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Christian Stocker | |
|---|---|
 Stocker in 2026 | |
| Chancellor of Austria | |
| Assumed office 3 March 2025 | |
| President | Alexander Van der Bellen |
| Vice-Chancellor | Andreas Babler |
| Preceded by | Karl Nehammer |
| Chair of the People's Party | |
| Assumed office 5 January 2025[a] | |
| Preceded by | Karl Nehammer |
| Member of theNational Council | |
| In office 12 June 2019 – 6 March 2025 | |
| Preceded by | Johann Rädler |
| Constituency | Lower Austria South |
| Secretary-General of thePeople's Party | |
| In office 23 September 2022 – 5 January 2025 | |
| Leader | Karl Nehammer |
| Preceded by | Laura Sachslehner |
| Succeeded by | Alexander Pröll |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1960-03-20)20 March 1960 (age 65) Wiener Neustadt, Austria |
| Party | ÖVP |
| Spouse | Gerda Legenstein |
| Children | 2 |
| Alma mater | University of Vienna |
Christian Stocker ([ˈkʁɪsti̯anˈʃtɔkɐ]; born 20 March 1960) is an Austrian politician who has served aschancellor of Austria since March 2025. A member of thePeople's Party (ÖVP), he has been a member of theNational Council since 2019 and actingChair of the People's Party since 5 January 2025.[1] He had previously served as general secretary of the party from September 2022 to January 2025.[2][3] On 5 January 2025, he was elected new acting party leader of the People's Party, following the resignation of ChancellorKarl Nehammer.
Born and raised inWiener Neustadt, Stocker, the son of an ÖVP politician, studied law in theUniversity of Vienna. A lifelong member of the ÖVP, he has served in various party offices since being elected Member of theNational Council in 2019.
After ruling it out before, Stocker announced the ÖVP's willingness to enter coalition talks withHerbert Kickl and his far-rightFPÖ party. Coalition talks between ÖVP,SPÖ, andNEOS previously failed in the aftermath of the2024 Austrian legislative election.[4] On 27 February 2025, the SPÖ, ÖVP, and NEOS announced an agreement to form a coalition government to be led by Stocker as Chancellor.[5]
Stocker was born and raised inWiener Neustadt. His father, Franz Stocker, was a ÖVP representative in theNational Council.[6] Stocker attend elementary and secondary school in Wiener Neustadt. He studied law at theUniversity of Vienna from 1979, graduating with a master's degree in 1986. In 1988, he received adoctorate in law.[3]
On 12 June 2019, Stocker was sworn in as a member of theNational Council during the XXVI legislative period, succeedingJohann Rädler, who had resigned his mandate. In June 2021, he was re-elected as chairman of the ÖVP in Wiener Neustadt. In December 2021, he was appointed spokesperson for internal affairs and security within the ÖVP parliamentary club.
In March 2022, Stocker was elected deputy district party chairman, and in September 2022, he was appointed secretary-general of the ÖVP. For the2024 National Council election, he was the party's top candidate in the Lower Austria South district and was placed seventh on the ÖVP's federal list, securing a direct mandate from his district. Following the election, he became a member of the ÖVP's negotiating team for government formation discussions with theSocial Democratic Party (SPÖ) and theNEOS.
On 5 January 2025, Stocker was appointedChairman of the ÖVP following the resignation ofKarl Nehammer, which came after the unsuccessful tripartite coalition negotiations between the ÖVP, SPÖ, and NEOS. Under his leadership, the ÖVP initiated negotiations with theFreedom Party of Austria (FPÖ), which had emerged as the strongest party in the2024 legislative election. Despite Stocker having previously expressed strong criticism of the FPÖ, negotiations between the two parties continued but ultimately failed on 12 February 2025.
After the 2025 local council elections inLower Austria, Stocker resigned from his mandate in Wiener Neustadt and stepped down as deputy mayor, though he remained the city's party chairman.
Following renewed coalition negotiations between the ÖVP, SPÖ, and NEOS, Stocker emerged as the leading candidate for the office of Chancellor. He was sworn in as Chancellor of Austria on 3 March 2025, forming the Stocker government. On 29 March 2025, he was electedchairman of the ÖVP at the party's national convention with 98.4% of the votes.[7]
Following theIsraeli strikes on Iran in June 2025, Stocker stated that the "Iranian nuclear program is a cause for great concern", saying that Iran must not be allowed to acquirenuclear weapons, and "appeals to everyone for a swift return to the negotiation table".[8]
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Chancellor of Austria 2025–present | Incumbent |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by | ActingChair of the People's Party 2025–present | Incumbent |
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