Thomas Schmid (Secretary General)

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Thomas Schmid (born October 30, 1975 in Kirchberg in Tirol ) was an employee in the cabinets of Austrian ministries and manager of a public company in the Republic of Austria . He is perceived as a close confidante of Sebastian Kurz .

Life

Schmid comes from Westendorf in Tyrol and, after attending the Kitzbühel Commercial Academy, completed a master's degree in law (2002) and a master's degree in political science (2006) at the University of Vienna . From 2000 he initially worked as an employee in a law firm in Vienna and from 2003 he completed his court year . In 2004 he was a member of Paul Rübig's parliamentary team in the European Parliament , then successively press officer in two different ministries. From 2007 to 2008 he was the office managerby Wolfgang Schüssel , then club chairman of the ÖVP in the National Council . From 2008 he worked as a press spokesman in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In 2013 he was appointed head of cabinet to the Ministry of Finance . In 2015, he also took on the role of Secretary General there . In 2019 he was appointed to the Management Board of Österreichische Beteiligungs AG . Schmid resigned from this position on June 8, 2021 and has also resigned from all related supervisory board mandates.

In September 2019 it became known that an anonymous complaint against Schmid had been received by the business and corruption prosecutor because of his alleged involvement in the casino affair . The supervisory board of the state holding decided in mid-May 2021 that the CEO's trust would not be withdrawn - despite current investigations into suspected cocaine use. The question of whether Sebastian Kurz was only informed, but not involved, when Thomas Schmid was appointed sole director of ÖBAG, concerns the public prosecutor's office for business and corruption, which Kurz has accused of false statements three times. Schmid is also accused of having tailored the tender documents for the ÖBAG chairmanship to suit himself and that he himself chose the supervisory board, which later formally appointed him. Before he was appointed to the ÖBAG board, Schmid asked the chancellor not to make him “a board member without mandates”. Kurz's answer: "You can get anything you want anyway."

criticism

Schmid referred to people in chats as “rabble” because he had to return his diplomatic passport and forego the associated privileges, and as “animals” because he had to personally pick up an extract from the criminal record at the office. This led to outrage from all opposition parties. The former FPÖ party leader Norbert Hofer showed solidarity "with the 'rabble' and the 'animals'". A few hours after his resignation, Schmid apologized for his chats: "Today I see clearly that that was wrong and cynical."

satire

The German satirist Jan Böhmermann dedicated the title “Turquoise Autocracy” to Chancellor Kurz and the Chancellor Party in the May 7, 2021 episode of ZDF's Royale magazine , which received around 1.5 million views a week after it was broadcast on YouTube. The focus is on turquoise scandals and exciters of the past months, from chat logs and dick pics to René Benko's entry into the "Krone". Thomas Schmid was also the subject of the satire.

Publications (selection)

  • Europe even more so now. Why seemingly old-fashioned ideas are particularly important for the crisis. In: Daniel Dettling, Christian Schüle : Minima Moralia of the next society. Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften, Wiesbaden 2009, pp. 159–177.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ The Tyrolean Thomas Schmid becomes sole director of ÖBAG. Retrieved September 10, 2019 .
  2. ↑ Öbag boss Thomas Schmid resigned with immediate effect. Retrieved June 8, 2021 .
  3. ^ Kurier (Vienna): Casinos-Causa: Anonymous complaint against ex-Finance Minister Löger , September 6, 2019
  4. ↑ michael.nikbakhsh: The case of Thomas Schmid: The Chancellor confidante and cocaine. June 5, 2020, accessed May 15, 2021 .
  5. ↑ Simon Hackspiel: Despite drug investigations: Thomas Schmid is allowed to remain ÖBAG boss. June 17, 2020, accessed May 15, 2021 .
  6. ↑ tagesschau.de: Investigations against Kurz: "Everything you want". Retrieved May 15, 2021 .
  7. ↑ Stephan Löwenstein, Vienna: Austria: Public Prosecutor's Office is investigating Chancellor Kurz . In: FAZ.NET . ISSN  0174-4909 ( faz.net [accessed May 15, 2021]).
  8. ↑ a b ORF : Schmid apologizes for chats , June 8, 2021
  9. ↑ ÖBAG: Schmid "joked" about boat people and the "mob". May 31, 2021, accessed June 1, 2021 .
  10. ↑ No more diplomatic passport for Thomas Schmid. In: zackzack.at. Accessed June 1, 2021 (German).
  11. ↑ ORF at / Agencies red: Criticism of Schmid: New chats, new requests for resignation. June 1, 2021, accessed June 1, 2021 .
  12. ↑ Vienna.at: New Chats: ÖBAG boss Schmid referred to people as "rabble" and "animals". June 1, 2021, accessed June 8, 2021 .
  13. ↑ ZDF Magazin Royale from May 7, 2021. Accessed on May 16, 2021 .
  14. ↑ Anneliese Rohrer: Sebastian Kurz: At the expense of the democratic institutions. In: The time . May 12, 2021, accessed May 16, 2021 .
personal data
SURNAME Schmid, Thomas
BRIEF DESCRIPTION top Austrian civil servant and manager
DATE OF BIRTH October 30, 1975
PLACE OF BIRTH Austria