Kurt Waldheim

Kurt Waldheim (born December 21, 1918) is an Austrian diplomat and conservative politician. He was Secretary-General of the United Nations from 1972 to 1981, and Federal President of Austria from 1986 to 1992.

President of Austria

Waldheim had unsuccessfully sought election as President of Austria in 1971, but his second attempt on June 8, 1986, proved successful. 1986 also marked the beginning of what became known as the Waldheim affair. Before the presidential elections, the Austrian weekly newsmagazine Profil revealed that there had been several omissions about Waldheim's life between 1938 and 1945 in his recently-published autobiography. A short time later, it was revealed that Waldheim had lied about his service as an officer in the SA-Reitercorps (stormtroopers), a paramilitary unit of the NSDAP (Nazi Party) before the war, and his time as an ordinance officer in Saloniki, Greece from 1942 to 1943. It is known and documented that many crimes against civilians were committed during the military occupation of Greece. Instead, Waldheim had incorrectly stated that he was wounded and had spent the last years of the war in Austria. Speculation grew, and Waldheim was accused of being either involved, or complicit, in "war crimes".

Related Topics:
1971 - June 8 - 1986 - SA - NSDAP - Nazi Party - Saloniki - Greece

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Throughout his term as President (1986-1992), Waldheim, and his wife, Elisabeth, were deemed personae non gratae by many countries. In 1987, they were put on a "watch list" of people barred from entering the United States. In six years Waldheim made almost no state visits, notable exceptions being Vatican City, which he visited twice during his term, and the Near East.

Related Topics:
1986 - 1992 - Personae non gratae - 1987 - Watch list - United States - Vatican City - Near East

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Because of the ongoing international controversy, the Austrian government decided to appoint an international committee of historians to examine Waldheim's life between 1938 and 1945. Ultimately, the committee found no evidence of Waldheim's involvement in war crimes, but its final report stated that he must have known more than he was now willing to admit.

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