Ernst Eugen Veselsky

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Ernst Eugen Veselsky (standing, first from left) in the Kreisky I cabinet (1970)

Ernst Eugen Veselsky (born December 2, 1932 in Vienna ; † June 29, 2014 in Villach ) was an Austrian economist and politician ( SPÖ ).

Life

Ernst Eugen Veselsky studied at the University of Vienna Law and Economics . In 1950 he joined the socialist students, whose chairman he was 1953/1954, and later became involved in the young generation of the SPÖ in Vorarlberg (chairman 1961–1963). In 1956 he obtained his doctorate (2006 honorary golden renewal for special services in science and practice). From 1956 he worked in various functions in the Chamber of Labor , first in Vienna, then in Vorarlberg, then again in Vienna until 1970, most recently in 1977–1983 after his government function.

In 1965 he became managing director of the advisory board for economic and social issues of the Austrian social partners , which functioned as an important forum for discussion between representatives of the government and the opposition, especially during the time of the ÖVP's sole government ( Federal Government Klaus II ) 1966–1970. In 1967, Bruno Kreisky took over the party chairmanship from Bruno Pittermann in the SPÖ .

From 1967 Veselsky dedicated himself to the recruiting and coordination of those legendary 1,400 experts who worked out a reform program for the SPÖ, with the help of which Kreisky won first a relative majority in 1970 and then an absolute majority in 1971. 1967/1968 Veselsky was the coordinator of the Economic Assembly of the SPÖ and main author of the SPÖ's 1968 economic program. 1968–1970 he was a member of the General Council of the National Bank for the SPÖ .

From 1970, the first electoral success of several Kreiskys, until 1986 Veselsky was an SPÖ member of the National Council , from 1986 to 1988 he was a member of the Federal Council .

In 1970 he was nominated by Kreisky as the new Federal Chancellor as State Secretary in the Federal Chancellery , where he was responsible for economic coordination (see Federal Government Kreisky I , II and III ). Veselsky did not have a good relationship with the then finance minister Hannes Androsch , one of the stars of the SPÖ.

In the autumn of 1977, the intention was in the media to introduce a so-called “ luxury tax ”, a value added tax rate that was increased by 10 percentage points on January 1, 1978 on cars and other durable consumer goods. (Veselsky suspected that this indiscretion was an intrigue from Androsch's office, who opposed the tax increases.) Kreisky demanded that Veselsky deny the plan; Veselsky rejected the untruthful denial and resigned as State Secretary on October 5, 1977; Adolf Nussbaumer succeeded him.

In 2011 Veselsky recalled the following dialogue with Kreisky:

Interviewer question: What were Kreisky's last words to you?
Veselsky: He said: "When I think about it, you were the worst Secretary of State I have ever had. But you could have been my best minister, only fate would not have."
Sounds forgiving.
Veselsky: I replied: "You are the biggest disappointment of my life. I lost my father early. If you treated me badly, I thought it was upbringing. But that was pure sadism."

The SPÖ faction in parliament subsequently elected him its economic spokesman. The tax increases were decided on January 1, 1978.

From 1980 to 1995 Veselsky was chairman of the Austrian data protection council; in this capacity he acted against the great eavesdropping . In 1995 he resigned the chairmanship because, in his opinion, the governing parties SPÖ and ÖVP paid too little attention to data protection.

The Vienna daily Der Standard wrote in an obituary of Veselsky, he had to anyway not numerous Austrian politicians counted, who have remained faithful in matters of conscience to its principles . The indomitable Social Democrat had earned a high degree of respect with two resignations .

Publications

  • Economic miracle without economic policy , Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1968
  • From balance fetishism to rational financial policy , Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1969
  • Austria 1984 (one year after Orwell) , Vienna 1973
  • Social Policies for the 80ies , OECD , Paris 1979
  • Explosive device data protection , Vienna 1995
  • The future of Austria in the age of nanotechnology , Vienna 2005

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Obituary in the daily newspaper Wiener Zeitung , Vienna, website of June 30, 2014
  2. ↑ Robert Kriechbaumer: The Kreisky era . Volume 22 of the series of publications of the Research Institute for Political-Historical Studies of the Dr.-Wilfried-Haslauer-Bibliothek . Böhlau, Vienna 2004, ISBN 3-205-77262-8 , p. 47 ( limited preview in Google Book search). Walter Pollak: Socialism in Austria . Econ, 1979, ISBN 3-430-17580-1 , pp.
     256 ( limited preview in Google Book Search). Maria Wirth: Christian Broda: A Political Biography . Volume 5 of Contemporary History In Context . V&R unipress GmbH, 2011, ISBN 978-3-89971-829-4 , p.
     388 ( limited preview in Google Book search).
  3. ↑ Interview of the Kleine Zeitung , Klagenfurt, website of July 23, 2011 ( Memento of June 28, 2013 in the Internet Archive )
personal data
SURNAME Veselsky, Ernst Eugen
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austrian economist and politician (SPÖ), member of the National Council, member of the Federal Council
DATE OF BIRTH December 2, 1932
PLACE OF BIRTH Vienna
DATE OF DEATH June 29, 2014
Place of death Villach