TheLandeshauptmann (if male) orLandeshauptfrau (if female) (German:[ˈlandəsˌhaʊptman]ⓘ, "state captain", pluralLandeshauptleute,German:[ˈlandəsˌhaʊ̯ptlɔɪ̯tə]ⓘ) is thechairman of astate government and the supreme official of anAustrian state and the Italian autonomous provinces ofSouth Tyrol andTrentino. Their function is equivalent to that of aminister-president orpremier. Until 1933 the term was also used inPrussia for thehead of government of aprovince,[1] in the modern-day states of Germany (with the exceptions of the city-states) the counterpart toLandeshauptmann is theMinisterpräsident (minister-president).
Since theearly modern period, aLandeshauptmann originally served as governor under either aPrince of the Holy Roman Empire or theEmperor himself, mainly in the territories of theHabsburg monarchy (as for theLands of the Bohemian Crown), later also in theKingdom of Prussia. In theAustrian Empire, according to the 1861February Patent, the title referred to the president of theLandtag assembly of a Habsburgcrown land (calledLandmarschall [de] inLower Austria,Bohemia, andGalicia), who also served as head of the provincial administration. TheImperial-Royal government inVienna was represented by aStatthalter orLandespräsident (governor).
With the dissolution ofAustria-Hungary and the proclamation of theRepublic of German-Austria in 1918, provisional state assemblies and state governments were established, headed by aLandeshauptmann. The 1920constitution of theFirst Austrian Republic (Bundes-Verfassungsgesetz) unified the office of aFederal Government representative and head of the state government. The title is today used in modern Austria as well as in South Tyrol and Trentino, autonomous provinces in Italy with strong linguistic and cultural ties to the neighbouring Austrian state ofTyrol. In theCzech Republic, ahejtman (German:Hauptmann) represents each of the 13 self-governing regions (Czechkraj, pl.kraje).
The title was also used by theGerman Empire for governors during the early stages of itscolonial rule overGerman South-West Africa (1893–1898),Togoland (1893–1898) andGerman New Guinea (1886–1889, 1892–1899).
In modern Austria, the title is used for the head of the executive of the nine Austrian states, equivalent to the position of aMinisterpräsident inGerman states. In English speaking countries, the title is usually translated as "governor," though as mentioned above the function corresponds more to that of minister-president or premier.
TheLandeshauptmann is elected by theLandtag (state parliament) of the respective state and sworn in by thePresident of Austria. In practice, thelandeshauptmann is almost always the leader of the majority party in the Landtag, or the leader of the senior partner in the governing coalition. As representative of the federal government on state level, thelandeshauptmann is also responsible for the enforcement of federal laws. Unlike in the federal government, there is no distinction between thehead of state andhead of government and thelandeshauptmann serves both roles.
AsVienna is both a city and a state,its mayor is also theLandeshauptmann of the state, elected by themunicipal and state assembly (Wiener Gemeinderat und Landtag). WhenWaltraud Klasnic (ÖVP) became governor ofStyria in 1996, she preferred to be addressed asFrau Landeshauptmann, whereasGabi Burgstaller (SPÖ), governor ofSalzburg from 2004 to 2013, preferredFrau Landeshauptfrau. Since 1 July 1988, theConstitution of Austria allows for, but does not prescribe, office designations to begender-specific.[2]
According to the 1946Gruber–De Gasperi Agreement and the Second Autonomy Statute of 1972, the chief executives of the provincial governments (Italian:Presidente della Provincia autonoma) of South Tyrol and Trentino are calledLandeshauptleute in German.
The head ofgovernment of South Tyrol is elected by the provincialLandtag legislature. TheLandeshauptmann represents the province to the outside and in meetings of theregions with theItalian government. He is also entitled to attend the sessions of theCouncil of Ministers as far as South Tyrolean issues are discussed. Their two deputies have to represent the Italian and German language group.
Despite the German termsLandeshauptmann andLandtag, South Tyrol and Trentino according to Italian conception are nofederated states (Länder) but merely subnationaladministrative divisions (enti territoriali), though with considerable self-government responsibilities and legislative powers.
| Portrait | Name | Region | Took office | Political party | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Arno Kompatscher |  South TyrolSee also:List of governors of South Tyrol | 9 January 2014 | South Tyrolean People's Party | |
 | Maurizio Fugatti |  TrentinoSee also:List of presidents of Trentino | 22 October 2018 | Northern League |
From 1875 the territorial authority of theestates in the twelve administrativeprovinces of Prussia were re-organised asProvinzialverbände. Each of theseself-governing bodies were represented in aProvinziallandtag assembly, whose members were delegated by the rural and urbandistricts within the province. The districts organised through their elected deputies their utilities, such as construction and maintenance of provincial roads, hospitals, schools, public savings banks, waste disposal etc., in self-rule.
The provincial administration was initially headed by aLandesdirektor, who was elected by the assembly for six-year terms (inPomerania: five years) and maximally two terms. The holder of the office presided over theProvinzialausschuss, i.e. provincial government of self-rule, whereas theOberpräsident was theking-appointed representative for the province, busy with implementing and supervising central prerogatives of the Prussian government.
In the following decades,Landeshauptmann gradually replaced the earlier expressionLandesdirektor in all but one of Prussia's provinces. When the kingdom turned into afree state in 1920, only theLandtag ofBrandenburg had decided to keep the traditional expression.[3] With the abolition of democratic self-rule on all government levels in the course of theGleichschaltung process after theNazi takeover in 1933, the office-holders were furloughed or retired and the offices remained vacant.
TheKlaipėda Region (German:Memelland), which was dissected fromEast Prussia afterWorld War I and annexed byLithuania in theKlaipėda Revolt of 1923, continued the usage of the termsLandesdirektor (i.e. government member) andLandesdirektorium (Lithuanian:krašto direktorija; i.e. government). The head of government was given the title Landespräsident (state president).
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