First Lady of Austria
Incumbent
Doris Schmidauer
since 26 January 2017
Inaugural holderLuise Renner
Formation20 December 1945

First Lady of Austria is the title attributed to the wife (or, in place of a wife, a designee, such as a daughter) of the president of Austria.[1][2] The current first lady is Doris Schmidauer, wife of President Alexander Van der Bellen, who has held the position since 26 January 2017.[3]

First ladies of the First Austrian Republic (1919–1934)

First Lady Term Begins Term Ends President of Austria Notes
Emilie Hainisch 9 December 1920 10 December 1928 Michael Hainisch
Leopoldine Miklas 10 December 1928 13 March 1938 Wilhelm Miklas

First ladies of the Second Austrian Republic (1945–present)

First Lady Term Begins Term Ends President of Austria Notes
Luise Renner 20 December 1945 31 December 1950 Karl Renner
Position vacant 21 June 1951 4 January 1957 Theodor Körner Körner was a bachelor.
Martha Kyrle 22 May 1957 28 February 1965 Adolf Schärf Schärf's wife, Hilda Schärf, died in 1956 before he became president. Their daughter, Martha Kyrle, served as First Lady during his tenure in office. President Schärf died in office.
Margarete Jonas 9 June 1965 24 April 1974 Franz Jonas
Herma Kirchschläger 8 July 1974 8 July 1986 Rudolf Kirchschläger
Elisabeth Waldheim 8 July 1986 8 July 1992 Kurt Waldheim
Edith Klestil 8 July 1992 1994 Thomas Klestil Edith Klestil left Thomas Klestil in January 1994 following revelations of his affair with his aide, Margot Löffler.[4][5][6][7] Edith Klestil was voted Austria's "Woman of the Year" in March 1994.[4] The Klestils divorced on 17 September 1998 after forty year of marriage and a four-year separation.[8]
Margot Klestil-Löffler 23 December 1998 (marriage) 6 July 2004 Thomas Klestil President Klestil and Margot Löffler initially agreed to separate in January 1994 following the revelations of their affair,[7] but later reconnected. They married on 23 December 1998, just a few months after Klestil's divorce from Edith Klestil. President Klestil died in office on 6 July 2004.[4] Klestil-Löffler, a diplomat, served as Ambassador to the Czech Republic (2004–2009) and Russia (2009–2014).
Margit Fischer 8 July 2004 8 July 2016 Heinz Fischer
Doris Schmidauer 26 January 2017 Present Alexander Van der Bellen Schmidauer and Van der Bellen married in December 2015.[9] Schmidauer, who is head of personnel and management of the Green Party Parliamentary Club as of January 2017, has expressed a desire to continue working for the Green Party while she serves as Austria's First Lady.[3][10]

References

  1. ^ Mittelstaedt, Katharina (2016-11-30). "First Lady ohne Auftrag". Der Standard. Archived from the original on 2017-11-27. Retrieved 2017-03-18.
  2. ^ Markus, Georg (2016-12-04). "Beruf: First Lady". Kurier. Archived from the original on 2017-03-20. Retrieved 2017-03-19.
  3. ^ a b Mittelstaedt, Katharina (2016-12-04). "Das ist die neue First Lady". Österreich. Archived from the original on 2017-03-20. Retrieved 2017-03-19.
  4. ^ a b c "Thomas Klestil obituary". The Daily Telegraph. 2004-07-08. Archived from the original on 2017-03-19. Retrieved 2017-03-18.
  5. ^ "Austrian President Leaves Wife, Loses Aide". Washington Post. 1994-01-24. Archived from the original on 2017-04-07. Retrieved 2017-03-18.
  6. ^ Kinzer, Stephen (1994-01-26). "The Talk of Vienna: President's Affair". New York Times. Archived from the original on 2017-03-19. Retrieved 2017-03-18.
  7. ^ a b "President loses wife and mistress". The Independent. 1994-01-26. Archived from the original on 2017-03-19. Retrieved 2017-03-18.
  8. ^ "President of Austria picks mistress over longtime wife". Hürriyet Daily News. Associated Press. 1998-09-19. Archived from the original on 2017-03-20. Retrieved 2017-03-18.
  9. ^ ČTK (4 December 2016). "Vyhrážali sa mu smrťou, teraz bude prezidentom. Na scénu prichádza "Zelený profesor"". Hospodárske Noviny (in Slovak). Archived from the original on 2018-01-16. Retrieved 5 December 2016.
  10. ^ "Doris Schmidauer: Das ist Österreichs neue First Lady". Heute (in Austrian German). 24 May 2016. Archived from the original on 2016-12-20. Retrieved 5 December 2016.
Categories