Parliament of Austria

Parliament of Austria Österreichisches Parlament
Type
Type	Bicameral
Houses	Federal Council National Council
Leadership
President of the Federal Council	Peter Mitterer, FPK since 5 January 2010
President of the National Council	Barbara Prammer, SPÖ since 30 October 2006
Structure
Members	245 62 (Federal Council) 183 (National Council)
Federal Council Political groups	4 Groups      ÖVP (28)      SPÖ (24)      FPÖ(4)      OF (6)
National Council Political groups	6 Groups      SPÖ (57)      ÖVP (51)      FPÖ(34)      Grüne (20)      BZÖ (17)     OK (4)
Elections
Federal Council Voting system	Appointment by State Landtags
National Council Voting system	Proportional representation
Federal Council Last election	Unelected House
National Council Last election	28 September 2008
Meeting place
Parlament Innere Stadt, Vienna Republic of Austria
Website
Official Website

Austria

This article is part of the series: Politics and government of Austria

Constitution Constitution of Austria Executive President (List) Heinz Fischer Federal Government Chancellor (List) Werner Faymann Vice-Chancellor Michael Spindelegger Cabinet Parliament Parliament/Federal Assembly National Council Federal Council Political parties Elections 2010 presidential 2008 legislative 2006 legislative 2004 presidential 2002 legislative 1999 legislative 1998 presidential Decentralized gov't States (Länder) Landtage Districts Foreign policy Foreign relations Politics of the European Union

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In the Parliament of Austria (Österreichisches Parlament) is vested the legislative power of the Republic of Austria. The institution consists of two chambers,

• the National Council (Nationalrat) and
• the Federal Council (Bundesrat).

National Council 183 members elected directly in general elections term of office: 5 years	Federal Council variable membership, currently 62 members elected indirectly through provincial diets revolving membership, term of delegates varies by province
Federal Assembly (joint session of both houses)

The National Council is composed of 183 members elected through proportional representation in a general election. This happens every five years, or earlier if the National Council prematurely moves for its own dissolution. The National Council is the dominant (albeit 'lower') house in the Austrian Parliament, and consequently the terms Parliament and National Council are commonly used synonymously.

The Federal Council is elected indirectly, through the provincial diets (Landtage) of the nine States of the Federal Republic. The states are represented in the Federal Council roughly in accordance to the size of their populations. Seats are redistributed among the states following each general census, and the overall size of the chamber is slightly variable as a result of this. The current Federal Council is composed of 62 delegates. With regard to most issues, the Federal Council only possesses a dilatory right of veto which can be overridden by the National Council. However, the Federal Council enjoys absolute veto powers over bills intended to alter the powers of either the states, or of the Federal Council itself.

The Federal Assembly (Bundesversammlung) is a body of mostly ceremonial function, consisting of the members of both houses of parliament. The Federal Assembly convenes only rarely, for instance to witness the inauguration of the Federal President. It might be noted, however, that under exceptional circumstances the Austrian constitution endows the Federal Assembly with significant responsibilities. An example of this would be its pivotal role in the hypothetic impeachment of a Federal President.

Both houses of parliament, as well as the Federal Assembly, convene in the Parliament building located on Vienna's Ringstraße.

See also

• Constitution of Austria
• Austrian Parliament Building
• Imperial Council (Austria)

External links

• The Austrian Parliament - Official Homepage