Minister of Defense (Austria)
- For the ministry itself, see Ministry of Defence.
Minister of Defense
Bundesminister für Landesverteidigung | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Ministry of Defense | |
Style |
Mr. Federal minister (formal) |
Member of |
Federal Government Council of Ministers National Security Council |
Seat | Rossauer Barracks, Innere Stadt, Vienna |
Nominator | Political parties |
Appointer |
The President on advice of the Chancellor |
Constituting instrument |
Constitution of Austria Defense law |
Precursor | Imperial and Royal Minister of War |
First holder |
Josef Mayer in the first Republic (10 November 1920) Ferdinand Graf in the second Republic |
Website |
bundesheer.at (in English) bundesheer.at (in German) |
The Minister of Defense of Austria heads the Ministry of Defense and is the supreme military commander of the Austrian Armed Forces.
Supreme military commander
The Minister of Defense exercises supreme operational command over the Austrian Armed Forces (Inhaber der Befehls- und Verfügungsgewalt). This power is granted to the Minister with article 80 of the Federal Constitutional Law[1] and paragraph 3 of the Defense law (Wehrgesetz)[2].
The constitution states that commanding the Armed Forces is subject to the Minister, as long as it is not subject to the President (who is the symbolic commander-in-chief). In practice however, the President cannot command or control the armed forces, since he does not possess the "power to command" (Befehlsgewalt). Therefore the Minister remains the de facto ultimate authority of the military at all time.
List of officeholders
First Austrian Republic
Name | Took office | Party | Title of ministry |
---|---|---|---|
Josef Mayer | 30 October 1918 | Deutschnationale Partei | State Ministry for the Army (Staatsamt für Heereswesen) |
Julius Deutsch | 15 March 1919 | SDAP | |
Walter Breisky | 22 October 1920 | Civil servant | |
Egon Glanz | 22 November 1920 | Civil servant | Federal Ministry for the Army (Bundesministerium für Heereswesen) |
Walter Breisky | 7 April 1921 | Civil servant | |
Carl Vaugoin | 28 April 1921 | CS | |
Josef Wächter | 7 October 1921 | Army officer | |
Carl Vaugoin* | 31 May 1922 | CS | |
Engelbert Dollfuß* | 21 September 1933 | CS | |
Alois Schön-Hartenstein | 12 March 1934 | Army officer | |
Engelbert Dollfuß* | 10 July 1934 | VF | |
Ernst Rüdiger Starhemberg | 26 July 1934 | Heimwehr | |
Kurt Schuschnigg* | 29 July 1934 | VF | |
Federal Ministry for National Defence (Bundesministerium für Landesverteidigung) | |||
Arthur Seyß-Inquart* | 11 March 1938 | NSDAP |
* Partly as Chancellor or Vice-Chancellor.
Second Austrian Republic
Name | Took office | Party | Title of ministry |
---|---|---|---|
No minister, section of the Federal Chancellory Ministry (Bundeskanzleramt) | Ministry for National Defence | ||
Ferdinand Graf | 15 July 1956 | ÖVP | Federal Ministry for National Defence (Bundesministerium für Landesverteidigung) |
Karl Schleinzer | 11 April 1961 | ÖVP | |
Georg Prader | 2 April 1964 | ÖVP | |
Brigadier Johann Freihsler | 21 April 1970 | Independent | |
Bruno Kreisky | 4 February 1971 | SPO | |
Brigadier Karl Lütgendorf | 8 February 1971 | Independent | |
Bruno Kreisky | 31 May 1977 | SPO | |
Otto Rösch | 8 June 1977 | SPO | |
Friedhelm Frischenschlager | 21 May 1983 | FPO | |
Helmut Krünes | 12 May 1986 | FPO | |
Robert Lichal | 21 January 1987 | ÖVP | |
Alois Mock* | 6 November 1990 | ÖVP | |
Werner Fasslabend | 17 December 1990 | ÖVP | |
Herbert Scheibner | 4 February 2000 | FPO | |
Günther Platter | 28 February 2003 | ÖVP | |
Norbert Darabos | 11 January 2007 | SPO | |
Gerald Klug | 11 March 2013 | SPO | Federal Ministry for National Defence and Sport (Bundesministerium für Landesverteidigung und Sport) |
Hans Peter Doskozil | 26 January 2016 | SPO | |
Mario Kunasek | 18 December 2017 | FPO | Federal Ministry for National Defence (Bundesministerium für Landesverteidigung) |
*Entrusted with continuation of the ministry
See also
References
- ↑ "Art. 80 B-VG". www.jusline.at (in German). Retrieved 2018-05-26.
- ↑ "Wehrgesetz 2001 - WG 2001". www.ris.bka.gv.at (in German). Retrieved 2018-05-26.
External links
- (in German) Bundesministerium für Landesverteidigung Österreich
- Karl Lütgendorf (German) de:Karl Lütgendorf