Alois Mock

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Alois Mock (1986)
Alois Mock, Sarajevo

Alois Mock (born June 10, 1934 in Euratsfeld , Lower Austria ; † June 1, 2017 in Vienna ) was an Austrian politician ( ÖVP ). He was Vice Chancellor , Education and Foreign Minister of the Republic of Austria .

Political career

After studying law at the University of Vienna , which he completed in 1957 with a doctorate in law , he went on to study at the Bologna Center at Johns Hopkins University from 1957 to 1958 and at the Université Libre de Bruxelles from 1960 to 1961. In between was Mock works as a consultant for university policy issues in the Austrian Ministry of Education. Since his student days he was a member of the Catholic ÖCV student association KaV Norica Vienna , later also the KÖHV Franco-Bavaria Vienna , the AV Austria Innsbruck and the KAV Capitolina Rome, honorary member of the KÖL Maximiliana Vienna in the KÖL , as well as a member of the K.Ö.St. V. Ostaricia Vienna and honorary member of the K.Ö.St.V. Ostarrichia Amstetten - both MKV.

Alois Mock was assigned to the Federal Chancellery from 1961 as a consultant for EEC and EFTA issues, and from 1962 to 1966 to the Austrian OECD representation in Paris. With the beginning of the sole government of the ÖVP in 1966, he became secretary and head of cabinet to Federal Chancellor Josef Klaus and an official of the Federal Ministry for Foreign Affairs . From 1969 to 1970 he was Austria's youngest education minister in the Klaus government.

After the victory of the SPÖ under Bruno Kreisky in the National Council election in Austria in 1970 , he became a member of the National Council for the ÖVP and mayor of Euratsfeld until 1971 . His many years of work for the Christian Democratic workers made Mock federal chairman of the ÖAAB from 1971 to 1979. He was initially executive ÖVP club chairman, before he was also officially club chairman of the ÖVP in the National Council from July 7, 1979 to 1987 . In addition, Mock was from 1979 (election on July 7, 1979 at a special party congress with 97.5% of the vote) to 1989 ÖVP federal party chairman . Mock had been honorary party leader of the Austrian People's Party (ÖVP) since 1995.

From 1979 Alois Mock was President of the European Democratic Union (EDU), in whose founding he played a major role and which he chaired until 1998. From 1983 to 1987 he was President of the International Democratic Union (IDU).

Minister of Education

From 1969 to 1970 Mock was Federal Minister for Education, Science, Research, Art, Culture and Sport . After a referendum to prevent a planned 13th school year, he set up a school reform commission, in 1970 achieved the passing of the federal law on the establishment of the University of Education, today's University of Klagenfurt , and the establishment of the first bilingual grammar school in Klagenfurt .

Foreign minister

Alois Mock as a guest speaker on May 25, 1983 at the CDU's 31st federal party conference in Cologne .

Mock was Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs from 1987 to 1995 and led Austria's accession negotiations with the EU . On June 27, 1989, in a large-scale media campaign, he and his Hungarian counterpart Gyula Horn symbolically cut the Iron Curtain near Sopron (Ödenburg) . The dismantling of the border and the opening of the border on September 11, 1989 enabled many citizens of the GDR to leave the country and contributed to the collapse of the Eastern Bloc .

Mock is considered the "father of Austria's accession to the EU". On July 17, 1989, he submitted Austria's application to join the European Communities and, together with Brigitte Ederer , who represented Chancellor Franz Vranitzky as State Secretary , concluded the accession negotiations in Brussels on March 1, 1994. In the following referendum, 66.6% of Austrians decided to join what was then the EC.

In 1991 Mock urged the Federal Republic of Germany, especially its Chancellor Kohl and Foreign Minister Genscher , to recognize the Yugoslav republics of Slovenia and Croatia as independent states as quickly as possible . The humanitarian engagement in the former Yugoslavia was a personal concern of his. Mock is very popular in Croatia. In November 1989 he was the godfather for the establishment of the Central European Pentagonale cooperation.

In 1992, Mock achieved the conclusion of the negotiations on the South Tyrol Package and the settlement of disputes before the UN . In 1993 he headed the UN World Conference on Human Rights in Vienna , which succeeded in reaffirming the fundamental principles of the universality and indivisibility of human rights despite differences between Western countries and the so-called developing countries .

From 1970 to 1987 and 1995 to 1999 he was a member of the National Council .

Defense Minister

In 1990, in addition to his post as Foreign Minister, Alois Mock was briefly entrusted with continuing the administration of the Federal Ministry of Defense , as the previous Minister Robert Lichal took over the post of Second National Council President on November 6, 1990 . Mock held both offices until December 17, 1990, after which Werner Fasslabend took over the defense department and led it until 2000.

Retired

Edith Mock at the presentation of the Dr. Alois Mock Europe Prize with Michael Spindelegger (2017)

According to his wife Edith, Mock's illness began with uncontrolled movements, which doctors initially interpreted differently and which the public first noticed on the evening of the 1986 National Council election . It was not until February 1995 that Parkinson's disease was correctly diagnosed, at that time in a light form that did not hinder his work. In 2014, it allowed him only short periods of concentration and severely restricted his mobility until the end. He was cared for by his wife, with whom he was married for 51 years. The couple had no children.

For his 80th birthday, he was honored on June 10, 2014 in the Vienna Hofburg with a ceremony organized by the ÖVP. Federal President Heinz Fischer praised Mock as a man of inviolable integrity and an enthusiastic European . As Mock, sitting in a wheelchair, was unable to speak due to illness, his wife thanked him for the honor and told anecdotes from his life.

In 2019, Alois-Mock-Gasse was named after him in Vienna- Döbling (19th district) .

Awards

Academic honors

Works (selection)

Foundation, endowment

Presentation of the Dr. Alois Mock Europe Prize to Benita Ferrero-Waldner (2017)

In his honor, the Dr. Alois Mock Europe Foundation was set up to support activities related to the peaceful integration of Europe. The Alois Mock European Prize has been awarded annually by the foundation since 2002 . The following people received these awards:

literature

Web links

Commons : Alois Mock  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Dr. Alois Mock, biography. Retrieved October 27, 2017 .
  2. ↑ https://www.parlament.gv.at/PAKT/VHG/XIV/WD/WD_00001/imfname_215529.pdf
  3. ↑ https://www.parlament.gv.at/PAKT/VHG/XV/WD/WD_00001/imfname_214891.pdf
  4. ↑ Arbeiter-Zeitung of July 8, 1979: The 9th VP chairman is Alois Mock (accessed on June 1, 2017)
  5. ↑ Beginning and turning point - a photo makes history
  6. ↑ So much for the beginning of the end in the press on June 19, 2009, accessed on September 27, 2013.
  7. ↑ Martin Eichtinger, Helmut Wohnout: Alois Mock - A politician writes history. Styria, Vienna, Graz, Klagenfurt 2008, ISBN 978-3-222-13234-6 . ( Google Books ).
  8. ^ The Defense Ministers of the Second Republic on the website of the Federal Ministry for National Defense and Sport .
  9. ^ Alois Mock on the website of the Austrian Parliament .
  10. ↑ Georg Markus : "We were always a team". This is the first time his wife speaks about his illness. In: daily newspaper Kurier am Sonntag. Vienna, No. 157, June 8, 2014, p. 6.
  11. ↑ Alois Mock is celebrated as a statesman and EU hero in the 80s , in: Daily Kurier , Vienna, No. 159, June 11, 2014, p. 4.
  12. ↑ AAS 82 (1990), n. 13, p. 1598.
  13. ^ Alois Mock Foundation , accessed on November 28, 2015.
  14. ^ Mock European Prize for Schwarzenberg on ORF from June 21, 2013
  15. ↑ Miro Gavran primio europsku nagradu 'Dr. Alois Mock European Prize 2017. ' of December 21, 2017 Retrieved December 21, 2017 (Croatian)
personal data
SURNAME Mock, Alois
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austrian politician (ÖVP), member of the National Council
DATE OF BIRTH June 10, 1934
PLACE OF BIRTH Euratsfeld , Lower Austria
DATE OF DEATH June 1, 2017
Place of death Vienna