Olga Rudel-Zeynek

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Memorial plaque for Olga Rudel-Zeynek at her house in Graz

Olga Rudel-Zeynek (born: Olga von Zeynek ; born January 28, 1871 in Olmütz , Moravia ; † August 25, 1948 in Graz , Styria ) was an Austrian politician .

Life

Childhood and youth

Olga Rudel-Zeynek was born the second of three children and the only daughter of the school principal Gustav Ritter von Zeynek and his wife Marie; her mother's father was the mathematician Franz von Mocnik . Her brothers were named Richard and Theodor . After her father was promoted to school inspector for elementary schools and teacher training institutions in Silesia in 1872 , the family moved to Opava , where Zeynek spent the rest of her childhood. The children of the Zeyneks enjoyed a good privileged upbringing; Olga even kicked at the public school into a school for Higher daughters of the Ursulines in Jeseník was headed. Even as a young girl, she was socially and politically interested in what would be of use to her later in life. In 1881 the Zeynek family moved to Vienna , where their father, who had recently been knighted, had found a job in the Federal Ministry for Education, Art and Culture .

Here she also met her husband, the imperial-royal officer Rudolf Rudel, whom she married in 1897. After that, she often had to change her place of residence with her husband and lived in various garrison towns of the then Austro-Hungarian monarchy, including Nowy Sącz , Trient , Lemberg , Sopron and Ternopil . When the First World War broke out in 1914, Rudel-Zeynek stayed with relatives in Graz. Her husband was wounded several times at the front and from September 1915 he was Vice President of the Imperial and Royal Supreme Court of Justice in Vienna. However, Olga Rudel-Zeynek refused to move to Vienna and stayed in Graz. The marriage of the two was divorced in May 1918, after around 21 years of marriage.

Political career

During the war Rudel-Zeynek helped out in a poor kitchen in Graz; She was also active in various charitable organizations and was involved in the Catholic women's organization. She began to write fairy tales that she published in various newspapers. She also gave lectures on social issues and pointed out the importance of women in times of war.

After the collapse of the monarchy and the proclamation of the republic , women were given the right to vote. Olga Rudel-Zeynek used this opportunity to make women aware of the need for their right to vote; at the same time, she wanted women to hold political offices. Her plan was viewed with hostility by many men; at one of their lectures a male viewer is said to have shouted : Damn women, stick with your wooden spoons! Another shouted: Better a Chinese than a female MP!

In the election of the constituent National Assembly , which was held in February 1919, Olga Rudel-Zeynek was nominated by the Christian Social Party (CSP) as third in the list for the constituency of Graz and the surrounding area, but narrowly missed entry into the National Council . When the election for the Styrian Landtag took place in May 1919 , she ran again, also found herself in third place on the electoral list, but this time she was more lucky. Together with the female MPs Marianne Kaufmann (CSP) and Martha Tausk ( SPÖ ) she moved into the state parliament. Olga Rudel-Zeynek penetrated numerous formerly male domains and, among other things, sat on the economic committee of the state parliament, and was particularly committed to issues relating to women’s and educational policy.

In the election to the National Council in October 1920, Rudel-Zeynek failed to get into parliament again, but was lucky two months later. When the MP Kaspar Hosch resigned from his seat, Rudel-Zeynek was able to take his seat in the National Council in December 1920. When parliament was re-elected in 1923, she was lucky again as this time she was given a direct mandate . Olga Rudel-Zeynek was a member of the National Council until May 18, 1927. Among other things, she sat on the Justice and Education Committee of Parliament and in 1922 was able to ratify the law that is still valid today, which prohibited the sale of alcohol to young people. She was also particularly committed to women's affairs and was thus able, among other things, to ensure that girls should also have the same educational opportunities as boys. In the election to the National Council in 1927, she did not run again; There are different statements about whether it was voluntary or whether she was no longer nominated by her party. Despite a resolution by the Christian Social Women at the party congress in 1927, who called for Rudel-Zeynek to return to the National Council, he was denied a place on the list in the 1930 National Council election.

In May 1927 she was sent to the Federal Council and took over the chairmanship on December 1 of the same year when Styria was granted the opportunity to appoint the President of the Federal Council. Olga Rudel-Zeynek was thus the first modern woman to head a parliamentary body in a state. After the end of the legislative period on October 6, 1930, Rudel-Zeynek was re-elected to the Federal Council on December 4, 1930. On June 1, 1932, she succeeded in taking over the presidency of the Federal Council, which she held until November 30, 1932. Her departure from the Federal Council in April 1934 also went hand in hand with the dissolution of the Federal Council.

In addition to her national political tasks, Olga Rudel-Zeynek was also involved in Styrian matters and was able to save the Upper Styrian town of Eisenerz from economic ruin through donations from Switzerland .

Last years of life

Tomb at the Mödlinger Friedhof

How Olga Rudel-Zeynek fared after 1934 is only partially certain. She came out early on against the emergence of National Socialism and after the annexation of Austria to Germany only practiced silent opposition. She spent the last years of the war in Graz, where she witnessed massive air raids by the Allies .

After the war she wrote columns for daily newspapers and urged women to exercise their right to vote in the state elections in autumn 1945.

Olga Rudel-Zeynek died of a stroke on August 25, 1948, at the age of 77 . She was buried in the family grave in Mödling .

Awards & honors

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Olga-Rudel-Zeynek-Gasse in Graz • Strasseensuche.at. In: strassensuche.at. Retrieved July 17, 2020 .
personal data
SURNAME Rudel-Zeynek, Olga
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Zeynek, Olga von (maiden name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austrian politician (CSP), member of the state parliament, member of the National Council, member of the Federal Council
DATE OF BIRTH January 28, 1871
PLACE OF BIRTH Olomouc , Czech Republic
DATE OF DEATH August 25, 1948
Place of death Graz