The Austrian Independence Treaty (complete form: Treaty for the re-establishment of an independent and democratic Austria, signed in Vienna on the 15th May 1955), more commonly referred to as Austrian State Treaty (German Staatsvertrag), was signed on the 15th May 1955 in Vienna at Schloss Belvedere between the Allied occupying powers: the USA, the USSR, France and Great Britain, and the Austrian government and officially came into force on the 27th July, 1955. This article is about the city and federal state in Austria. ... German (called Deutsch in German; in German the term germanisch is equivalent to English Germanic), is a member of the western group of Germanic languages and is one of the worlds major languages. ... (Redirected from 15th May) May 15 is the 135th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (136th in leap years). ... 1955 is a common year starting on Saturday. ... This article is about the city and federal state in Austria. ... The Belvedere is a baroque palace complex built by Prince Eugene of Savoy in the 3rd district of Vienna, south-eastern from the citys center. ... In general, allies are people or groups that have joined an alliance and are working together to achieve some common purpose. ... The word Usa has more than one meaning: U.S.A. - The United States of America The United States Army Usa, Oita - A city in Japan The USA cable network USA Today national daily newspaper The University of Southern Alabama goes by the initials U.S.A. The patriotic cheer... The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) (Russian: Союз Советских Социалистических Республик (СССР)  listen; tr. ... The French Republic or France (French: République française or France) is a country whose metropolitan territory is located in western Europe, and which is further made up of a collection of overseas islands and territories located in other continents. ... Great Britain - Wikipedia /**/ @import /skins/monobook/IE50Fixes. ... The Republic of Austria (German: Republik Österreich) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. ... A government is an organization that has the power to make and enforce laws for a certain territory. ... (Redirected from 27th July) July 27 is the 208th day (209th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 157 days remaining. ... 1955 is a common year starting on Saturday. ...

Generalities and Structure

The aim of the Treaty was the re-establishment of a free, sovereign and democratic Österreich. The basis for the treaty was the Moscow Declaration on 30th October 1943. Statue of Liberty - Liberty is one meaning of freedom. Definition Freedom refers in a very general sense to the state of being free (unrestricted, unconfined or unfettered). ... Sovereignty is the exclusive right to exercise supreme authority over a geographic region or group of people, such as a nation or a tribe. ... Democracy is a form of government under which the power to alter the laws and structures of government lies, ultimately, with the citizenry. ... The Republic of Austria ( German: Republik Österreich) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. ... October 30 is the 303rd day of the year (304th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 62 days remaining. ... 1943 is a common year starting on Friday. ...

The signators of the treaty were the Foreign Ministers of the time: Vyacheslav Molotov, John Foster Dulles, Harold MacMillan and Antoine Pinay on behalf of the Allies and Leopold Figl, as the Austrian Foreign Minsiter as well as the four High Commissioners of the occupying powers. A minister for foreign affairs, or foreign minister, is a cabinet minister that helps to form foreign policy for sovereign nations. ... Vyacheslav Molotov Vyacheslav Mikhaylovich Molotov (Russian: Вячесла́в Миха́йлович Мо́лотов) (vyah-cheh-SLAHF mih-KHY-lo-vihch MOL-uh-tawf) (February 25, 1890 (O.S.) (March 9, 1890 (N.S.))–November 8, 1986) was a Soviet politician and diplomat. ... John Foster Dulles John Foster Dulles (February 2, 1888–May 24, 1959) was an American statesman who served as Secretary of State under President Dwight D. Eisenhower from 1953 - 1959. ... Maurice Harold Macmillan, 1st Earl of Stockton, OM (10 February 1894 - 29 December 1986), nicknamed Supermac and Mac the Knife, was a British Conservative politician and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1957 to 1963. ... Categories: Stub | 1891 births | 1994 deaths | Prime ministers of France | Centenarians ... Leopold Figl (October 2, 1902 in Rust, Lower Austria, - May 9, 1965 in Vienna) was an Austrian politician of the ÖVP (Christian Democrats). ... A High Commissioner is a person serving in a special executive capacity. ...

The treaty is divided into 9 parts:

• Preamble
• Political and territorial provisions
• Military and air travel provisions
• Reparations
• Ownership, Law and Interests
• Economic relations
• Rules for disputes
• Economic provisions
• Final provisions

Important points in the Treaty

In addition to the general regulations and the recognition of the Austrian state, the minority rights of the Croat and Slovenian minorties are also expressly detailed. Also, another Anschluss (accession) to the new Germany was also forbidden and the prohibition of National Socialism and other fascist organisations was also re-stated. The Republic of Croatia is a crescent-shaped country in Europe bordering the Mediterranean, Central Europe and the Balkans. ... Slovenia - Wikipedia /**/ @import /skins/monobook/IE50Fixes. ... The general German term Anschluss is part of the specific political incident Anschluss Österreichs referring to the inclusion of Austria in a Greater Germany in 1938. ... The Federal Republic of Germany (German: Bundesrepublik Deutschland) is one of the worlds leading industrialised countries, located in the heart of Europe. ... The Nazi party used a right-facing swastika as their symbol and the red and black colors were said to represent Blut und Boden (blood and soil). ...

Furthemore, Austria announced that it would voluntarily declare itself permanently neutral after the enactment of the treaty. Thus, Austrian neutrality is not part of the treaty, but is historically and politically linked with it. A neutral country takes no side in a war between other parties, and in return hopes to avoid being attacked by either of them. ...

Result

As a result of this treaty the Occupying Powers remained on Austrian territory until 25th October 1955. October 26 is celebrated as National Holiday (until 1965: Day of the Flag). It is sometimes thought to be linked with the withdrawal of allied troups, but is in fact connected to Austria's Decleration of Neutrality, which was passed on October 26, 1955. (Redirected from 25th October) October 25 is the 298th day of the year (299th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 67 days remaining. ... 1955 is a common year starting on Saturday. ... October 26 is the 299th day of the year (300th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 66 days remaining. ... A national holiday is a statutory holiday enacted by a country to commemorate the country itself. ... 1965 was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1965 calendar). ...

Thus, Austria was the only state in the region which remained free of foreign forces and peaceful from 1945 until the developments in Eastern Europe of 1989.

Development

First attempts to negotiate a treaty were made by the first post-war government. However, they failed because the allied powers wanted to see a peace treaty with Germany first. A treaty became less likely with the development of the Cold War. However, Austria succeeded in avoid losing parts of Carinthia to Yugoslavia, even though the issue of a potential reunification with South Tyrol was not addressed. The climate for negotiations improved with Stalin's death in 1953. However, a breakthrough was achieved only in February of 1955 in negotiations with the Soviet foreign minister Molotow. A peace treaty is an agreement between two hostile parties, usually countries or governments, that formally ends a war or armed conflict. ... The Federal Republic of Germany (German: Bundesrepublik Deutschland) is one of the worlds leading industrialised countries, located in the heart of Europe. ... The Cold War ( 1947- 1991) was the open yet restricted rivalry that developed after World War II between groups of nations practicing different ideologies and political systems. ... Carinthia ( German Kärnten, Slovenian Koroška) is a federal state or Bundesland, located in the south of Austria. ... Yugoslavia (Jugoslavija in all south Slavic languages) is a term used for three separate but successive political entities that existed during most of the 20th century on the Balkan Peninsula in Europe. ... South Tyrol ( German Autonome Provinz Bozen-Südtirol, Italian Provincia autonoma di Bolzano-Alto Adige, Ladin Provinzia autonóma de Bulsan-Südtirol) is an autonomous province of Italy. ... Iosif (usually anglicized as Joseph) Vissarionovich Stalin (Russian: Иосиф Виссарионович Сталин), original name Ioseb Jughashvili (Georgian: იოსებ ჯუღაშვილი; see Other names section) (December 21, 1879[1] – March 5, 1953) was a Bolshevik revolutionary and leader of the Soviet Union. ... 1953 is a common year starting on Thursday. ... 1955 is a common year starting on Saturday. ...

See also

• Occupation Zones in Austria
• Austrian Army

In 1955, Austria declared her Everlasting Neutrality and made neutrality a constitutional law. ...

External Links

• Leopold Figl zeigt einer Menschenmenge den Staatsvertrag (Video) (http://www.aeiou.at/aeiou.film.data.film/o428a.mpg) - in German
• Austria is free (http://www.oesterreichistfrei.at/geschichte3.htm) - in German