Alfred Gusenbauer

Gusenbauer ( born February 8, 1960 in St. Pölten, Lower Austria ) is a former Austrian politician and served from January 2007 to December 2008, Federal Chancellor of Austria. From 2000 to 2008 he was national chairman of the SPÖ.

Since the end of his political career, he is a consultant (2009 to the banking group Hypo Group Alpe Adria) and lobbyist, and in various positions in the construction, real estate and financial services sectors, including as Chairman of Strabag SE.

Origin and family

Gusenbauer comes from a construction worker family. His father Oswald was employed at the Austrian Danube power plants and his mother Gertrude worked inter alia as a cleaner. Alfred Gusenbauer's sister Andrea was born in 1961. With his partner Eva Steiner Gusenbauer now adult daughter named Selina.

Education

Gusenbauer attended from 1966 to 1970 the primary school in Ybbs on the Danube and from 1970 to 1978, the Federal High School in Wiesel castle. He then first began to study law at the University of Vienna, but concentrated in the sequence to the study of political science and philosophy, in which he 1987 on the theme "The Austrian Peace Movement: carrier, structures and activities between 1980 and 1986 " received a doctorate in East-West context.

Professional activity

Gusenbauer was from 1981 to 1990 an employee of the Social Democratic Party, and from 1984 to 1990 Chairman of the sjö. From 1990 to 1999 he was in the chamber for workers and employees employed for Lower Austria, from 1999 to the end of January 2000, the country manager of SPÖ Lower Austria.

From the end of 2008 to end of June 2009 Gusenbauer worked as Head of Unit for European Affairs of the Lower Austrian Chamber of Labour.

He is also managing partner of Gusenbauer project development & holding GmbH. The company was established on 12 October 2008, registered on 21 November 2008 as a woodpecker project development & holding GmbH under Dr. Leopold Specht, a lawyer in Vienna in the company register. Woodpecker - according to the Wiener Zeitung closest confidant of Yelena Nikolaevna Baturina, wife of Yuri Luzhkov - is also politically active and, among others, the Supervisory Board of Austrian Federal Railways Holding Aktiengesellschaft and Austro Control Austrian Society for Civil Aviation with limited liability and the board of two foundations and shareholder of several private limited companies and in several companies CEO. Gusenbauer has taken over the company by transfer agreement dated 12 December 2008 and holds 100 % of the shares with the paid minimum deposit of € 35,000.00.

Since the summer of 2009 Gusenbauer acting in an advisory capacity as expert on Eastern Europe for the WAZ media group (including investments in the daily newspapers Kronen Zeitung and Kurier).

From July 31, 2009 to May 1, 2010 Gusenbauer sat on the board of Alpine Holding GmbH and took over in July 2010, the Supervisory Board chaired by the rival company, the construction company STRABAG SE. Gusenbauer is also chairman of the hazel Steiner Family Foundation.

Furthermore sits Gusenbauer since September 17, 2009 the Supervisory Board of SIGNA RECAP Holding AG of Austrian property investor Rene Benko.

In autumn 2009 Gusenbauer took a position as European Director of the Chilean investment fund Equitas European funds ( real estate, information technology, environmental technology and agribusiness ), a subsidiary of the investment company Equitas Capital SpA, based in Santiago de Chile.

In June 2010, he was further appointed to the Board of Directors of the Canadian mining company Gabriel Resources, a company that at 80.46 % stake in the controversial Rosia Montana gold project in Romania is involved.

Since Kazakhstan has assumed chairmanship of the OSCE in early 2010, Gusenbauer advises the Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev.

In the spring of 2011, the real estate entrepreneur Axel Mader made ​​his longtime friend Gusenbauer to the Chairman of the Foundation Board Wartenfels private foundation.

Since May 31, 2011 is Gusenbauer co-owner of Cudos Advisors GmbH, a company is to be applied on which investment capital. As he also each hold a 25 % stake in the Group Cudos his longtime lawyer Leopold Specht, the financier Alon Shklarek, owner of the investment and advisory group ASP Holding, and the IT expert Andreas Frech.

From November 2011 to January 2012, held Gusenbauer as a visiting professor several lectures on "The Realpolitik of the EU institutions in political science focus " at the University of Innsbruck.

Political career

1981 began his political and professional career at the SPO as secretary. From 1990 to 1999 he worked as an employee of the Chamber of Labour of Lower Austria. In 1999 he was the country manager of SPÖ Lower Austria and 2000 national manager of SPÖ, before he was elected the same year to the federal SPÖ party chairman.

He was also a 1984-90 national chairman of the Socialist Youth (SJ ) and 1985-89 Vice- President of the Socialist Youth International ( IUSY ). Furthermore, he held in 1989, the function of the Vice-President of the Socialist International (SI). 1990-2000 was Gusenbauer district chairman of the SPÖ Melk, since 1991 the city chairman of the SPÖ Ybbs an der Donau, a member of the provincial party committee of the SPÖ Lower Austria, member of the National Party Presidium of the SPÖ in Lower Austria, member of the Austrian delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council since 1991 and Chairman of the Social Committee the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council 1995-98. From 2000 to 2008 he was a federal SPÖ party chairman from 2000 to 2007 he was chairman of the club Social Democratic parliamentary group.

Gusenbauer was quite controversial in his capacity as chairman of the party to the 2006 national elections. In the national elections of 2002, the SPÖ was able to establish with Gusenbauer as the leading candidate, although 4 seats ( 3.36% ); ( - 16.9% / - 34 mandates) but was significantly more successful the ÖVP ( 15,39 / 27 appointments ), together with the FPÖ retained the majority of seats and formed a coalition government with her again.

In the 2006 national elections, the SPÖ was surprising with 35.34 % of the vote again strongest party. On 8 January 2007, the SPÖ and ÖVP agreed to the formation of a grand coalition. The coalition agreement was parts of the party, the Social Democratic Party affiliated organizations and student representatives some extent criticized. The focus of the criticism focused primarily on the lack of consideration of the SPÖ - election program, in terms of the originally announced exit from the Euro Fighter- purchase agreement and the abolition of tuition fees, as well as the division of responsibilities between the SPÖ and ÖVP. The agreement was approved by the federal party leadership with 75 % approval.

The new federal government under Alfred Gusenbauer was inaugurated on January 11, 2007 by Federal President Heinz Fischer. During this Staatsakts found on Heldenplatz near the German Chancellery a demonstration with around 2,000 participants, mostly students, instead. The reason was that during the election campaign of Gusenbauer promised complete return of tuition fees, which was not included in the Coalition Agreement after which, among other things, the student union president Barbara Blaha and VSStÖ chairman Sylvia Cuba leaked from the SPÖ.

As the first political change in the red - black coalition Gusenbauer the legislature for the national elections in Austria was extended from 4 to 5 years. This amendment to the Constitution was possible because the coalition had the decisions necessary for constitutional status 2/3-majority. The extension of the legislative period (starting after the next parliamentary election ) came as a complete surprise, because neither of the two coalition parties had previously only discussed. Furthermore, the grand coalition their 2/3-majority used to commit the Austrian chamber system in the Constitution.

Already from the beginning the grand coalition was marked by internal disputes between the two parties. The Social Democratic Party accused the ÖVP several times to block before, while the ÖVP, the SPÖ accused not to adhere to the agreed coalition agreement. At a first serious conflict between the coalition parties came when the Constitutional Court assessed the inheritance tax as unconstitutional and a repair period to 31 July 2008 continued. The SPÖ wanted the estate tax reform, but maintained the ÖVP advocated abolishing it, because she had the promised during the election campaign. Since neither party moved away from their claims, cooperation remained with continued only to let the repair period slip away, so that the inheritance tax in Austria expired on 31 July 2008.

On February 24, 2008 Alfred Gusenbauer announced after an unexpectedly strong rise in consumer prices in the ORF Pressestunde surprising and without prior information of the coalition partner, the tax reform planned for 2010 at least to 2009 want to prefer in the coalition agreement. In the same TV show, he said he wanted to give socially needy per 100 euros. Also in February 2008, the Social Democrats together with the Freedom Party, the Greens and the AAF decided against the express will of the coalition partner ÖVP to set up a parliamentary committee of inquiry into allegations of former Interior Ministry officials Herwig Haidinger - tip against the ÖVP politicians in the Interior Ministry.

Together with Infrastructure Minister Faymann told Gusenbauer on 27 June 2008 by letter to the editor of the Kronen Zeitung Dichand the public with that the SPÖ says, " future contract amendments ( the EU), touch the Austrian interests, the " should " in a referendum be decided in Austria ", of which she would then convince the coalition partners (which does not relate to the Lisbon Treaty, which has already been ratified by Parliament and Federal President Heinz Fischer). The same applies to possible accession of Turkey to the European Union. In addition to this surprising content repositioning of the SPÖ among all was the procedure as such information was provided, for outrage both within the Social Democratic Party and the coalition partner and the EU representatives.

After the morning of July 7 " immediate elections " called for 2008 ÖVP leader and Vice-Chancellor Wilhelm Molterer and had thus initiated the end of the grand coalition, Gusenbauer no longer joined at the polls as a top candidate of the Social Democratic Party.

On 8 August 2008 took over from Alfred Werner Faymann Gusenbauer the party chairmanship, on 2 December 2008 Faymann was also Gusenbauer's successor as chancellor.

Criticism

Gusenbauer was already immediately after the formation of the SPÖ - ÖVP coalition government especially the low conversion of SPÖ demands in the coalition program as well as the cession of important ministries ( such as the interior, exterior and Finance) to the political rivals ÖVP accused. When critics gave him the name the " falling over ".

Since Gusenbauer election promise to abolish tuition fees, could not realize, he suggested that students should be to earn with tutoring and social services something. He offered himself to give private lessons. This in turn was perceived by many students as a mockery.

Its from an ORF team recorded and later shown in the TV magazine The report question before a party event "And that is today something decent in Donawitz, or the usual Gesudere? " Caused party internally for criticism and was immediately picked up on the part of coalition partner to give it apartness reproach.

Shortly after his inauguration as SPÖ chairman he had meant about his deputies, one-third could be his merit principle just, one third was to be forgotten, and a third, " resozialisierbar ". For big trouble - especially among party colleagues - also attended his statement during a trip to South America: "We are senators after 16:00 clock hardly to be found at work ."

Others

During the time as vice-president of the Socialist Youth International kissed Gusenbauer - in his own words Pope John Paul II caricature - in Moscow on camera the bottom of the former Soviet Union.

From political opponents was repeated a rumored told by Gusenbauer mother in the 2006 election campaign anecdote, according to which he had already had a small child in the sandbox desire to be Chancellor to call him a "sandbox Chancellor ".

A slip of the tongue of the professed lover of red wine Gusenbauer European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, in which he confused his name with that of the Italian red wine Barolo, corresponding malice, brought him.

He is the Chancellor with the shortest tenure in the Second Republic - the shortest reigning Chancellor of Austria ever had Walter Breisky (one day) and Arthur Seyss- Inquart (two days ) in the first republic.

Honors

  • Honorary doctorate from the private university in Herzliya, Israel
  • Honorary Senator of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts
  • Grand Gold Medal with Star for Services to the Republic of Austria (2005)
  • Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic (2007)
  • Dialogue of Civilizations Award (2008) for the promotion of dialogue between different cultures
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