Austro-British Society

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Austro-British Society
logo
legal form registered association
( ZVR : 227967446)
founding December 3, 2009
Seat Vienna , Austria
Chair Kurt Tiroch
Members ~ 500 (2016)
Website www.oebrg.at

The Austro-British Society (ABS) is a registered association that promotes social exchange between Austria and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland . The company was re-founded in Vienna in 2009 by Kurt Tiroch and has since supported the expansion of bilateral relations on a cultural, economic and political level.

For this purpose, a wide range of events is offered, which offers members of the society a networking platform and enables them to deal with current topics relating to Great Britain and Austria. The society has around 500 members, including 57 company members (as of January 2016).

activities

Angus Robertson (SNP), ABS President Kurt Tiroch and diplomat Colin Munro discuss the Scottish independence referendum. 2014 in Café Landtmann

On average, the society organizes an event every two weeks. The spectrum of topics ranges from political discussions, theater visits, music and sporting events to lectures on economics, diplomacy, social events and short trips to Great Britain.

Prominent guest speakers from politics have so far been, among others, Federal Chancellor a. D. Wolfgang Schüssel , British European Minister David Lidington , Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz and British MP (SNP) Angus Robertson (see picture). Speakers in the field of diplomacy included the former State Secretary and diplomat Hans Winkler as well as the Austrian ambassador in London, Emil Brix . Among the representatives from the business world who have appeared for the Austro-British Society so far are OeNB Governor Ewald Nowotny , OMV CFO David Davies, BP Personnel Manager Helmut Schuster and Karl Stoss , General Director of Casinos Austria.

history

The predecessor of today's company was founded in 1946. After the Second World War , the victorious powers wanted to improve relations with Austria beyond official diplomacy . Therefore, several bilateral companies were founded - including the Austro-British Society. Language courses and exchange programs were organized for decades. However, by 2005 the company became increasingly inactive and eventually dissolved.

Only four years later it was re-founded by the Austrian Kurt Tiroch. Tiroch, a former manager of the British energy company BP , gathered a group of like-minded people and made the first plans for how the company should be organized. In September 2010, in the presence of the British Ambassador to Austria at the time, Simon Smith, and the Austrian Ambassador in London , Emil Brix, the constituent general assembly took place in the residence of the British Ambassador in Vienna.

Today the association has around 500 members, including 57 company members (as of January 2016). In 2015, it organized 31 events for its members and interested parties.

In November 2015, the society received the award as “the most outstanding friendship society of 2015” from the Austrian Federal Ministry for Science, Research and Economy . Erwin Kubesch presented the award to the company on November 6, 2015.

Board of Directors (excerpt)

The board members include representatives from diplomacy and business:

  • Susan le Jeune d'Allegeershecque (Honorary President), British Ambassador in Vienna
  • Simon Smith (Honorary President), former British Ambassador in Vienna
  • Emil Brix (Honorary President), Austrian Ambassador in London
  • Kurt Tiroch (President), entrepreneur
  • Alexander Christiani (Vice President), former Austrian Ambassador to London, The Hague and Pretoria
  • Friedrich Fruth (Secretary), PR Manager
  • Jörg Kössler (Treasurer), entrepreneur

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d Die Presse: Royal Summer Party: Viennese Wine for the Prince , accessed on May 20, 2014.
  2. ↑ a b Entry in the Central Register of Associations of the Federal Ministry of the Interior (ZVR number: 227967446), accessed on May 19, 2014.
  3. ↑ a b Internal member list , oebrg.at, accessed on January 5, 2016.
  4. ^ The Guardian Scottish independence campaign gets boost from former senior diplomat , accessed May 17, 2014
  5. ↑ a b Previous events , oebrg.at, accessed on January 6, 2016
  6. ↑ Previous events - Constituent General Assembly , oebrg.at, accessed on May 16, 2014
  7. ↑ Event Report of the Austro-British Society , oebrg.at, accessed on November 26, 2015
  8. ↑ About us - Board of Directors , oebrg.at, accessed on May 15, 2014