List of chancellors of Austria facts for kids

Clockwise from top left:

• Renner was the first chancellor of German-Austria, the First Republic, and the Second Republic.
• Dollfuss turned the First Republic into a dictatorship.
• Bierlein was Austria's first female Chancellor.
• Kreisky is considered perhaps Austria's most successful Socialist leader and also the longest serving Chancellor.

The chancellor of Austria is like the main leader of the government in Austria. Think of them as the country's chief executive, similar to a prime minister in other countries. The President chooses the chancellor. The chancellor is in charge of the Cabinet, which is a team of important ministers who help run the country. The Vice-Chancellor is also part of this team.

Austria's Chancellors: A Historical Overview

After World War I, the role of chancellor was created on October 30, 1918. It was first called the state chancellor of the Republic of German-Austria. Karl Renner was the very first person to hold this important job.

The First Austrian Republic and its Leaders

Later, the Allied powers (countries that fought against Germany and Austria in WWI) did not allow German-Austria to join with the Weimar Republic (Germany at that time). So, Austria became the federal First Austrian Republic. The job title changed from state chancellor to federal chancellor. Michael Mayr was the first federal chancellor.

Ten chancellors served during the First Republic. Then, Chancellor Engelbert Dollfuss changed the country into a strict, one-person rule system. This was called the Federal State of Austria. After Dollfuss was killed by Austrian National Socialists, Kurt Schuschnigg took over. He continued the strict government. Schuschnigg was then replaced by Arthur Seyss-Inquart, who was a Nazi supporter. He was chancellor for only two days before Austria became part of Nazi Germany.

Austria Under Nazi Germany

When Austria was part of Nazi Germany, it lost its own government. It was controlled by German officials. In 1940, Austria was even renamed "Ostmark." It completely lost its independence and became just a part of Nazi Germany.

After Vienna was freed and Nazi Germany gave up in 1945, Austria became a republic again. However, other countries still occupied Austria until 1955. This meant that the Allied Control Council still had the final say in how Austria was run.

Political Parties and Chancellors

Since Austria became a republic again, two main political parties have been very important: the Austrian People's Party (ÖVP) and the Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ). The People's Party (and its earlier version, the Christian Social Party) has led the government many times. The Social Democratic Party has also led many governments.

Some other parties have been part of the government as well, but they have never had a chancellor from their own party. These include the Freedom Party and the Greens.

How a Chancellor is Chosen

After an election, or if the chancellor's job becomes empty, the president usually chooses the leader of the biggest party in Parliament to be the new chancellor. The chancellor then suggests who should be the other ministers in the Cabinet.

If a chancellor dies, quits, or cannot do their job, the vice-chancellor steps in as acting chancellor. If the vice-chancellor is not available, other ministers take over based on their seniority.

Longest and Shortest Serving Chancellors

Bruno Kreisky was the chancellor for the longest time, serving for more than thirteen years. On the other hand, Arthur Seyss-Inquart was chancellor for the shortest time, only two days. Walter Breisky was the shortest-serving acting chancellor, holding the position for just one day.

Chancellors

     Acting chancellors

No.	Portrait	Name (born–died)	Term of office			Party		Elected	Cabinet coalition	Ref.
			Took office	Left office	Time in office
1		Karl Renner (1870–1950)	30 October 1918	7 July 1920	1 year, 251 days		SDAPÖ	1919	Renner I–II–III • SDAPÖ • CS • GDVP
2		Michael Mayr (1864–1922)	7 July 1920	21 June 1921	349 days		CS	1920	Mayr I–II • CS • SDAPÖ
3		Johannes Schober (1874–1932)	21 June 1921	26 January 1922	344 days		IND	–	Schober I • CS • GDVP • Technocrats
4		Walter Breisky (1871–1944)	26 January 1922	27 January 1922	1 day		CS	–	Breisky • CS • GDVP
(3)		Johannes Schober (1874–1932)	27 January 1922	31 May 1922	124 days		IND	–	Schober II • CS • GDVP • Technocrats
5		Ignaz Seipel (1876–1932)	31 May 1922	20 November 1924	2 years, 173 days		CS	1923	Seipel I–II–III • CS • GDVP • Technocrats
6		Rudolf Ramek (1881–1941)	20 November 1924	20 October 1926	1 year, 334 days		CS	–	Ramek I–II • CS • GDVP
(5)		Ignaz Seipel (1876–1932)	20 October 1926	4 May 1929	2 years, 196 days		CS	1927	Seipel IV–V • CS • GDVP • LBd
7		Ernst Streeruwitz (1874–1952)	4 May 1929	26 September 1929	145 days		CS	–	Streeruwitz • CS • LBd
(3)		Johannes Schober (1874–1932)	26 September 1929	30 September 1930	1 year, 4 days		IND	–	Schober III • CS
8		Carl Vaugoin (1873–1949)	30 September 1930	4 December 1930	65 days		CS	–	Vaugoin • CS
9		Otto Ender (1875–1960)	4 December 1930	20 June 1931	198 days		CS	1930	Ender • CS
10		Karl Buresch (1878–1936)	20 June 1931	20 May 1932	335 days		CS	–	Buresch I–II • CS • LBd
11		Engelbert Dollfuss (1892–1934)	20 May 1932	25 July 1934 †	2 years, 66 days		CS	–	Dollfuss I • CS • LBd • Heimwehr 20 May 1932 – 1 May 1934 Dollfuss II • VF 1 May 1934 – 25 July 1934
											VF
–		Prince Ernst Rüdiger Starhemberg (1899–1956)	25 July 1934	29 July 1934	4 days		VF	–	Dollfuss II • VF
12		Kurt Schuschnigg (1897–1977)	29 July 1934	11 March 1938	3 years, 225 days		VF	–	Schuschnigg I–II–III–IV–V • VF
13		Arthur Seyss-Inquart (1892–1946)	11 March 1938	13 March 1938	2 days		NSDAP	–	Seyss-Inquart • NSDAP
Austria was part of Nazi Germany from 13 March 1938 to 27 April 1945
(1)		Karl Renner (1870–1950)	27 April 1945	20 December 1945	237 days		SPÖ	–	Renner IV • SPÖ • ÖVP • KPÖ
14		Leopold Figl (1902–1965)	20 December 1945	2 April 1953	7 years, 103 days		ÖVP	1945	Figl I–II–III • ÖVP • SPÖ
								1949
15		Julius Raab (1891–1964)	2 April 1953	11 April 1961	8 years, 9 days		ÖVP	1953	Raab I–II–III–IV • ÖVP • SPÖ
								1956
								1959
16		Alfons Gorbach (1898–1972)	11 April 1961	2 April 1964	2 years, 357 days		ÖVP	1962	Gorbach I–II • ÖVP • SPÖ
17		Josef Klaus (1910–2001)	2 April 1964	21 April 1970	6 years, 19 days		ÖVP	–	Klaus I • ÖVP • SPÖ
								1966	Klaus II • ÖVP
18		Bruno Kreisky (1911–1990)	21 April 1970	24 May 1983	13 years, 33 days		SPÖ	1970	Kreisky I–II–III–IV • SPÖ
								1971
								1975
								1979
19		Fred Sinowatz (1929–2008)	24 May 1983	16 June 1986	3 years, 23 days		SPÖ	1983	Sinowatz • SPÖ • FPÖ
20		Franz Vranitzky (born 1937)	16 June 1986	28 January 1997	10 years, 226 days		SPÖ	1986	Vranitzky I–II • SPÖ • FPÖ
								1990	Vranitzky III–IV–V • SPÖ • ÖVP
								1994
								1995
21		Viktor Klima (born 1947)	28 January 1997	4 February 2000	3 years, 7 days		SPÖ	–	Klima • SPÖ • ÖVP
22		Wolfgang Schüssel (born 1945)	4 February 2000	11 January 2007	6 years, 341 days		ÖVP	1999	Schüssel I • ÖVP • FPÖ 4 February 2000 – 3 April 2005 Schüssel II • ÖVP • BZÖ 3 April 2005 – 11 January 2007
								2002
23		Alfred Gusenbauer (born 1960)	11 January 2007	2 December 2008	1 year, 326 days		SPÖ	2006	Gusenbauer • SPÖ • ÖVP
24		Werner Faymann (born 1960)	2 December 2008	9 May 2016	7 years, 159 days		SPÖ	2008	Faymann I–II • SPÖ • ÖVP
								2013
–		Reinhold Mitterlehner (born 1955)	9 May 2016	17 May 2016	8 days		ÖVP	–	Faymann II • SPÖ • ÖVP
25		Christian Kern (born 1966)	17 May 2016	18 December 2017	1 year, 215 days		SPÖ	–	Kern • SPÖ • ÖVP
26		Sebastian Kurz (born 1986)	18 December 2017	28 May 2019	1 year, 161 days		ÖVP	2017	Kurz I • ÖVP • FPÖ 18 December 2017 – 22 May 2019 • ÖVP 22 May 2019 – 28 May 2019
–		Hartwig Löger (born 1965)	28 May 2019	3 June 2019	6 days		ÖVP	–	Kurz I • ÖVP
27		Brigitte Bierlein (1949–2024)	3 June 2019	7 January 2020	218 days		IND	–	Bierlein • Technocrats
(26)		Sebastian Kurz (born 1986)	7 January 2020	11 October 2021	1 year, 277 days		ÖVP	2019	Kurz II • ÖVP • Greens
28		Alexander Schallenberg (born 1969)	11 October 2021	6 December 2021	56 days		ÖVP	–	Schallenberg • ÖVP • Greens
29		Karl Nehammer (born 1972)	6 December 2021	10 January 2025	3 years, 35 days		ÖVP	–	Nehammer • ÖVP • Greens
–		Alexander Schallenberg (born 1969)	10 January 2025	Incumbent	174 days		ÖVP	–	Nehammer • ÖVP • Greens

Timeline

See also

In Spanish: Anexo:Canciller de Austria para niños

• History of Austria
• Politics of Austria
• Elections in Austria
• President of Austria
  • List of presidents of Austria
• Vice-Chancellor of Austria
• List of political parties in Austria