Austrian People's Party

Austrian People's Party
Österreichische Volkspartei
AbbreviationÖVP
ChairpersonChristian Stocker
Secretary GeneralAlexander Pröll
Parliamentary leaderAugust Wöginger
Leader in the European ParliamentReinhold Lopatka
Founded17 April 1945; 81 years ago (1945-04-17)
HeadquartersLichtenfelsgasse 7, 1010
First District, Vienna
Youth wingYoung People's Party
Party academyPolitical Academy of the Austrian People's Party
Membership (2017)c. 600,000[needs update]
Ideology
Political positionCentre-right
European affiliationEuropean People's Party
International affiliationInternational Democracy Union
European Parliament groupEuropean People's Party Group
Colours
  •   Turquoise
  •   Black
Governorships
5 / 9
Landtag Seats
136 / 440
Party flag
Flag of the Austrian People's Party

The Austrian People's Party is one of the biggest parties in Austria. It was founded in 1945. Its name roughly translates to Austrian People's party. It has about 630,000 members. Its views are often center-right. It opposes moderate socialism, which is embodied by the other big party SPÖ. Former Chancellor Wolfgang Schüssel is a member of this party. Former Minister of the Interior Liese Prokop (d. 2006) was also a member.

Leaders

Portrait Name Took office Left office Chancellor Ref.
Leopold Figl 17 April 1945 2 April 1953 Himself (ÖVP)
Julius Raab 2 April 1953 11 April 1961 Himself (ÖVP)
Alfons Gorbach 11 April 1961 2 April 1964 Himself (ÖVP)
Josef Klaus 2 April 1964 21 April 1970 Himself (ÖVP)
Hermann Withalm 21 April 1970 5 June 1971 Bruno Kreisky (SPÖ)
Karl Schleinzer 5 June 1971 19 July 1975
Josef Taus 19 July 1975 7 July 1979
Alois Mock 7 July 1979 24 April 1989 Bruno Kreisky (SPÖ)
Fred Sinowatz (SPÖ)
Franz Vranitzky (SPÖ)
Josef Riegler 24 April 1989 2 July 1991 Franz Vranitzky (SPÖ)
Erhard Busek 2 July 1991 22 April 1995
Wolfgang Schüssel 22 April 1995 21 April 2007 Franz Vranitzky (SPÖ)
Viktor Klima (SPÖ)
Himself (ÖVP)
Alfred Gusenbauer (SPÖ)
Wilhelm Molterer 21 April 2007 28 November 2008 Alfred Gusenbauer (SPÖ)
Josef Pröll 28 November 2008 20 May 2011 Alfred Gusenbauer (SPÖ)
Werner Faymann (SPÖ)
Michael Spindelegger 20 May 2011 26 August 2014 Werner Faymann (SPÖ)
 Reinhold Mitterlehner 8 November 2014 15 May 2017 Werner Faymann (SPÖ)
Himself (ÖVP)
Christian Kern (SPÖ)
Sebastian Kurz 15 May 2017 3 December 2021 Christian Kern (SPÖ)
Himself (ÖVP)
Brigitte Bierlein (Independent Bierlein Government)
Himself (ÖVP)
Alexander Schallenberg (ÖVP)
Karl Nehammer 3 December 2021 5 January 2025 Himself (ÖVP)
Christian Stocker 5 January 2025 Incumbent Karl Nehammer (ÖVP)

Alexander Schallenberg (ÖVP)

Himself (ÖVP)

Election results

National Council

National Council of Austria
Election year # of total votes % of overall vote # of seats Government
1945 1,602,227 (1st) 49.8% 85 (1st) ÖVP-SPÖ-KPÖ Majority
1949 1,846,581 (1st) 44.0% 77 (1st) ÖVP-SPÖ Majority
1953 1,781,777 (2nd) 41.3% 74 (1st) SPÖ-ÖVP Majority
1956 1,999,986 (1st) 46.0 82 (1st) ÖVP-SPÖ Majority
1959 1,928,043 (2nd) 44.2% 79 (1st) ÖVP-SPÖ Majority
1962 2,024,501 (1st) 45.4% 81 (1st) ÖVP-SPÖ Majority
1966 2,191,109 (1st) 48.3% 85 (1st) ÖVP Majority
1970 2,051,012 (2nd) 44.7% 78 (2nd) in opposition
1971 1,964,713 (2nd) 43.1% 80 (2nd) in opposition
1975 1,981,291 (2nd) 42.9% 80 (2nd) in opposition
1979 1,981,739 (2nd) 41.9% 77 (2nd) in opposition
1983 2,097,808 (2nd) 43.2% 81 (2nd) in opposition
1986 2,003,663 (2nd) 41.3% 77 (2nd) SPÖ-ÖVP Majority
1990 1,508,600 (2nd) 32.1% 60 (2nd) SPÖ-ÖVP Majority
1994 1,281,846 (2nd) 27.7% 52 (2nd) SPÖ-ÖVP Majority
1995 1,370,510 (2nd) 28.3% 52 (2nd) SPÖ-ÖVP Majority
1999 1,243,672 (3rd) 26.9% 52 (2nd) ÖVP-FPÖ Majority
2002 2,076,833 (1st) 42.3% 79 (1st) ÖVP-FPÖ Majority
2006 1,616,493 (2nd) 34.3% 66 (2nd) SPÖ-ÖVP Majority
2008 1,269,656 (2nd) 26.0% 51 (2nd) SPÖ-ÖVP Majority
2013 1,125,876 (2nd) 24.0% 47 (2nd) SPÖ-ÖVP Majority
2017 1,341,930 (1st) 31.4% 62 (1st) ÖVP-FPÖ Majority

European Parliament

European Parliament
Election year # of total votes % of overall vote # of seats
1996 1,124,921 (1st) 29.7% 7
1999 859,175 (2nd) 30.7% 7
2004 817,716 (2nd) 32.7% 6
2009 858,921 (1st) 30.0% 6
2014 761,896 (1st) 27.0% 5

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Since 2017
  2. ↑ Until 2017
  3. ↑ German: Österreichische Volkspartei, shortenend to ÖVP

References

  1. ↑ "Zwischen Nutzen und Idealen". orf.at (in German). 17 July 2017. Retrieved 2021-08-24.
  2. ↑ "People's Party | political party, Austria". Britannica. Retrieved June 21, 2025.
  3. ↑ "Wolfgang Schüssel". Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung. Retrieved June 21, 2025.
  4. ↑ "Liese Prokop, politician and Olympic medalist, dies". Taipei Times. January 2, 2007. Retrieved June 21, 2025.
  5. ↑ "Figl, Leopold". Austria-Forum (in German). Retrieved 2018-12-20.
  6. ↑ "PK-Nr. 666/2002". www.parlament.gv.at. Retrieved 2018-12-20.
  7. ↑ "Raab, Julius". Austria-Forum (in German). Retrieved 2018-12-20.
  8. ↑ "Wiener Zeitung - Alfons Gorbach". 2002-02-11. Archived from the original on 2002-02-11. Retrieved 2018-12-20.
  9. ↑ "Klaus, Josef". Austria-Forum (in German). Retrieved 2018-12-20.
  10. ↑ "Alois Mock dies; aided end of Iron Curtain". Newsday. Archived from the original on 2017-06-10. Retrieved 2018-12-20.
  11. ↑ "Dr. Erhard Busek, Biografie". www.parlament.gv.at. Retrieved 2018-12-20.
  12. ↑ "Cablegate: Who's Who in the Gusenbauer Cabinet". www.scoop.co.nz. Retrieved 2018-12-20.
  13. ↑ ""Für meine Gesundheit": Pröll legt alle Ämter nieder". news.ORF.at (in German). 2011-04-13. Retrieved 2018-12-20.
  14. ↑ Connolly, Kate (2016-05-09). "Faymann quits as Austrian chancellor following far right's election victory". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2018-12-20.
  15. ↑ Eddy, Melissa (2017-12-18). "Austria's New Government: A Mix of Far-Right, Pro-Europe and Youth". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2018-12-20.
  16. ↑ Eder, Marton (2021-12-03). "Austria Gets Another Leader as Political Turmoil, Covid Rage". Bloomberg. Retrieved 2021-12-14.