Leopold Figl | |
|---|---|
 Figl as Lower Austrian governor,c. 1962 | |
| Chancellor of Austria | |
| In office 20 December 1945 – 2 April 1953 | |
| President | Karl Renner Theodor Körner |
| Vice-Chancellor | Adolf Schärf |
| Preceded by | Karl Renner |
| Succeeded by | Julius Raab |
| Vice-Chancellor of Austria | |
| In office 27 April 1945 – 20 December 1945 Serving with Johann Koplenig,Adolf Schärf | |
| Chancellor | Karl Renner |
| Preceded by | Edmund Glaise-Horstenau (1938) |
| Succeeded by | Adolf Schärf |
| Governor of Lower Austria | |
| In office 14 January 1962 – 9 May 1965 | |
| Preceded by | Johann Steinböck |
| Succeeded by | Eduard Hartmann |
| In office 25 May 1945 – 15 October 1945 | |
| Preceded by | Hugo Jury |
| Succeeded by | Johann Steinböck |
| President of the National Council | |
| In office 9 June 1959 – 5 February 1962 | |
| Preceded by | Felix Hurdes |
| Succeeded by | Alfred Maleta |
| 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 | (1902-10-02)2 October 1902 |
| Died | 9 May 1965(1965-05-09) (aged 62) |
| Political party | People's Party |
| Alma mater | Universität für Bodenkultur Wien |
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| Conservatism in Austria |
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Leopold Figl (2 October 1902 – 9 May 1965) was anAustrian politician of theAustrian People's Party (Christian Democrats) and the firstFederal Chancellor afterWorld War II. He was also theyoungest Federal Chancellor of Austria after the war beforeSebastian Kurz.
Born a farmer's son in theLower Austrian village ofRust im Tullnerfeld, Figl after graduation asDipl.-Ing. ofAgriculture at theUniversity of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences Vienna became vice chair of the Lower AustrianBauernbund (Farmer's League) in 1931 and chairman in 1933. In 1930, Figl married Hilde Hemala (1906-1989) and had two children.[1][2]
After theauthoritarian revolution ofEngelbert Dollfuss, who had served as his mentor within the Farmer's League, Figl became a member of the federal council of economic policy and became leader of the paramilitary organisation ofOstmärkische Sturmscharen for thestate of Lower Austria.
After theAnschluss, theNazis deported Figl toDachau 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 toMauthausen concentration camp. On 21 January 1945, he was brought with the later executed resistance fighterHeinrich Maier to Vienna. The folder of his dossier was marked with the abbreviation 'VG' indicating that aVolksgerichtshof (People's Court) trial, often ending with adeath penalty, was planned or in preparation.[3] Figl was released on 6 April 1945, when troops of the Soviet Army advanced to the centre of Vienna in an operation which became known as theVienna Offensive.
After the defeat of the Nazis, theAllies occupied Austria at the end ofWorld War II. The Soviet military commander,Fyodor Tolbukhin, asked Figl to manage the provision of food for the population of Vienna.[4] On 14 April 1945 he refounded theBauernbund and integrated it into theAustrian People's Party (ÖVP), which was founded three days later. Figl was elected vice chair. On 27 April he became interim Governor ofLower Austria and vice-minister.
At the first free elections since 1930,held in December 1945, the ÖVP won with 49.8 percent of the vote and an absolute majority of seats in the legislature. Figl was proposed asChancellor; theSoviets agreed, because of his opposition to theNazis and his managerial abilities. Although he could have formed an exclusively ÖVP government, the memories of the factionalism that had plagued theFirst Republic led him to continue thegrand coalition between the People's Party,Socialists and Communists. The coalition (from which the Communists were pushed out in 1947), remained in office until 1966 and did much to solve the serious economic and social problems left over from World War II.
After internal criticism, Figl resigned as Chancellor on 26 November 1953. His successor,Julius Raab, was less flexible towards the SPÖ, but was Chancellor when theAustrian State Treaty, which restored sovereignty to the country, was signed on 15 May 1955. However, Figl was strongly involved in its achievement, as he remained in the government asforeign minister. His appearance on the balcony ofBelvedere Palace waving the signed paper and speaking the wordsÖsterreich ist frei! ("Austria is free!"), as rendered by theWochenschau newsreel, has become an icon in the Austriannational remembrance. (The words were actually spoken before, inside the Palace, but the pictures on the balcony were underlain with the sound track made inside.)
At thenational 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 thatBruno Kreisky succeed him as foreign minister. Figl then became president of theNational Council 1959–1962,[5] but soon returned toLower Austria, to become governor of his homestate.
Figl was patron of thePfadfinder Österreichs between 1960 and 1964 and president of this Scout association from 1964 until his death.[6]
He died fromkidney cancer in 1965 in Vienna, and is buried in anEhrengrab at theZentralfriedhof. His son Johannes was International Commissioner of the Pfadfinder Österreichs[7][8] and president of thePfadfinder und Pfadfinderinnen Österreichs from 1994 to 2000.[6]
In December 2020, theRoman Catholic Diocese of Sankt Pölten opened his cause forbeatification. He currently holds the title "Servant of God".[9][10]
Various locations have been named for Figl:
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by: Karl Renner | Chancellor of Austria 1945–1953 | Succeeded by: Julius Raab |
| Preceded by: Karl Gruber | Minister of Foreign Affairs 1953–1959 | Succeeded by: Bruno Kreisky |
| International | |
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