Bruno Kreisky

Bruno Kreisky (January 22, 1911—July 29, 1990) was an Austrian politician. Kreisky served as Chancellor of Austria from 1970 to 1983 and was the first Jew to hold that position.

Life and political career

Kreisky was born in Vienna, the son of a Jewish clothing manufacturer. At 15 he joined the youth wing of the Austrian Social Democratic Party, and remained politically active while studying law at the University of Vienna. In 1934, when the Socialist Party was banned by the Dollfuss dictatorship, he joined underground political work. He was arrested in January 1935 and convicted of high treason, but in June 1936 he was released. In March 1938 the Austrian state was incorporated in Germany, and in September Kreisky emigrated to Sweden, where he remained until 1945. In 1942 he married Vera Fürth.

Related Topics:
Vienna - Austrian Social Democratic Party - University of Vienna - 1934 - Dollfuss - 1935 - High treason - 1936 - 1938 - Sweden - 1945 - 1942

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He returned to Austria in May 1946, but he was soon back in Stockholm, assigned to the Austrian legation. In 1951 he returned to Vienna, where Federal President Theodor Körner appointed him Assistant Chief of Staff and political adviser. In 1953 he was appointed Undersecretary in the Foreign Affairs Department of the Austrian Chancellery. In this position he took part in negotiating the 1955 Austrian State Treaty, which ended the four-power occupation of Austria and restored Austria's independence and neutrality.

Related Topics:
1946 - Stockholm - 1951 - Theodor Körner - 1953 - 1955 - Austrian State Treaty

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Kreisky was elected to the Austrian parliament, the Nationalrat, as a Socialist in 1956. He was elected to the Party Executive along with Bruno Pittermann, Felix Slavik, and Franz Olah, and thus became a member of the central leadership body of the party. After the 1959 elections, he became Foreign Minister in the coalition cabinet of Chancellor Julius Raab in July of that year (ÖVP). He played a leading role in setting up the European Free Trade Association, helped solve the South Tyrol issue with Italy, and proposed a "Marshall Plan" for the countries of the Third World.

Related Topics:
Nationalrat - In 1956 - 1959 elections - Coalition - Julius Raab - ÖVP - European Free Trade Association - South Tyrol - Italy - Marshall Plan - Third World

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Kreisky left office in 1966, when the Christian Conservatives (ÖVP) of Josef Klaus won an absolute majority in the Nationalrat. In February 1967 he was elected chairman of the Socialist Party. At the April 1970 elections, the Socialists won a plurality (but not a majority) of seats, and Kreisky became Chancellor. He was the first Jewish Chancellor of Austria. In October 1971 he called fresh elections and won an absolute majority. He won comfortable victories at the 1975 and 1979 elections.

Related Topics:
1966 - Christian Conservatives - Josef Klaus - Nationalrat - 1967 - April 1970 elections - Chancellor - 1971 - Fresh elections - Absolute - 1975 - 1979 elections

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He turned 70 in 1981, and by this time the voters were reacting against what they saw as Kreisky's complacency and preoccupation with international issues. At the April 1983 election, the Socialists lost their absolute majority in the Nationalrat. Kreisky declined to form a minority government and resigned, nominating Fred Sinowatz, his Minister of Education, as his successor. His health was declining, and in 1984 he had an emergency kidney transplant. During his final years he occasionally made bitter remarks at his party, who had made him their honorary chairman. He died in Vienna in July 1990.

Related Topics:
1981 - April 1983 election - Fred Sinowatz - 1984 - Kidney - Transplant - 1990

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