Fred Sinowatz (born February 5, 1929 in Neufeld an der Leitha, Burgenland) is a former Austrian politician of the Social Democratic Party of Austria (Sozialdemokratische Partei Österreichs, SPÖ). He was Chancellor of Austria from 1983 to 1986. As of 2007, he is the oldest former Austrian Chancellor alive. February 5 is the 36th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1929 (MCMXXIX) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Burgenland (Hungarian Várvidék, Őrvidék or FelsÅ‘Å‘rvidék, Croatian Gradišće, Slovenian Gradiščansko) is the easternmost state or Land of Austria. ... The Social Democratic Party of Austria (German: Sozialdemokratische Partei Österreichs, or SPÖ) is one of the oldest political parties in Austria. ... The Chancellor of Austria (in German: Bundeskanzler) is the head of government in Austria. ... 1983 (MCMLXXXIII) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1986 (MCMLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD (or CE) era. ... This is a list of Austrian Chancellors after the Second World War by longevity. ...

Career until 1983

Sinowatz, educated as a historian, was Minister of Education and Art in the Austrian government from 1971 to 1983. In 1981, when Bruno Kreisky's chosen successor "Crown Prince" Hannes Androsch was removed from his position, Sinowatz also became Vice Chancellor. in 1930 was when the first traces of humans where discovered by cochroaches. ... 1971 (MCMLXXI) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1971 calendar). ... 1983 (MCMLXXXIII) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1981 (MCMLXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Bruno Kreisky Bruno Kreisky (January 22, 1911—July 29, 1990) was a jewish -Austrian politician. ... In Austrian politics, the Vice Chancellor (Vizekanzler) is a member of the federal government acting as a deputy to the Federal Chancellor. ...

Sinowatz's chancellorship

After the SPÖ had lost its absolute majority in 1983 and Kreisky resigned as chancellor, Sinowatz reluctantly took up the position of head of the Austrian government. He joined a coalition, initiated by Kreisky, with the Austrian Freedom Party (Freiheitliche Partei Österreichs, FPÖ) which was then run by liberals. The elections to the Austrian National Council talking place in 1983 were the last campaign where the SPÖ was led by Chancellor Bruno Kreisky, who had been the head of government since 1970. ... The Austrian Freedom Party (Freiheitliche Partei Österreichs, abbreviated to FPÖ) is an Austrian political party usually associated with the name of Jörg Haider. ... Liberalism is an ideology, philosophical view, and political tradition which holds that liberty is the primary political value. ...

In autumn 1983, he also succeeded Kreisky as chairman of the SPÖ.

In late 1984 came the severe internal crisis of the "Occupation of the Hainburg Floodplain" by thousands of people protesting against the building of a power station there. Sinowatz managed to calm both sides by announcing a "Christmas peace" on December 22, 1984, following considerable pressure from the public. 1984 (MCMLXXXIV) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Hainburg an der Donau is a place in the Bruck an der Leitha district, Lower Austria, Austria. ... Oil power plant in Iraq A power station or power plant is a facility for the generation of electric power. ... December 22 is the 356th day of the year (357th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1984 (MCMLXXXIV) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

In spite of this, his period of office is not considered to have been successful. It started with the Wine Scandal, then a scandal concerning the construction of the new General Hospital of Vienna, and in particular the crisis of the increasing debts of nationalized industry, above all the Voest-Alpine AG, an industrial concern based in Linz. Vienna (German: Wien ) is the capital of Austria, and also one of the nine States of Austria. ... Nationalization is the act of taking assets into state ownership. ... Map of Austria, locating Linz Linz is a city and Statutarstadt in northeast Austria, on the Danube river. ...

Since Sinowatz's manner was not very typical of that of politicians, he often earned pitiful smiles, for example when he said that "everything is very complicated" ("es ist alles sehr kompliziert").

Close to the end of his period in office, he also came under pressure after defense minister Friedhelm Frischenschlager of his coalition partner, the Freedom Party, officially went to meet Walter Reder, a war criminal who had been imprisoned in Italy since World War II, upon Reder's return to Austria. Walter Reder SS-Sturmbannführer Walter Reder (February 4, 1915 - April 26, 1991) was a German Waffen-SS officer who served with the 3. ... A war crime is a punishable offense, under international (criminal) law, for violations of the law of war by any person or persons, military or civilian. ... Combatants Allied Powers: United Kingdom France Soviet Union United States Republic of China and others Axis Powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Winston Churchill Charles de Gaulle Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Chiang Kai-Shek Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tojo Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33...

The Waldheim Affair

Before the 1986 Austrian Presidential Elections, during a meeting of the steering committee of the Burgendland SPÖ, according to a later rendering by Ottilie Matysek, Sinowatz insinuated that one would have to point out to the Austrians that the Austrian People's Party's candidate, Kurt Waldheim, had a "brown" (i.e. Nazi) past. By an indiscretion, this remark was passed on to the weekly magazine profil, which started to investigate the matter. This triggered the Waldheim debate. 1986 (MCMLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Leopoldine Wing of Hofburg Imperial Palace in Vienna: home to the offices of the Federal President. ... Elections in Austria gives information on election and election results in Austria. ... The Austrian Peoples Party (de:Österreichische Volkspartei, or ÖVP) is an Austrian political party. ... Kurt Josef Waldheim (born December 21, 1918) is an Austrian diplomat and conservative politician. ... National Socialism redirects here. ... profil is an Austrian news magazine. ...

During the presidential campaign, Sinowatz strongly opposed Waldheim. When Waldheim assured that he had not been a member of the Sturmabteilung Equestrian Corps, but had only joined its members in riding occasionally, Sinowatz countered: The seal of SA The   (SA, German for Storm Division, usually translated as stormtroops or stormtroopers) functioned as a paramilitary organization of the NSDAP – the German Nazi party. ...

"I find that Kurt Waldheim never was a member of the SA, but only his horse."

After Waldheim's election, Sinowatz resigned and passed on his post as chancellor to finance minister Franz Vranitzky, who also succeeded him as chairman of the SPÖ in 1988; at the same time, Sinowatz also resigned as a member of the National Council of Austria. Franz Vranitzky ~1990, Austrian Chancellor 1986-96. ... 1988 (MCMLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The National Council or Nationalrat is one of the two houses of the Federal Assembly, the bicameral federal parliament of the Federal Republic of Austria. ...

Sinowatz sued Ottilie Matysek (who had by then left the SPÖ) for libel because of her statement concerning Waldheim's past. Even though all top representatives of the Burgenland SPÖ (including governor Johann Sipötz) gave testimony in his favor when he denied the accuracy of Matysek's depiction of the events, the court gave more weight to the authenticity of some hand-written notes and dismissed the suit. This also led to Sipötz's resignation. In English and American law, and systems based on them, libel and slander are two forms of defamation (or defamation of character), which is the tort or delict of making a false statement of fact that injures someones reputation. ... A governor or governour (archaic) is a governing official, usually the executive (at least nominally, to different degrees also politically and administratively) of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the Head of state; furthermore the title applies to officials with a similar mandate as representatives of a chartered...

Sinowatz today lives in Burgenland. Aged 77, he is the oldest former Austrian chancellor. This is a list of Austrian Chancellors after the Second World War by longevity. ...

See also

• Politics of Austria

Chancellors of Austria

First Austrian Republic Karl Renner  • Michael Mayr  • Johann Schober  • Walter Breisky  • Johann Schober  • Ignaz Seipel  • Rudolf Ramek  • Ignaz Seipel  • Ernst Streeruwitz  • Johann Schober  • Karl Vaugoin  • Otto Ender  • Karl Buresch  • Engelbert Dollfuss  • Kurt Schuschnigg  • Arthur Seyss-Inquart Second Austrian Republic Karl Renner  • Leopold Figl  • Julius Raab  • Alfons Gorbach  • Josef Klaus  • Bruno Kreisky  • Fred Sinowatz  • Franz Vranitzky  • Viktor Klima  • Wolfgang Schüssel  • Alfred Gusenbauer

Politics of Austria takes place in a framework of a federal parliamentary representative democratic republic, whereby the Chancellor is the head of government, and of a pluriform multi-party system. ... Bruno Kreisky Bruno Kreisky (January 22, 1911—July 29, 1990) was a jewish -Austrian politician. ... The Federal Chancellor of Austria (Bundeskanzler) is the Austria. ... Franz Vranitzky ~1990, Austrian Chancellor 1986-96. ... The Social Democratic Party of Austria (German: Sozialdemokratische Partei Österreichs, or SPÖ) is one of the oldest political parties in Austria. ... In Austrian politics, the Vice Chancellor (Vizekanzler) is a member of the federal government acting as a deputy to the Federal Chancellor. ... The Chancellor of Austria (in German: Bundeskanzler) is the head of government in Austria. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Austria. ... In Austrian history, the First Republic refers to the period after World War I, following the breakdown of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, up to World War II. This period was marked by violent strife between the left and the right, e. ... Karl Renner Monument to Karl Renner next to the Austrian Parliament, Ringstraße, Vienna, Austria Karl Renner (December 14, 1870 - December 31, 1950) was an Austrian politician. ... Ignaz Seipel (19 July 1876 - 2 August 1932) was an Austrian politician who served as Chancellor during the 1920s. ... This page may meet Wikipedias criteria for speedy deletion. ... Ignaz Seipel (19 July 1876 - 2 August 1932) was an Austrian politician who served as Chancellor during the 1920s. ... Ernst Streeruwitz (1874 - 1952) was an Austrian political figure. ... Karl Vaugoin (1873 - 1949) was a Austrian political figure. ... Karl Buresch (born on October 12, 1878 in Groß-Enzersdorf - died on September 16, 1936 in Vienna) was a lawyer, christian-socialist politician and Chancellor of Austria during the First Republic. ... Engelbert Dollfuss Engelbert Dollfuss (German: Dollfuß) (October 4, 1892, Texing—July 25, 1934, Vienna) was an Austrian statesman, serving as chancellor for two years from 1932 until his assassination in 1934. ... Kurt Schuschnigg (14 December 1897 in Riva del Garda, Austria-Hungary (Now Riva del Garda, Italy) – 18 November 1977 in Innsbruck, Austria; Kurt von Schuschnigg until 1919) was an Austrian politician who in 1934 succeeded the assassinated Engelbert Dollfuss as dictator of Austria, as leader of the regime often called... Arthur Seyss-Inquart Arthur Seyss-Inquart (born Arthur Zajtich, officially (German) Arthur Seyß-Inquart) (July 22, 1892 – October 16, 1946) was a prominent Nazi official in Austria and for wartime Germany in Poland and the Netherlands. ... The Second Austrian Republic was founded in 1945 with the re-establishment of Austrian independence in the aftermath of World War II. The First Republic is considered to have come to an end either in 1938, with Germanys annexation of the country (the Anschluss), or with the establishment of... Karl Renner Monument to Karl Renner next to the Austrian Parliament, Ringstraße, Vienna, Austria Karl Renner (December 14, 1870 - December 31, 1950) was an Austrian politician. ... Leopold Figl (October 2, 1902 in Rust, Lower Austria, - May 9, 1965 in Vienna) was an Austrian politician of the ÖVP (Christian Democrats). ... Julius Raab (November 29, 1891 - January 8, 1964) was a Conservative Austrian politician. ... Josef Klaus (August 15, 1910, Kötschach-Mauthen, Carinthia - July 26, 2001, Vienna) was an Austrian Christian/Conservative politician of the Peoples Party (ÖVP) and the Federal Chancellor (Bundeskanzler) from 1964 to 1970. ... Bruno Kreisky Bruno Kreisky (January 22, 1911—July 29, 1990) was a jewish -Austrian politician. ... Franz Vranitzky ~1990, Austrian Chancellor 1986-96. ... Viktor Klima Viktor Klima (born 4 June 1947), a Social Democratic Austrian politician, was Federal Chancellor of Austria (Bundeskanzler) from 1997 till his resignation in 2000. ... Wolfgang Schüssel Wolfgang Schüssel (born on June 7, 1945 in Vienna, Austria) is a Christian Democratic Austrian politician. ... Alfred Gusenbauer (born February 8, 1960) has been the leader of the Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ) since 2000. ...

References

• This article draws heavily on the corresponding article in the German Wikipedia. (retrieved 21 Jan 2005)