Bettina Vollath

Bettina Vollath (2015)

Bettina Vollath (born October 29, 1962 in Graz ) is an Austrian politician ( SPÖ ). She came to the Styrian state government as a lateral entrant in 2005 and worked as a state councilor for two legislative terms in various departments until 2015. After the state elections in Styria in 2015 , she resigned from the state government and was elected President of the State Parliament on June 16, 2015, which was the first time in the history of Styria that this office was held by a woman. She has been a member of the European Parliament since July 2, 2019 .

School and professional career

Vollath graduated from the Realgymnasium Seebachergasse Graz and then completed a college at the Graz Commercial Academy. She then began studying world trade in Vienna, later switched to law and received her doctorate in 1988 at the Karl-Franzens University in Graz . In the following years she worked in the private sector.

From 1998 to 2000 Vollath completed a four-semester training course as a mediator at the ARGE für Sozialpädagogik in Vienna, worked for two law firms in Graz from 1999 to 2005 and passed her bar exam on October 10, 2005.

Political career

Provincial Councilor

On November 25, 2005, she was appointed as a career changer in the Styrian state government as state councilor for education, youth, women and family. During her term of office, in addition to the start of the New Middle School in Styria, the initiative for a pilot project for “school social work” or the cost exemption for kindergartens also fell.

On September 8, 2009, Governor Franz Voves announced a reallocation of the powers of the state government. A short time later, on September 22, 2009, Bettina Vollath handed over her responsibilities to the new state councilor Elisabeth Grossmann . She received the health agendas from the outgoing Provincial Councilor Helmut Hirt and the cultural department from Provincial Councilor Kurt Flecker , who moved to the head of the Landtag as Landtag President.

After the state elections in Styria in 2010 , she was re-elected at the constituent session of the new state parliament on October 21, 2010 and was given the finance and integration departments in the state government Voves II . After Elisabeth Grossmann resigned as regional councilor in January 2013, Bettina Vollath was also given the women's department and was regional councilor for finance, women and integration until 2015. The budget reform in Styria, the establishment of the Styrian integration partnership, the Charter of Coexistence in Diversity, and the 2020 strategy for women and equality were among her greatest successes.

After the state elections in Styria in 2015 , she left the state government and was elected unanimously on June 16, 2015 at the constituent session of the state parliament as the first woman in the history of Styria as the first woman president of the state parliament of Styria.

Other offices

Bettina Vollath was elected state chairwoman of the BSA Styria on May 9th, 2009 . She intensified the “im_pulse” discourse series within the framework of the BSA. She held this position until January 22, 2016. On June 23, 2016, she was appointed honorary chairman of the BSA Styria.

At the 32nd regular state party conference of the SPÖ Styria on October 17, 2009, Bettina Vollath was elected as deputy chairwoman of the SPÖ Styria. After the reform party congress of the SPÖ Styria in 2014, she was elected as a member of the state party executive at the party congress on January 23, 2016 and is also a member of the steering team of the SPÖ Styria as well as deputy regional women chairwoman. The Styrian politician is also a member of the federal party executive committee of the SPÖ, a member of the federal women's executive committee and vice-president of the BSA Austria. In the SPÖ Graz she is a member of the regional board, the regional women’s board and the management team of the SPÖ women. Since April 9, 2016, Vollath has been a board member of the non-profit and non-partisan association “Partnership of Parliaments eV” based in Berlin.

In the European elections in Austria 2019 , she ran for the SPÖ in fourth place on the list . With the constituent session of the 9th European Parliament on July 2, 2019, she moved into the European Parliament as a member. Gabriele Kolar succeeded her as President of the State Parliament . Thomas Stoimaier took over her state parliament mandate .