following parties never had a chancellorship but were coalition partners in governments: the Greater German People's Party in five, the Freedom Party and the Landbund in four, the Alliance for the Future of Austria and the Communist Party in one.

If the chancellor dies, resigns or is otherwise incapable, the vice-chancellor automatically becomes acting chancellor, if the president has not already replaced the chancellor. If the vice-chancellor is unavailable, the other members of the government take over in order of seniority.[13] The unavailability of an elected chancellor does not automatically call for a new election. If the president in turn dies, resigns or is otherwise incapable, the chancellor becomes acting president, but only for twenty days; after this period presidential powers and responsibilities devolve upon the Presidium of the National Council.[14]

Bruno Kreisky was the longest serving chancellor with 4778 days in office and Arthur Seyss-Inquart was the shortest serving chancellor with 2 days in office.

Chancellors

  Denotes acting chancellors

	Party	Portrait	Name	Tenure	Election	Governing party or coalition	Appointer
	SDAPÖ		Dr. Karl Renner 1870–1950 [lower-alpha 1][15][16][17]	30 October 1918 – 7 July 1920	1919	• SDAPÖ • CS • GDVP	State Council[lower-alpha 2]
	CS		Dr. Michael Mayr 1864–1922 [lower-alpha 3][18]	7 July 1920 – 21 June 1921	1920	• CS • SDAPÖ	Michael Hainisch
	IND		Iur. DDDr. Johannes Schober 1874–1932 [19]	21 June 1921 – 26 January 1922	–	• CS • GDVP • Experts
	CS		Walter Breisky 1871–1944 [20]	26 January 1922 – 27 January 1922	–	• CS • GDVP
	IND		Iur. DDDr. Johannes Schober 1874–1932 [21]	27 January 1922 – 31 May 1922	–	• CS • GDVP • Experts
	CS		Dr. Ignaz Seipel 1876–1932 [22]	31 May 1922 – 20 November 1924	1923	• CS • GDVP • Experts
	CS		Dr. Rudolf Ramek 1881–1941 [23]	20 November 1924 – 20 October 1926	–	• CS • GDVP
	CS		Dr. Ignaz Seipel 1876–1932	20 October 1926 – 4 May 1929	1927	• CS • GDVP • Landbund
	CS		Ernst Streeruwitz 1874–1952 [24]	4 May 1929 – 26 September 1929	–	• CS • Landbund	Wilhelm Miklas
	IND		Iur. DDDr. Johannes Schober 1874–1932	26 September 1929 – 30 September 1930	–	• CS
	CS		Carl Vaugoin 1873–1949 [25]	30 September 1930 – 4 December 1930	–	• CS
	CS		Dr. Otto Ender 1873–1949 [26]	4 December 1930 – 20 June 1931	1930	• CS
	CS		Dr. Karl Buresch 1873–1949 [27]	20 June 1931 – 20 May 1932	–	• CS • Landbund
	CS		Dr. Engelbert Dollfuss 1892–1934 [28]	20 May 1932 – 25 July 1934	–	• CS • Landbund • Heimwehr 20 May 1932 – 1 May 1934 • VF 1 May 1934 – 25 July 1934
	VF
	VF		Dr. Kurt Schuschnigg 1897–1977 [29]	25 July 1934 – 29 July 1934	–	• VF
				29 July 1934 – 11 March 1938
	NSDAP		Dr. Arthur Seyss-Inquart 1892–1946 [30]	11 March 1938 – 13 March 1938	–	• NSDAP
Austria part of Nazi Germany from 12 March 1938 to 13 April 1945
	SPÖ		Dr. Karl Renner 1870–1950 [31][32][33]	27 April 1945 – 20 December 1945	–	• SPÖ • ÖVP • KPÖ	[lower-alpha 4]
	ÖVP		Dipl.-Ing. DDDr. Leopold Figl 1902–1965 [34]	20 December 1945 – 2 April 1953	1945	• ÖVP • SPÖ	Karl Renner
					1949
	ÖVP		Ing. DDDr. Julius Raab 1891–1964 [35]	2 April 1953 – 11 April 1961	1953	• ÖVP • SPÖ	Theodor Körner
					1956
					1959
	ÖVP		Dr. Alfons Gorbach 1898–1972 [36]	11 April 1961 – 2 April 1964	1962	• ÖVP • SPÖ	Adolf Schärf
	ÖVP		Dr. Josef Klaus 1910–2001 [37]	2 April 1964 – 21 April 1970	–	• ÖVP • SPÖ
					1966	• ÖVP
	SPÖ		Dr. Bruno Kreisky 1911–1990 [38]	21 April 1970 – 24 May 1983	1970	• SPÖ	Franz Jonas
					1971
					1975
					1979
	SPÖ		Dr. Fred Sinowatz 1929–2008 [39]	24 May 1983 – 16 June 1986	1983	• SPÖ • FPÖ	Rudolf Kirchschläger
	SPÖ		Dipl.-Kfm. Dr. Franz Vranitzky born 1937 [40]	16 June 1986 – 28 January 1997	1986	• SPÖ • FPÖ
					1990	• SPÖ • ÖVP
					1994
					1995
	SPÖ		Mag. Viktor Klima born 1947 [41]	28 January 1997 – 4 February 2000	–	• SPÖ • ÖVP	Thomas Klestil
	ÖVP		Dr. Wolfgang Schüssel born 1945 [42]	4 February 2000 – 11 January 2007	1999	• ÖVP • FPÖ 4 February 2000 – 3 April 2005 • ÖVP • BZÖ 3 April 2005 – 11 January 2007
					2002
	SPÖ		Dr. Alfred Gusenbauer born 1960 [43]	11 January 2007 – 2 December 2008	2006	• SPÖ • ÖVP	Heinz Fischer
	SPÖ		Werner Faymann born 1960 [44]	2 December 2008 – 9 May 2016	2008	• SPÖ • ÖVP
					2013
	ÖVP		Dr. Reinhold Mitterlehner born 1955 [45][46]	9 May 2016 – 17 May 2016	–	• SPÖ • ÖVP
	SPÖ		Mag. Christian Kern born 1966 [47]	17 May 2016 – 18 December 2017	–	• SPÖ • ÖVP
	ÖVP		Sebastian Kurz born 1986 [48]	18 December 2017 – 28 May 2019	2017	• ÖVP • FPÖ 18 December 2017 – 22 May 2019 • ÖVP 22 May 2019 – 28 May 2019	Alexander Van der Bellen
	ÖVP		Hartwig Löger born 1965 [49][50]	28 May 2019 – 3 June 2019	–	• ÖVP
	IND		Dr. Brigitte Bierlein born 1949 [51][52]	3 June 2019 – 7 January 2020	–	Independent
	ÖVP		Sebastian Kurz born 1986 [53]	7 January 2020 – Present	2019	• ÖVP • Greens

Statistics

The median age at which a chancellor first takes office is 50 years and 134 days (the age at which Christian Kern became chancellor). The youngest person to ever assume the office is Sebastian Kurz, who took office at the age of 31 years, 113 days. The oldest person to become chancellor for the first time is the incumbent Brigitte Bierlein at the age of 69 years, 343 days. Karl Renner served two nonconsecutive terms; at the beginning of his second term he was 74 years, 134 days old.

The oldest living former chancellor is Franz Vranitzky, born 4 October 1937 (aged 82 years, 318 days). The youngest living former chancellor is Sebastian Kurz, born 27 August 1986 (aged 33 years, 356 days).

The longest living chancellor was Josef Klaus, who died on 26 July 2001 at the age of 90 years, 345 days. Franz Vranitzky, the oldest living former chancellor, will surpass Klaus if he lives until 14 September 2028. The shortest living chancellor was Engelbert Dollfuss, who died on 25 July 1934 at the age of 41 years, 294 days.

Nr	Chancellor	Date of birth	Age at ascension (first term)	Time in office (total)	Age at retirement (last term)	Date of death	Longevity
1	Renner, KarlKarl Renner	14 December 1870(14 December 1870)	47 years, 308 days	2 years, 135 days	75 years, 6 days	31 December 1950	80 years, 17 days
2	Mayr, MichaelMichael Mayr	10 April 1864(10 April 1864)	56 years, 88 days	349 days	57 years, 72 days	21 May 1922	58 years, 41 days
3	Schober, JohannJohann Schober	14 November 1874(14 November 1874)	46 years, 219 days	1 year,  347 days	55 years, 320 days	19 August 1932	57 years, 279 days
4	Breisky, WalterWalter Breisky	8 July 1871(8 July 1871)	50 years, 202 days	1 day	50 years, 203 days	25 September 1944	73 years, 79 days
5	Seipel, IgnazIgnaz Seipel	19 July 1876(19 July 1876)	45 years, 316 days	5 years, 6 days	52 years, 289 days	2 August 1932	56 years, 14 days
6	Ramek, RudolfRudolf Ramek	12 April 1881(12 April 1881)	43 years, 222 days	1 year,  334 days	45 years, 191 days	24 July 1941	60 years, 103 days
7	Streeruwitz, ErnstErnst Streeruwitz	23 September 1874(23 September 1874)	54 years, 223 days	145 days	55 years, 3 days	19 October 1952	78 years, 26 days
8	Vaugoin, CarlCarl Vaugoin	8 July 1873(8 July 1873)	57 years, 84 days	65 days	57 years, 149 days	10 June 1949	75 years, 337 days
9	Ender, OttoOtto Ender	24 December 1875(24 December 1875)	54 years, 345 days	199 days	55 years, 179 days	25 June 1960	84 years, 184 days
10	Buresch, KarlKarl Buresch	12 October 1878(12 October 1878)	52 years, 252 days	335 days	53 years, 221 days	16 September 1936	57 years, 340 days
11	Dollfuss, EngelbertEngelbert Dollfuss	4 October 1892(4 October 1892)	39 years, 229 days	2 years, 65 days	41 years, 294 days	25 July 1934	41 years, 294 days
12	Schuschnigg, KurtKurt Schuschnigg	14 December 1897(14 December 1897)	36 years, 227 days	3 years, 225 days	40 years, 87 days	18 November 1977	79 years, 339 days
13	Seyss-Inquart, ArthurArthur Seyss-Inquart	22 July 1892(22 July 1892)	45 years, 232 days	2 days	45 years, 234 days	16 October 1946	54 years, 86 days
14	Hitler, AdolfAdolf Hitler	20 April 1889(20 April 1889)	48 years, 326 days	7 years, 48 days	56 years, 10 days	30 April 1945	56 years, 10 days
15	Figl, LeopoldLeopold Figl	2 October 1902(2 October 1902)	43 years, 79 days	7 years, 103 days	50 years, 182 days	9 May 1965	62 years, 219 days
16	Raab, JuliusJulius Raab	29 November 1891(November 1891)	61 years, 124 days	8 years, 9 days	69 years, 133 days	8 January 1964	72 years, 40 days
17	Gorbach, AlfonsAlfons Gorbach	2 September 1898(2 September 1898)	62 years, 221 days	2 years, 357 days	65 years, 213 days	31 July 1972	73 years, 333 days
18	Klaus, JosefJosef Klaus	15 August 1910(15 August 1910)	53 years, 231 days	6 years, 19 days	59 years, 249 days	25 July 2001	90 years, 344 days
19	Kreisky, BrunoBruno Kreisky	22 January 1911(22 January 1911)	59 years, 89 days	13 years, 33 days	72 years, 122 days	29 July 1990	79 years, 188 days
20	Sinowatz, FredFred Sinowatz	5 February 1929(5 February 1929)	54 years, 108 days	3 year, 23 days	57 years, 131 days	11 August 2008	79 years, 188 days
21	Vranitzky, FranzFranz Vranitzky	4 October 1937(4 October 1937)	48 years, 255 days	10 years, 226 days	59 years, 116 days	Living	82 years, 318 days (Living)
22	Klima, ViktorViktor Klima	4 June 1947(4 June 1947)	49 years, 238 days	3 years, 7 days	52 years, 247 days	Living	73 years, 74 days (Living)
23	Schüssel, WolfgangWolfgang Schüssel	7 June 1945(7 June 1945)	54 years, 242 days	6 years, 341 days	61 years, 218 days	Living	75 years, 71 days (Living)
24	Gusenbauer, AlfredAlfred Gusenbauer	8 February 1960(8 February 1960)	46 years, 337 days	1 year,  326 days	48 years, 298 days	Living	60 years, 191 days (Living)
25	Faymann, WernerWerner Faymann	4 May 1960(4 May 1960)	48 years, 212 days	7 years, 159 days	56 years, 5 days	Living	60 years, 105 days (Living)
26	Kern, ChristianChristian Kern	4 January 1966(4 January 1966)	50 years, 134 days	1 year,  215 days	51 years, 348 days	Living	54 years, 226 days (Living)
27	Kurz, SebastianSebastian Kurz	27 August 1986(27 August 1986)	31 years, 113 days	Ongoing	Present	Living	33 years, 356 days (Living)
28	Bierlein, BrigitteBrigitte Bierlein	25 June 1949(25 June 1949)	69 years, 343 days	218 days	70 years, 196 days	Living	71 years, 53 days (Living)

See also

• History of Austria
• Politics of Austria
• Elections in Austria
• President of Austria
• List of presidents of Austria
• Vice-Chancellor of Austria
• List of political parties in Austria

Notes

1. Karl Renner initially served as State Chancellor of the Republic of German-Austria until 21 October 1919, when the country renamed itself to the First Austrian Republic. The office of the chancellor and Renner's term however, remained fully untouched during the renaming process.
2. The chancellor is usually appointed by the president. The first chancellor, however, Karl Renner, was an exception. Since there was no president at the time, he was instead appointed by the provisional State Council.
3. Office renamed from "State Chancellor" to "Federal Chancellor" on 10 November 1920.
4. After the Red Army freed Vienna from the Nazi Regime, Renner formed a cabinet under Soviet rule. The cabinet was accepted by the Soviets on 27 April 1945 and recognized by all states of Austria as well as the Allied Control Council in September 1945.

References

1. "Bundeskanzler Sebastian Kurz". www.bundeskanzleramt.gv.at (in German). Archived from the original on 2017-12-22. Retrieved 2019-03-03.
2. "Treaty of Saint-Germain". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 2019-03-11.
3. "First Republic and the Anschluss". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 2019-03-08.
4. "The Assassination of Engelbert Dollfuss, July 25, 1934". www.eclecticatbest.com. Retrieved 2019-03-08.
5. "Kurt von Schuschnigg". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 2019-03-08.
6. "Arthur Seyss-Inquart". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 2019-03-08.
7. "Josef Bürckel". www.geschichtewiki.wien.gv.at (in German). Retrieved 2019-03-08.
8. "Baldur von Schirach". www.geschichtewiki.wien.gv.at (in German). Retrieved 2019-03-08.
9. "Gesetz über Gebietsveränderungen in Österreich". alex.onb.ac.a (in German). Retrieved 2019-03-08.
10. "Anschluss". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 2019-03-08.
11. "The years of the Allied Forces in Vienna". www.wien.gv.at. Retrieved 2019-03-08.
12. "Full text of the Austrian State Treaty" (PDF). treaties.un.org. Retrieved 2019-03-08.
13. "Art. 69 B-VG". www.jusline.at (in German). Retrieved 2019-03-04.
14. "Art. 64 B-VG". www.jusline.at (in German). Retrieved 2019-03-04.
15. "Dr. Karl Renner". www.parlament.gv.at (in German). Retrieved 2019-03-05.
16. "Bundesregierung (Österreich)". austria-forum.org (in German). Retrieved 2019-03-08.
17. "Staatsregierung Renner I". anno.onb.ac.at (in German). Retrieved 2019-03-08.
18. "Dr. Michael Mayr". www.parlament.gv.at (in German). Retrieved 2019-03-05.
19. "abs. iur. DDDr. h.c Johannes Schober". www.parlament.gv.at (in German). Retrieved 2019-03-05.
20. "abs. iur. DDDr. h.c Johannes Schober". www.parlament.gv.at (in German). Retrieved 2019-03-05.
21. "abs. iur. DDDr. h.c Johannes Schober". www.parlament.gv.at (in German). Retrieved 2019-03-05.
22. "Dr. Ignaz Seipel". www.parlament.gv.at (in German). Retrieved 2019-03-05.
23. "Dr. Rudolf Ramek". www.parlament.gv.at (in German). Retrieved 2019-03-05.
24. "Ernst Streeruwitz". www.parlament.gv.at (in German). Retrieved 2019-03-05.
25. "Carl Vaugoin". www.parlament.gv.at (in German). Retrieved 2019-03-05.
26. "Dr. Otto Ender". www.parlament.gv.at (in German). Retrieved 2019-03-05.
27. "Dr. Karl Buresch". www.parlament.gv.at (in German). Retrieved 2019-03-05.
28. "Dr. Karl Buresch". www.parlament.gv.at (in German). Retrieved 2019-03-05.
29. "Dr. Kurt Schuschnigg". www.parlament.gv.at (in German). Retrieved 2019-03-05.
30. "Arthur Seyss-Inquart". www.geschichtewiki.wien.gv.at (in German). Retrieved 2019-03-05.
31. "Bundeskanzler seit 1945". www.bundeskanzleramt.gv.at (in German). Retrieved 2019-03-03.
32. "Kanzler und Regierungen seit 1945". www.bundeskanzleramt.gv.at (in German). Retrieved 2019-03-08.
33. "Karl Renner (Politiker)". www.geschichtewiki.wien.gv.at (in German). Retrieved 2019-03-08.
34. "Dipl.-Ing. DDDr. h.c. Leopold Figl". www.parlament.gv.at (in German). Retrieved 2019-03-05.
35. "Ing. DDDr. Julius Raab". www.parlament.gv.at (in German). Retrieved 2019-03-05.
36. "Dr. Alfons Gorbach". www.parlament.gv.at (in German). Retrieved 2019-03-05.
37. "Dr. Josef Klaus". www.parlament.gv.at (in German). Retrieved 2019-03-05.
38. "Dr. Bruno Kreisky". www.parlament.gv.at (in German). Retrieved 2019-03-05.
39. "Dr. Fred Sinowatz". www.parlament.gv.at (in German). Retrieved 2019-03-05.
40. "Dipl.-Kfm. Dr. Franz Vranitzky". www.parlament.gv.at (in German). Retrieved 2019-03-05.
41. "Mag. Viktor Klima". www.parlament.gv.at (in German). Retrieved 2019-03-05.
42. "Dr. Wolfgang Schüssel". www.parlament.gv.at (in German). Retrieved 2019-03-05.
43. "Dr. Alfred Gusenbauer". www.parlament.gv.at (in German). Retrieved 2019-03-05.
44. "Werner Faymann". www.parlament.gv.at (in German). Retrieved 2019-03-05.
45. "Dr. Reinhold Mitterlehner". www.parlament.gv.at (in German). Retrieved 2019-03-05.
46. "ÖVP-Chef „überrascht"". orf.at (in German). Retrieved 2019-03-05.
47. "Mag. Christian Kern". www.parlament.gv.at (in German). Retrieved 2019-03-05.
48. "Sebastian Kurz". www.parlament.gv.at (in German). Retrieved 2019-03-05.
49. "Bundespräsident Van der Bellen enthebt Regierung ihres Amtes" (in German). APA. 28 May 2019. Retrieved 28 May 2019.
50. "Hartwig Löger". www.parlament.gv.at (in German). Retrieved 2019-03-05.
51. "Kabinett Bierlein angelobt". orf.at (in German). Retrieved 2019-06-03.
52. "Dr. Brigitte Bierlein". www.parlament.gv.at (in German). Retrieved 2019-03-05.
53. "Sebastian Kurz". www.parlament.gv.at (in German). Retrieved 2019-03-05.

External links

• Official website of the Austrian Chancellery
• List of Chancellors since 1945 on the Chancellery website