Politics in Austria reflects the dynamics of competition among multiple political parties, which led to the formation of a Conservative-Green coalition government for the first time in January 2020, following the snap elections of 29 September 2019, and the election of a former Green Party leader to the presidency in 2016.
Werner Faymann is an Austrian former politician who was Chancellor of Austria and chairman of the Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ) from 2008 to 2016. On 9 May 2016, he resigned from both positions amid widening criticism within his party.
Elisabeth Köstinger is an Austrian politician who served as Minister for Agriculture, Sustainability and Tourism in the government of Chancellors Sebastian Kurz, Alexander Schallenberg, and Karl Nehammer from 7 January 2020. She previously served in this capacity from December 2017 until June 2019. She is a member of the Austrian People's Party, part of the European People's Party.
Reinhold Mitterlehner is an Austrian politician of the Austrian People's Party (ÖVP) who served as minister of economy in Austria's government from 2008 until 2017. In September 2014 he also became vice chancellor of Austria and chairman of the ÖVP. On 9 May 2016 he briefly assumed powers and duties as Acting Chancellor of Austria while his coalition partner, the Social Democratic Party, underwent a change in leadership. After a series of quarrels within the grand coalition as well as his own party, Mitterlehner announced his resignation on 10 May 2017, which became effective on 17 May 2017.
Sebastian Kurz is an Austrian former politician who served twice as the 26th chancellor of Austria, initially from December 2017 to May 2019 and then a second time from January 2020 to October 2021. On 23 February 2024, Kurz received an eight-month suspended sentence after being convicted of perjury by a court in Vienna over his involvement in a parliamentary inquiry.
Magnus Brunner is an Austrian politician of the Austrian People's Party (ÖVP) who is set to serve as European Commissioner for Internal Affairs and Migration starting in December 2024. Previously, he served as Austria's finance minister from 2021 until 2024 in the government of Chancellor Karl Nehammer.
Christian Kern is an Austrian businessman and former politician who served as Chancellor of Austria from 17 May 2016 to 18 December 2017 and chairman of the Social Democratic Party from 25 June 2016 to 25 September 2018.
Wolfgang Sobotka is an Austrian teacher, conductor and politician of the Austrian People's Party (ÖVP) who served as the president of the Austrian National Council from 2017 until 2024.
Heinz Faßmann is an Austrian politician and professor of human geography and land-use planning at the University of Vienna. He served as the Minister of Education in the Second Kurz cabinet in the government of Chancellor Sebastian Kurz and the Schallenberg government of Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg. He previously served in the same capacity from December 2017 to June 2019: he was succeeded in the post by Martin Polaschek in December 2021. Faßmann is considered to be aligned with the Austrian People's Party (ÖVP) but holds no formal party membership or affiliation.
Werner Kogler is an Austrian politician of the Green Party who has been serving as Vice-Chancellor of Austria and minister for Arts, Culture, the Civil Service and Sport in the governments of chancellors Sebastian Kurz, Alexander Schallenberg, and Karl Nehammer since 7 January 2020.
Gernot Blümel is an Austrian politician of the Austrian People's Party (ÖVP). He served as Austria's finance minister from 2020 to 2021, having announced his resignation shortly after Alexander Schallenberg's resignation on 2 December 2021. Since 2015, he has been the chairman of the Vienna branch of the ÖVP. Prior, he was Chancellery minister for European Affairs, Art, Culture, and Media from 2017 to 2019; he was also General Secretary of the ÖVP from 2013 to 2015.
Pamela Rendi-Wagner is an Austrian physician and politician who is the current director of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, and who previously served as chairwoman of the Social Democratic Party (SPÖ) from 2018 to 2023. She was the first woman to lead the SPÖ.
The Bierlein government was the 32nd Government of Austria following the collapse of the First Kurz government headed by Chancellor Sebastian Kurz in the aftermath of the Ibiza affair. Sworn in on 3 June 2019, the Bierlein government was the first purely technocratic government in Austrian history, first new government after a successful motion of no confidence in Parliament and first government headed by a female chancellor. As head of government, Brigitte Bierlein was assisted by Clemens Jabloner as vice-chancellor.
Alexander Georg Nicolas Schallenberg is an Austrian diplomat, jurist, and politician who has served as Minister of Foreign Affairs in the government of Chancellor Karl Nehammer since 2021, previously holding the office from 2019 to 2021. A member of the Austrian People's Party (ÖVP), he held the position in the second government of Sebastian Kurz, before briefly serving as 28th chancellor of Austria as Kurz's successor from 11 October to 6 December 2021.
Eduard Müller is an Austrian politician and author. He served as Minister of Finance in 2019. He also managed the Ministry of Civil Service and Sports.
Karl Nehammer is an Austrian politician who has been the 29th chancellor of Austria since 2021. A member of the Austrian People's Party (ÖVP), he previously was Minister of the Interior from 2020 to 2021, general secretary of the ÖVP from 2018 to 2020, as well as a member of the National Council from 2017 to 2020. Nehammer assumed the chancellorship as the successor of Alexander Schallenberg, who resigned to return as Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Klaudia Tanner is an Austrian politician of the People's Party (ÖVP) who has been serving as minister of defense in the governments of Chancellors Sebastian Kurz, Alexander Schallenberg and Karl Nehammer since January 2020. From 2011 to 2020, she worked as the General Manager of Austria's political farmers' association.
The COVID-19 pandemic in Austria was a part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. In Austria, a pair of cases were confirmed on 25 February 2020. The cases involved a 24-year-old man and a 24-year-old woman who were travelling from Lombardy, Italy, and were treated at a hospital in Innsbruck. According to new figures released by Austrian authorities on 23 June, the first case in the country was recorded in Ischgl, Tyrol on 8 February.
Events in the year 2021 in Austria.
