Viktor Klima facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Viktor Klima
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Klima in 1998
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| Chancellor of Austria | |
| In office 28 January 1997 – 4 February 2000 |
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| President | Thomas Klestil |
| Vice-Chancellor | Wolfgang Schüssel |
| Preceded by | Franz Vranitzky |
| Succeeded by | Wolfgang Schüssel |
| Chair of the Social Democratic Party | |
| In office 9 April 1997 – 28 April 2000 |
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| Preceded by | Franz Vranitzky |
| Succeeded by | Alfred Gusenbauer |
| Minister of Finance | |
| In office 12 March 1996 – 28 January 1997 |
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| Chancellor | Franz Vranitzky |
| Preceded by | Andreas Staribacher |
| Succeeded by | Rudolf Edlinger |
| Minister of Public Economy and Transport | |
| In office 3 April 1992 – 12 March 1996 |
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| Chancellor | Franz Vranitzky |
| Preceded by | Rudolf Streicher |
| Succeeded by | Rudolf Scholten |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 4 June 1947 Schwechat, Austria |
| Political party | Social Democratic Party |
| Profession |
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| Signature |  |
Viktor Klima was born on June 4, 1947. He is an Austrian politician and a businessman. He was the chancellor of Austria from 1997 to 2000. A chancellor is like the head of the government in some countries.
Contents
Early Life and First Job
Viktor Klima was born in a town called Schwechat in Lower Austria. In 1969, he started working for a big oil company called OMV. This company was owned by the state at the time. He worked there for many years, until 1992. Towards the end of his time at OMV, he was part of the company's management team.
Becoming a Minister
Even though most people in Austria didn't know much about Viktor Klima, he became a minister in 1992. The Chancellor at that time, Franz Vranitzky, chose him to be the Minister of Transportation and Nationalised Industry. This meant he was in charge of things like public transport and industries owned by the government.
He held this job until 1996. Then, he became the Finance Minister for about a year. As Finance Minister, he was responsible for the country's money and budget.
Leading Austria as Chancellor
In 1997, Chancellor Vranitzky decided to step down. Viktor Klima was then chosen to lead the Social Democratic Party. After that, he became the Chancellor of Austria.
When he became Chancellor, he continued a "grand coalition" government. This means his party, the Social Democrats (SPÖ), worked together with another big party, the Austrian People's Party (ÖVP). Wolfgang Schüssel from the ÖVP became his Vice-Chancellor.
Changes in Politics
Viktor Klima and his party were influenced by a political idea called the "Third Way." This idea was popular with other European leaders like Tony Blair. It meant that the Social Democrats started to move their ideas from the political left more towards the center.
For example, the government sold off some companies that were owned by the state. They also made some small changes to public services that the government used to provide for everyone. Because of these changes, some people who traditionally supported the Social Democrats were not happy. They felt that the party was moving too far from its original ideas. Many of these voters started to support the Freedom Party, which was led by Jörg Haider.
However, Viktor Klima, just like the Chancellor before him, Franz Vranitzky, always said that he would never form a government with Jörg Haider's party.
End of His Time as Chancellor
In October 1999, there was an election in Austria. The Social Democrats lost a lot of votes in this election. After the election, Viktor Klima decided to step down as the leader of his party. Alfred Gusenbauer took over as the new party leader.
In February 2000, Viktor Klima also left his job as Chancellor. Wolfgang Schüssel from the Austrian People's Party became the new Chancellor. He formed a new government with the Freedom Party.
After Politics: Business Career
A few weeks after leaving politics, Viktor Klima started a new job. His friend, Gerhard Schröder, helped him get a senior management position at Volkswagen in Argentina. This was a challenging time because Argentina was going through a difficult economic period.
By mid-2006, Klima became the General Manager for all of Volkswagen's operations in South America. He worked there until 2011. Because he had experience in both politics and business, he was very good at connecting with important people. He continued to build relationships with leaders, like Argentina's former presidents, Néstor Kirchner and Eduardo Duhalde.
Viktor Klima retired in 2011. Today, he lives on a cattle farm near Buenos Aires, Argentina.
See also
In Spanish: Viktor Klima para niños
