Federal President (Austria)


Federal President of the Republic of Austria


Coat of arms of the Republic of Austria


Acting Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen since January 26, 2017

Official seat	Leopoldine wing , Hofburg , Vienna
Term of office	6 years (one re-election possible for the immediately following term of office)
Creation of office	October 1, 1920 ( Federal Constitution ) November 10, 1920 (entered into force)
position	Head of state
State authority	executive
Choice by	State people
Guarantee of existence	Art. 60 para 1 B-VG
salutation	Mr Federal President (informal) Excellency (in diplomatic relations)

website	bundespraesident.at

The President is in accordance with Art. 60 5 para. Federal Constitution , the six-year elected head of state of the Republic of Austria .

The Federal President can only be re-elected once for the immediately following term of office and can be in office for a total of twelve years without interruption. He is - in addition to the federal ministers , the secretaries of state and members of the provincial governments - a supreme body of the execution of Art. 19 para 1 B-VG. The Federal President's core competencies include the appointment of the Federal Chancellor and, at his suggestion, the other members of the Federal Government as well as the possibility of dissolving the National Council at the request of the Government. The position of the Federal President and his powers define Austria as a so-called parliamentary semi-presidential republic.

In the protocol of the Republic of Austria , the Federal President comes first before the President of the National Council and the Federal Chancellor . The head of state has had his office since 1947 in the Leopoldine wing of the Hofburg in Vienna ; previously they were in the Federal Chancellery , which is opposite the Leopoldine wing on Ballhausplatz .

The office of Federal President was created by the Federal Constitution of October 1, 1920. After the constitutional amendment in 1929, the Federal President should be directly elected by the people. Nevertheless, the Federal President Wilhelm Miklas , who had been in office since 1928, was re-elected by the Federal Assembly in 1931 . Miklas then remained in office in the dictatorial corporate state until his resignation in 1938. According to the provisions of the second constitutional transition law passed by the provisional state government , Karl Renner was also elected by the Federal Assembly on December 20, 1945. It was not until 1951 that Theodor Körner became the first federal president to be elected by the people.

Alexander Van der Bellen has been the incumbent since January 26, 2017 .

Historical development

Presidential office in the Leopoldine wing of the Hofburg

The first Federal President of the Second Republic, Karl Renner

In the deliberations on the Federal Constitutional Law (B-VG) from 1919, the Christian Socialists in particular had insisted on a separate head of state. By March 1919, the three presidents of the Provisional National Assembly had performed these functions, subsequently Karl Seitz , (First) President of the National Assembly, as an individual. The Social Democrats, on the other hand, preferred a variant in which the President of the National Council should perform the duties of the head of state, since they did not want to create a "substitute emperor". As a compromise, the Federal President was created as a separate state body in 1920, but his powers were only very weak. The Federal President was elected by the Federal Assembly.

With the constitutional amendment in 1929, the position of the Federal President was considerably upgraded under the pressure of authoritarian forces. A presidential system of government called for by the authoritarian side was not introduced, but the popular election of the Federal President as well as the appointment of the Federal Chancellor and, on his proposal, the Federal Minister by the Federal President was a compromise. Furthermore, the Federal President was authorized to dissolve the National Council ( Art. 29 B-VG). However, the link to the proposal and countersignature remained.

Since the constitution in the version of 1929 was reinstated when the Second Republic was founded in 1945, the Federal President has a potentially strong position of power to this day. In principle, his legal status and duties are more important than those of the Federal President in Germany . In practice, however, the Federal Presidents of the Second Republic exercised restraint and concentrated on influence behind the scenes and their representative tasks; this is also referred to as “ renouncing roles ”. Authority flows to them in these circumstances mainly by virtue of their personality.

Legal acts of the Federal President

Basics

Legal acts of the Federal President are known as resolutions . They usually require countersignature (see below). While so-called certificates of appointment are issued when a new government is appointed and sworn in , the dismissal of the government does not require a written form, but only has to be brought to the attention of those concerned. You can therefore also be fired against your will.

Binding to proposal and countersignature

Although the Federal Constitution grants the Federal President far-reaching powers, his ability to act is restricted by being bound by the proposal and countersignature ( Art. 67 B-VG). This means that the Federal President can in principle only become active on the proposal of the Federal Government (or a Federal Minister authorized by the Federal Government ). Exceptions to this obligation are only possible through constitutional provisions. In addition, most of the Federal President's acts are only valid if they are countersigned by the Federal Chancellor or the responsible Federal Minister. This considerably limits the Federal President's ability to act on his own initiative.

The constitutional situation also means, however, that the Federal President does not have to accept a proposal from the government. This means that laws are notarized and announced by the Federal President with countersignature by the Federal Chancellor. Possible changes in the law could thus be hindered by the Federal President. He could even replace the Federal Chancellor so that suitable proposals are made to him and, before the National Council's vote of no confidence in the new Federal Chancellor, dissolve the National Council at the latter's request and thus trigger new elections. (So far, although this would not be unconstitutional, this has never been done for political reasons.)

The following acts by the Federal President do not require a proposal :

the appointment of the Federal Chancellor ( Art. 70 para 1 B-VG)
the dismissal of the Federal Chancellor or the entire Federal Government ( Art. 70 para 1 B-VG; however, a proposal by the Federal Chancellor is required to dismiss individual Federal Ministers)
the appointment of a provisional federal government ( Art. 71 B-VG)
the swearing-in of the Federal Chancellor, Federal Ministers, State Secretaries, Governors, etc.
The issue of whether files of the Supreme Command over the Armed Forces are bound by proposals is disputed
the prevailing doctrine and practice also excludes purely representative tasks from the proposal principle

The following acts of the Federal President do not require a countersignature :

the dismissal of the federal government ( Art. 70 para 1 B-VG)
the dismissal of individual federal ministers (according to Art. 70 B-VG, this requires the Federal Chancellor's proposal, but no formal countersignature)
the convening of an extraordinary meeting of the National Council ( Art. 28 para 3 B-VG)
Instructions in the context of the execution of findings of the Constitutional Court ( Art. 146 para 2 B-VG)

Competencies

Appointment of the federal government

The Federal President appoints the Federal Chancellor and, on his proposal, the other members of the Federal Government and the State Secretaries in accordance with Art. 70 Para. 1 B-VG . The Federal President is not legally bound by any guidelines when appointing the Federal Chancellor . However, since the National Council can withdraw the confidence of individual members of the government or the entire federal government at any time by means of a vote of no confidence, the Federal President is forced in political practice to take into account the majority situation in the National Council.

Up until the year 2000 it was considered an unwritten law that the Federal President commissioned the top candidate of the party with the largest number of seats to form a government after new elections to the National Council . However, as the formation of the government in 2000 showed, the Federal President cannot enforce a stable government against a majority in the National Council. The initiative to form a government can therefore come entirely from the interested parties. However, since the individual members of the Federal Government must be appointed by the Federal President - on the proposal of the Federal Chancellor - he can also reject individual ministers or state secretaries.

So far, only three cases have become known in which a Federal President refused to appoint proposed government candidates. Karl Renner refused to appoint a minister who was suspected of corruption, Thomas Klestil refused to appoint two ministers. Criminal proceedings were in progress against one of the two at the time the government was formed, the other was noticed during the election campaign with extreme, xenophobic statements. In the run-up to these powers of the Federal President, Theodor Körner flatly rejected calls by ÖVP Chancellor Leopold Figl for a concentration government with the participation of the Association of Independents (VdU) in 1953 .

Dismissal of the federal government

According to Art. 70 (1) B-VG, the Federal President is not bound by a proposal by the Federal Government when dismissing the entire Federal Government or just the Federal Chancellor. He can therefore dismiss them at his own discretion. A proposal from the Federal Chancellor is only necessary for the dismissal of individual members of the Federal Government. So far, the entire government has not been dismissed against their will. Federal President Wilhelm Miklas did not make use of his right of dismissal when Federal Chancellor Engelbert Dollfuss leveraged the Federal Constitution in the First Republic in 1933/34 in order to establish the corporate state .

On May 22, 2019, at the suggestion of Federal Chancellor Sebastian Kurz , Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen dismissed Herbert Kickl , who had been Federal Minister of the Interior of the Federal Government Kurz I until then . It was the first time a minister had been dismissed in the Second Republic .

Relinquishment

If a member of the Federal Government or the entire Federal Government is refused confidence by an express resolution of the National Council ( vote of no confidence ), the Federal President is obliged under Art. 74 Para. 1 B-VG to remove them from office; Entrustment with the continuation of official business following the removal is permissible. Such a process occurred for the first time on May 28, 2019, when the Federal Government Kurz I , which the National Council had expressed its distrust the day before, was removed from office.

The Federal President or individual members can be removed from office by the Federal President according to Art. 74 Para. 3 B-VG at their own request. For example, on May 22, 2019, following the dismissal of Herbert Kickl as Interior Minister, Vice Chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache and Ministers Beate Hartinger-Klein , Norbert Hofer and Mario Kunasek were removed from their offices at their own request.

Dissolution of the National Council

According to Art. 29 Para. 1 B-VG, the Federal President can dissolve the National Council at the request of the Federal Government , but only once for the same reason. The legal consequences of a dissolution of parliament by the Federal President are different from those of the National Council's self-dissolution. If the legislative period is ended by a resolution by the head of state, the National Council is dissolved with immediate effect and thus incapable of acting. However, the permanent sub-committee of the main committee remains in place as an emergency committee until the newly elected National Council meets. Before this, the Federal President can, if necessary, with his consent and at the request of the Federal Government, issue emergency ordinances. In the event of self-dissolution, the old National Council meets until the newly elected one meets.

So far, only Wilhelm Miklas has made use of the right to dissolve in 1930 after the Christian Socials had lost their coalition partners and thus the parliamentary majority. Since the following election to the National Council was not in the interests of the government - which had run the new elections - the instrument of dissolving the presidential parliament was subsequently no longer used.

Dissolution of a state assembly

Pursuant to Art. 100 para. 1 B-VG, the Federal President can dissolve any Landtag at the request of the Federal Government with the consent of the Federal Council . However, as with the dissolution of the National Council, he may only do this once for the same reason. The Federal Council must approve the dissolution with a two-thirds majority . The representatives of the Land whose Landtag is to be dissolved are not allowed to take part in the vote.

The dissolution of a state assembly represents a direct intervention by the federal government into the autonomy of the states. This is a federal executive procedure. As in the case of the dissolution of the National Council by the Federal President, according to the prevailing opinion, a Landtag that has been dissolved in accordance with Art. 100 Para. 1 B-VG is incapable of acting until its newly elected successor has met. This right has not yet been exercised by any Federal President.

Notarization of laws

The Federal President, as a “state notary” according to Art. 47 Para. 1 B-VG, certifies the constitutional creation of laws in the course of the legislative process . If this is the case, he has to sign. It is controversial whether and to what extent the Federal President is also entitled to review the content of the law with regard to the constitutional conformity. The prevailing opinion assumes that the act presented is seriously and obviously unconstitutional, that the Federal President has to refuse the authentication. This has only happened once so far, when Heinz Fischer refused to sign a law that contained retroactive penal provisions. A refusal to sign despite being constitutional could lead to an indictment at the Constitutional Court .

Commander in Chief of the Austrian Armed Forces

With the B-VG amendment of 1929, Article 80 B-VG passed the supreme command of the armed forces from the main committee of the National Council to the Federal President. There are no further legal provisions and no known precedents for this competence. If the Defense Minister takes actions that the Federal President strictly rejects, he (as with any other member of the government) has the right to dismiss him. In any case, the Federal President can order extraordinary recruitment measures and has a comprehensive right to information. In the case of the execution of findings of the Constitutional Court , the head of state can dispose of the army without restriction.

External representation of the republic

The Federal President represents the Republic of Austria - i.e. the state as a whole as a subject of international law - to the outside world and concludes international treaties (Art. 65 Para. 1 B-VG), some of which, according to Art. 50 B-VG, require the approval of the National Council. When Austria joined the EU, there were disagreements between Federal President Thomas Klestil and Federal Chancellor Franz Vranitzky as to who was allowed to represent Austria in the European Council . The legal view of the Federal Chancellor prevailed, although the Federal President was of the opinion that he had only delegated this right to the Federal Chancellor.

Emergency Ordinance Law

According to Art. 18 Para. 3 B-VG, the Federal President is empowered to “avert obvious, irreparable damage to the general public” at a time when the National Council is not and cannot be met in time, at the request of the Federal government and with the approval of the permanent subcommittee of the main committee of the National provisional law changed to make regulations. Constitutional law and other important provisions cannot be changed by such emergency ordinances . As soon as the National Council meets again, they must be confirmed by it in legal form or - if the National Council rejects this - immediately revoked. The emergency ordinance law has not yet been applied.

Execution of Constitutional Court decisions

Art. 146 para. 2 B-VG entrusts the Federal President with the execution of decisions of the Constitutional Court that are not incumbent on the ordinary courts. The application for execution is made by the Constitutional Court itself. The regulation of Art. 146 para. 2 B-VG gives the head of state extensive powers of intervention. The execution can be directed against state or federal organs as well as against a state or the federal government as a whole. The Federal President canissue direct instructions toall federal and state bodies, including the armed forces or the police . If a federal organ or the federal government as a whole is affected, the resolution of the Federal President does not require a countersignature according to Art. 67 B-VG.

State Personnel Authorities

The Federal President appoints the federal civil servants, including the officers of the federal armed forces and judges, as well as other federal officials in accordance with Article 65 (1) (a) B-VG. These powers are mostly delegated to the ministerial ministers due to the corresponding authorization by Art. 66 B-VG. High-ranking officials are appointed by the Federal President himself ( Art. 65 Para. 2 lit. a B-VG).

According to Art. 147 Para. 2 B-VG, it also appoints the judges of the Constitutional Court. He appoints the President, the Vice-President, six other members and three substitute members on the proposal of the Federal Government, three members and two substitute members on the proposal of the National Council, three members and one substitute member are nominated by the Federal Council.

Further rights

The Federal President also has a number of other rights that are typically part of the duties of a head of state. These include, for example, the creation and awarding of honorary and professional titles in accordance with Paragraph 2 lit. a B-VG Art. 65 as well as the de facto meaningless right to declare illegitimate children to marry at the request of their parents ( Art. 65 Para. 1 lit. d). The presidential rights arising from simple federal laws include, for example, that of the “ Promotio sub auspiciis Praesidentis rei publicae ”, in which doctoral students with special performance certificates receive a ring of honor from the Federal President. In addition, the Federal President has the right to put criminal proceedings down (right of abolition) or to pardon prisoners ( Art. 65 Para. 2 lit. c B-VG in conjunction with Section 510 StPO ). According to the very early judicature of the Constitutional Court, acts of grace by the Federal President not only destroy the punishment itself, but also the censure associated with it. Accordingly, a disciplinary judgment can no longer invoke such a conviction (June 1923):

"The repayment of a conviction granted by the grace of the Federal President means that this conviction may no longer be considered even in the event of disciplinary proceedings."

Immunity, Accountability and Representation

immunity

According to Art. 63 B-VG, the Federal President enjoys immunity from judicial and other official prosecution during his term of office . Without exception, the Federal President may only be prosecuted with the consent of the Federal Assembly. If an authority intends to prosecute the Federal President, it must submit an "extradition request" (request to prosecute the Federal President) to the National Council. If the National Council decides in favor of persecution, the Federal Chancellor must immediately convene the Federal Assembly, which then decides on extradition.

Charges to the Constitutional Court (legal responsibility)

The Federal President can be charged with “violation of the Federal Constitution” at the Constitutional Court ( Art. 142 Para. 2 B-VG). This requires a resolution by the National Council or the Federal Council; In response to such a decision, the Federal Chancellor must convene the Federal Assembly, which then decides on the indictment. The Federal Assembly must vote in the presence of at least half of the members of the National Council and the Federal Council; a two-thirds majority is required ( Art. 68 B-VG).

Dismissal (political responsibility)

The Federal President can only be deposed by a referendum ( Art. 60 Para. 6 B-VG). This requires an application from the National Council to convene the Federal Assembly (resolution with the same quorums as for federal constitutional laws, i.e. the presence of at least half of the MPs and a two-thirds majority). Once the National Council has decided on the proposal, the Federal Chancellor has to convene the Federal Assembly, which then decides on the proposal (i.e. on the question of whether to hold a referendum). As soon as the National Council has passed a resolution, the Federal President is "prevented from further exercising his office" and is represented by the three Presidents of the National Council ( Art. 64 Para. 1 B-VG). The rejection of the removal by the referendum counts as a new election and results in the dissolution of the National Council; In this case too, the entire term of office of the Federal President may not last more than twelve years.

stand-in

If the Federal President is unable to attend for a short period (up to 20 days), he will be represented by the Federal Chancellor, and from the 21st day by a committee consisting of the three National Council Presidents . This college also represents him if he is deemed to be prevented from doing so because of a decision by the National Council to refer the Federal Assembly to the question of a referendum on the removal of the Federal President ( Art. 64 Para. 4 B-VG). This college is also responsible for performing the tasks of the Federal President if this position is vacant (e.g. in the event of death, after resignation or after the Federal President has been recalled).

resignation

The constitution does not contain any provisions on resignation (resignation from office), which is why it is disputed whether such a de jure is possible.

Legal protection

The Federal President is particularly protected by special criminal law provisions. This includes in particular Section 249 of the Criminal Code , “Violence and dangerous threats against the Federal President”. The offense belongs to the fifteenth section of the Criminal Code, "Attacks on the highest state organs":

"Anyone who undertakes (Section 242, Paragraph 2) to depose the Federal President by force or dangerous threats or to compel or prevent using one of these means to exercise his powers at all or in a certain sense is punishable by imprisonment from one to ten Years to punish. "

In contrast to most offenses, insulting the Federal President is not a private indictment , but an offense of empowerment . The head of state does not have to appear personally as a prosecutor, but authorize the public prosecutor to prosecute him. An example of the application of this provision is the so-called " hump-dump affair ". The title “Federal President” may not be used by anyone other than the current Federal President, even with an addition or in connection with other designations, as it is protected by law.

Election of the Federal President

The Federal President is elected by the federal people on the basis of general, equal, direct, secret, free and personal suffrage . The constitutional basis forms the ( Art. 60 B-VG), the simple statutory provisions with regard to the implementation of the election are set out in the Federal President's Election Act.

Former Habsburg ban

Until the electoral law reform came into effect, which was decided by the National Council on June 16, 2011, according to a provision in the Federal Constitution and in the Federal Presidential Election Act to exclude from the right to stand for election due to origin, "members of governing houses or such families who previously ruled" excluded from running for the office of Federal President. The provision was included in the constitution to exclude members of the Habsburg-Lothringen family from the office of head of state. It no longer applies as of October 1, 2011. The initiative to repeal came from Ulrich Habsburg-Lothringen .

Discussion about changing the term of office

After the 2010 election there was a proposal that the Federal President should be re-elected for an eight-year term with no possibility of re-election. So far, however, the discussion has been unsuccessful. on the basis of criticism from constitutional lawyers .

Election result of the 2016 federal presidential election

Federal President Heinz Fischer was not allowed to stand for re-election. In the first ballot, Norbert Hofer qualified with 35% and Alexander Van der Bellen with 21% of the valid votes for the runoff election. In the runoff election on May 22, 2016, Van der Bellen emerged victorious with 50.3% versus Hofer with 49.7%. However, the Constitutional Court revoked the election because of violations of the electoral regulations in the handling of postal votes and because the first results were published too early, which made it necessary to repeat the second round of voting throughout Austria. In fact, no manipulations could be proven. The date for the redial was initially set for October 2, 2016, but after a glitch in the production of postal voting documents, this election date was postponed to December 4, 2016. On December 4, 2016, Alexander Van der Bellen was able to prevail again with 53.8% against Norbert Hofer with 46.2% of the valid votes.

Austrian Federal President

First Republic (1918–1938)
No.	Surname	Life dates	Taking office	Resignation	Political party	image
1	Karl Seitz	1869-1950	March 15, 1919	December 9, 1920	SDAP
1	Seitz was President of the Constituent National Assembly and thus, as an individual, the first republican head of state in Austria, but he did not have any functional designation in this regard. From October 30, 1918 to March 14, 1919, the three-member State Council Directorate , to which Seitz belonged on an equal footing with Dinghofer and Hauser, acted as head of state. From the time the Federal Constitution came into force on November 10, 1920 until his end of office, Seitz was also formally Federal President.
2	Michael Hainisch	1858-1940	December 9, 1920	December 10, 1928	non-party
3	Wilhelm Miklas	1872-1956	December 10, 1928	March 13, 1938	CS / VF
Second Republic (since 1945)
No.	Surname	Life dates	Taking office	Resignation	Political party	image
1	Karl Renner	1870-1950	December 20, 1945	December 31, 1950 (death)	SPÖ
2	Theodor Koerner	1873-1957	June 21, 1951	January 4, 1957 (death)	SPÖ
3	Adolf Schärf	1890-1965	May 22, 1957	February 28, 1965 (death)	SPÖ
4th	Franz Jonas	1899-1974	June 9, 1965	April 24, 1974 (death)	SPÖ
5	Rudolf Kirchschläger	1915-2000	July 8, 1974	July 8, 1986	Independent proposal of the SPÖ
6th	Kurt Waldheim	1918-2007	July 8, 1986	July 8, 1992	Independent proposal of the ÖVP
7th	Thomas Klestil	1932-2004	July 8, 1992	July 6, 2004 (death)	1. ÖVP 2. independent
7th	Klestil was supported by the SPÖ , ÖVP and FPÖ in 1998 .
8th	Heinz Fischer	* 1938	July 8, 2004	July 8, 2016	1. SPÖ 2. independent
8th	Fischer was set up in 2004 for the first term of office by the SPÖ. For the 2010 election he was supported by the SPÖ and the Greens with election recommendations.
9	Alexander Van der Bellen	* 1944	January 26, 2017		independent candidacy (member of the Greens until May 2016)
9	Van der Bellen's 2016 election campaign was financially supported by the Greens .

useful information

Until the end of 1946, the offices of the Federal President were in the building of the Federal Chancellery . At the initiative of Karl Renner , they were moved to the Leopoldine wing of the Hofburg .

At the age of 50, the first republican head of state, Karl Seitz , was the youngest incumbent to date in 1919/20. (He held the office of Chairman of the Constituent National Assembly of German Austria and could only have held the title of Federal President, which was created with the Federal Constitution , only in the last four weeks of his term of office .)

Theodor Körner was the first federal president elected by the people in 1951.

The youngest Federal President of the Second Republic was Rudolf Kirchschläger , aged 59, and Theodor Körner, the oldest, aged 78.

The youngest candidate was Gertraud Knoll at 39 , the oldest candidate was Richard Lugner at 83 . The legal minimum age for the office of Federal President is 35 years.

After Kurt Waldheim's death in June 2007, no former Federal President was alive until July 2016.

In the Second Republic, five out of eight Federal Presidents died before the end of their term of office, the first four in direct succession as well as Thomas Klestil , who died on July 6, 2004, just two days before the end of his second term of office.

All Federal Presidents who have died so far died in Vienna.

So far, no Federal President has lost a candidacy for re-election.

Only Rudolf Kirchschläger and Heinz Fischer held two full terms as Federal President.

Kurt Waldheim is the only Federal President to date who has reached the end of his first term of office, but has refused to run again.

Wilhelm Miklas retained his office (without re-election) during the period of the corporate state dictatorship , which he had made possible through his passivity.

Alexander Van der Bellen was elected as the first Federal President in the Second Republic, although he was not nominated by either the SPÖ or the ÖVP.

The adjutant of the federal president , a brigadier of the armed forces, is responsible for coordinating the security issues that affect the Federal President . The guard in the Hofburg, such as B. Access control is carried out by the police , the protection of the Federal President when traveling at home and abroad is ensured, depending on availability, by law enforcement officers or foreign security agencies .

There are two flagpoles on the roof of the presidential office in the Vienna Hofburg . If both flags are hoisted (left the Austrian federal service flag , right the European flag ), this means that the Federal President is in the country. However, if the flags are down, he is abroad.

In the case of vehicles that are intended for use by the Federal President on solemn occasions, the license plates may be covered or replaced by plates with the federal coat of arms or the license plate A 1000.

According to the Federal Remuneration Act, the Federal President is entitled to an official residence. If this is not used, the rental and operating costs will be reimbursed. Federal President Klestil and his predecessors from Franz Jonas on lived in the presidential villa in Vienna, which has since been sold and demolished. As Adolf Schärf did, Federal President Fischer continued to live in his private apartment in the 8th district . Alexander Van der Bellen also continues to live privately in his apartment in the 6th district .

The Mürzsteg hunting lodge has served the Federal President as a summer residence since 1947. According to Federal President Fischer's election promise of 2004, it was supposed to be sold, but this has not yet happened.

The vow that the Federal President makes before the Federal Assembly when he takes office reads: "I pledge that I will faithfully observe the constitution and all laws of the republic and will fulfill my duty to the best of my knowledge and belief." ( Art. 62 Para. 1 B -VG). The addition of a religious affirmation is permissible (Paragraph 2).

Since January 1, 2019, the Federal President's remuneration has been 14 × EUR 25,006.50 gross = EUR 350,091.00 annually.

In Section 7 (2) of the Basic Law on Conservation of Compulsory Schools, there is a provision that at least one portrait of the Federal President must be affixed in all compulsory schools. Such portraits were also placed in many federal offices (e.g. police inspections ), although there is no legal basis for this.

One copy of the seal of the Republic of Austria is kept by the Federal President, the other copy by the Federal Chancellor .

On the day of his election, the Federal President is for life the bearer of the Grand Star of the Decoration of Honor for Services to the Republic of Austria .

literature

Manfried Welan : The Federal President - No Emperor in the Republic , Böhlau-Verlag, Vienna, Cologne and Graz 1992, ISBN 3-205-05529-2 (= studies on politics and administration, vol. 40)

Christian Dickinger : The Federal President in the Austrian political system. Innsbruck / Vienna 1999.

Christian Dickinger: Austria's President. From Karl Renner to Thomas Klestil. Ueberreuter, Vienna 2000, ISBN 3-8000-3789-0 .

Richard Kurdiovsky (Ed.): The Austrian Presidential Chancellery in the Vienna Hofburg. Christian Brandstätter Verlag, Vienna 2008, ISBN 978-3-85033-161-6 . (With contributions by Herbert Karner, Richard Kurdiovsky, Marcus Langer, Hellmut Lorenz , Anna Mader, Florian Steininger and Manuel Weinberger; photographs by Manfred Seidl)

The Presidential Chancellery, the official seat of the Austrian Federal President in the Vienna Hofburg . Publishing house of the Austrian State Printing House, 1961.

The Presidential Chancellery, the official seat of the Austrian Federal President in the Vienna Hofburg . Publishing house of the Austrian State Printing House, Vienna 1958.

Web links

Wiktionary: Federal President - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

Commons : Federal President (Austria) - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Official website of the Federal President of the Republic of Austria
Wiener Zeitung : Biographies of Austrian Federal Presidents and Chancellors ( Memento from June 5, 2011 in the Internet Archive )
Entry on Federal President (Austria) in the Austria Forum (in the AEIOU Austria Lexicon )

Individual evidence

↑ StGBl. No. 232/1945
↑ Bundespräsident.at: Start. Retrieved February 25, 2017 .
↑ Karl Ucakar, Stefan Gschiegl: The political system of Austria and the EU. 2nd Edition. 2010, p. 125 f.
^ ^A ^b Theo Öhlinger : Constitutional Law. 7th edition. 2007, margin no. 346ff.
↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Theo Öhlinger: Constitutional law. 7th edition. 2007, margin no. 483ff.
↑ Karl Ucakar, Stefan Gschiegl: The political system of Austria and the EU. 2nd Edition. 2010, p. 132.
^ FPÖ contradicts Kickl: "No decision yet". In: Wiener Zeitung , May 21, 2019, accessed on May 23, 2019.
↑ Layoffs, announcements, speculation. In: ORF .at - Liveticker, May 21, 2019, accessed on May 23, 2019.
^ Words on the occasion of the appointment and swearing in of a transitional government. . Speech by the Federal President of May 22, 2019, accessed on May 24, 2019.
↑ Finding of June 19, 1923 VSlg 216/1923
↑ bundespraesident.at - inauguration and end of office
↑ National Council repairs postal voting. In: The standard . June 16, 2011.
↑ Many wishes for the highest office , in: derStandard.at , accessed on March 19, 2014.
↑ Constitutional lawyer against the eight-year term of office of the Federal President , in: derStandard.at, accessed on March 19, 2014.
↑ diepresse.com - "Hofburg Candidates: Age was never an obstacle"
^ The electoral process , Austrian Presidential Chancellery
↑ interoffice Villa and official residence of the press on 12 December, 2015.
↑ Official Gazette - Announcements, Issue No. 234 of December 4, 2018
^ Moritz Moser: Kaiser and President: The history of school wall portraits . NZZ Austria , September 8, 2015, last accessed April 13, 2017.

[1] StGBl. No. 232/1945

[2] Bundespräsident.at: Start. Retrieved February 25, 2017 .

[3] Karl Ucakar, Stefan Gschiegl: The political system of Austria and the EU. 2nd Edition. 2010, p. 125 f.

[TH346-4] A ^b Theo Öhlinger : Constitutional Law. 7th edition. 2007, margin no. 346ff.

[TH483-5] Theo Öhlinger: Constitutional law. 7th edition. 2007, margin no. 483ff.

[6] Karl Ucakar, Stefan Gschiegl: The political system of Austria and the EU. 2nd Edition. 2010, p. 132.

[7] FPÖ contradicts Kickl: "No decision yet". In: Wiener Zeitung , May 21, 2019, accessed on May 23, 2019.

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