Alfred Gusenbauer facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Alfred Gusenbauer
Gusenbauer in 2008
Chancellor of Austria
In office 11 January 2007 – 2 December 2008
President	Heinz Fischer
Vice-Chancellor	Wilhelm Molterer
Preceded by	Wolfgang Schüssel
Succeeded by	Werner Faymann
Chair of the Social Democratic Party
In office 28 April 2000 – 8 August 2008
Preceded by	Viktor Klima
Succeeded by	Werner Faymann
Member of the National Council
In office 30 October 2006 – 15 January 2007
Succeeded by	Gabriele Binder-Maier
Constituency	3C – Mostviertel
In office 29 January 1993 – 29 October 2006
Constituency	3 – Lower Austria
Member of the Federal Council
In office 21 February 1991 – 28 January 1993
Constituency	3 – Lower Austria
Personal details
Born	(1960-02-08) 8 February 1960 (age 65) Sankt Pölten, Austria
Political party	Social Democratic Party
Alma mater	University of Vienna

Alfred Gusenbauer (born 8 February 1960) is an Austrian politician. He worked for the Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ) for many years. He was the leader of the SPÖ from 2000 to 2008. From January 2007 to December 2008, he served as the Chancellor of Austria. This is like being the head of the government. After his time as Chancellor, he started working as a consultant and lecturer. He also joined the boards of several Austrian companies.

Early Life and Education

Alfred Gusenbauer was born in Sankt Pölten, Austria, on 8 February 1960. He went to high school in Wieselburg. Later, he studied political science, philosophy, and law at the University of Vienna. He earned his doctorate in political science in 1987.

Before becoming a top politician, Gusenbauer was active in youth politics. He led the Socialist Youth Austria from 1984 to 1990. He was also a vice-president for international youth socialist groups. From 1990 to 1999, he worked as a researcher. He focused on economic policy at the Austrian Chamber of Labour.

Leading the Social Democratic Party

In 1991, Alfred Gusenbauer became a leader in the SPÖ party in Ybbs an der Donau. He also joined the party's executive board for Lower Austria. In the same year, he was elected to the Bundesrat. This is the upper house of the Austrian Parliament. He represented Lower Austria there.

He was part of Austria's team at the Council of Europe meetings in 1991. From 1995 to 1998, he led the social committee for the Council of Europe. In the Bundesrat, he also chaired the Committee for Development Co-operation from 1996 to 1999.

In 2000, Gusenbauer became the leader of the SPÖ group in the Bundesrat. He also became the party's secretary-general. Under his leadership, the SPÖ gained more votes and seats in the 2002 elections. However, they did not win enough to form a government. The Austrian People's Party (ÖVP) stayed in power. Gusenbauer had promised more social spending and some tax cuts during his campaign.

In 2006, the SPÖ faced some challenges. This was due to issues with a bank called BAWAG. The bank was owned by the Austrian Trade Union Federation (ÖGB). Even though the SPÖ party itself was not involved, Gusenbauer decided to remove some ÖGB leaders from the SPÖ candidate lists. This decision caused some disagreements.

Becoming Chancellor of Austria

After the 2006 elections, the SPÖ became the largest party. However, they did not have a clear majority of seats in Parliament. So, the SPÖ and the ÖVP decided to form a "grand coalition." This means the two biggest parties worked together to govern.

On 11 January 2007, Alfred Gusenbauer became the Chancellor of Austria. He led this coalition government.

In July 2007, Gusenbauer led Austria's team to the International Olympic Committee meeting. They presented the city of Salzburg as a possible host for the 2014 Winter Olympics. However, another city, Sochi, was chosen instead.

Gusenbauer faced some criticism during his time as Chancellor. This was because his government changed some promises made during the election. For example, they did not remove university tuition fees as planned. Instead, students were asked to do community service. This led to some student protests. There were also disagreements within his own party about his leadership.

On 16 June 2008, Werner Faymann took over as the new head of the SPÖ party. Faymann was Gusenbauer's transport minister. Gusenbauer officially remained Chancellor until after the 2008 snap elections. These elections were called in July 2008 when the ÖVP left the government. Gusenbauer's time as Chancellor was the shortest since World War II.

Life After Politics

After leaving his role as Chancellor, Alfred Gusenbauer briefly returned to his old job at the Chamber of Labour. Soon after, he started taking on new roles in private companies and non-profit groups.

In 2009, he was considered for an important European role. However, another Austrian politician was chosen instead.

Working with Companies

Alfred Gusenbauer has served on the boards of several companies. In July 2009, he joined the board of Alpine Holding, a construction company. He later became the head of the supervisory board for Strabag, another leading construction company, in June 2010. He also became the chairman of a private foundation set up by Strabag's chairman.

He also works as a consultant for leaders in other countries. For example, he has advised the president of Kazakhstan. In September 2013, he became an advisor to the deputy prime minister of Serbia.

Other companies and groups he has worked with include:

• Citigroup, as a member of their European Advisory Board.
• CUDOS Capital AG, as chairman of their supervisory board.
• Equitas Capital, as a board member.
• Gabriel Resources, as a member of their board of directors.
• Haselsteiner Familien-Privatstiftung, as chairman.
• RHI AG, as a member of their supervisory board.
• Wartenfels Privatstiftung, as chairman of the board.
• He is also involved with Signa Holding, a real estate company. He has chaired the supervisory boards of several Signa companies.

Non-Profit Work

From 2009 to 2011, Gusenbauer was a special fellow at Columbia University in New York.

He is also involved with several non-profit organizations:

• Austrian Society for China Studies (ÖGCF), as president of the board.
• Austrian-Spanish Chamber of Commerce, as president.
• Bonner Akademie für Forschung und Lehre praktischer Politik (BAPP), as a board member.
• Club de Madrid, as a member.
• Dr. Karl Renner Institute, as president.
• Verein für Geschichte der ArbeiterInnenbewegung, as a board member.

See Also

In Spanish: Alfred Gusenbauer para niños

• Gusenbauer cabinet