Leopold Figl

Leopold Figl
Figl as Lower Austrian governor, about 1962
Chancellor of Austria
In office 20 December 1945 – 2 April 1953
President	Karl Renner (1945-1950) Theodor Körner (1951-1953)
Deputy	Adolf Schärf
Preceded by	Karl Renner (acting)
Succeeded by	Julius Raab
Minister of Foreign Affairs
In office 26 November 1953 – 9 June 1959
Chancellor	Julius Raab
Preceded by	Karl Gruber
Succeeded by	Bruno Kreisky
Personal details
Born	2 October 1902(1902-10-02) Rust, Michelhausen, Austria-Hungary
Died	9 May 1965(1965-05-09) (aged 62) Vienna, Austria
Political party	Austrian People's Party (ÖVP)
Alma mater	University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna
Profession	Agricultural engineer
Religion	Roman Catholic

Leopold Figl (October 2, 1902 - May 9, 1965) was an Austrian politician of the Austrian People's Party (Christian Democrats) and the first Federal Chancellor after World War II. He was also the youngest Federal Chancellor of Austria after the war.

Life

Born a farmer's son in the Lower Austrian village of Rust im Tullnerfeld, Figl after graduation as Dipl.-Ing. of Agriculture at the University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences Vienna became vice chair of the Lower Austrian Bauernbund (Farmer's League) in 1931 and chairman in 1933.

After the authoritarian revolution of Engelbert Dollfuss, who had served as his mentor within the Farmer's League, Figl became member of the federal council of economic policy and became leader of the paramilitary organisation of Ostmärkische Sturmscharen for the state of Lower Austria.

After the "Anschluss", the Nazis deported Figl to Dachau concentration camp in 1938, from which he was released in May 1943. He then worked as an oil engineer, but in October 1944 Figl was rearrested and brought to Mauthausen concentration camp. In February 1945, he was sentenced to death for "high treason" in Vienna, but the death penalty was not carried out before the end of the war.

After the defeat of the Nazis, the Allies occupied Austria at the end of World War II. The Russian Military Commander asked Figl to manage the provision of food for the population of Vienna. On April 14, 1945, he refounded the Bauernbund and integrated it into the Austrian People's Party (ÖVP), which was founded three days later. Figl was elected vice chair. On April 27 he became interim Governor of Lower Austria and vice-minister.

At the first free elections since 1934, held in December 1945, the ÖVP won an absolute majority. Leopold Figl was proposed as Chancellor; the Soviets agreed, because of his opposition to the Nazis and his managerial abilities. He was very popular, to which lots of jokes about home provide evidence, e.g. concerning "wine policy" with the USA and the "Russian bear".^{[citation needed]} From 1945 until 1966 a grand coalition between his own party and the Socialists (SPÖ) was able to solve the serious economic and social problems of the devastated country. The USA's Marshall Plan was also a great help.

After internal criticism, Figl resigned as Chancellor on November 26, 1953. His successor Julius Raab was less flexible towards the SPÖ, but was Chancellor when the Austrian State Treaty, which granted full independence to the country, was signed on May 15, 1955. However, Figl was strongly involved in its achievement, as he remained in the government as foreign minister. His appearance on the balcony of Belvedere Palace waving the signed paper and speaking the words Österreich ist frei! ("Austria is free!"), as rendered by the Wochenschau newsreel, has become an icon in the Austrian national remembrance. (The words were actually spoken before, inside the Palace, but the pictures on the balcony were underlayed with the sound track taken inside.)

At the national elections of 1959 the SPÖ gained ground on the ÖVP, and the ratio of seats between the two parties in parliament was now almost 1:1. This gave the SPÖ the bargaining power to demand that Bruno Kreisky succeed him as foreign minister. Figl then became president of the National Council 1959–1962, but soon returned to Lower Austria, to become governor of his home state. Figl was patron of the Pfadfinder Österreichs between 1960 and 1964 and president of this Scout association from 1964 until his death. His son Johannes was International Commissioner of the Pfadfinder Österreichs and president of the Pfadfinder und Pfadfinderinnen Österreichs from 1994 to 2000. He died 1965 in Vienna and is buried in an Ehrengrab at the Zentralfriedhof.

References

Preceded by: Karl Renner	Chancellor of Austria 1945-1953	Succeeded by: Julius Raab
Preceded by: Karl Gruber	Foreign Minister of Austria 1953-1959	Succeeded by: Bruno Kreisky