Sebastian Kurz is an Austrian politician who served as the 25th and current Chancellor of Austria since 18 December 2017, as well as Chairman of the Austrian People's Party (ÖVP) since May 15th, 2017. From 2014 to 2017 he was Minister of Europe, Integration and Foreign Affairs.
Background
Kurz was born in Vienna, the only child of s Josef and Elisabeth Kurz. His father is an engineer and his mother is a grammar school teacher. His maternal grandmother, Magdalena Müller - born 1928, Temerin, Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (today Vojvodina, Serbia) - is a Danube Swabian who fled from the city and settled in Zogelsdorf (today in Austria) during World War II after the Yugoslav Partisans and the Red Army started to occupy the territory that was then part of the Kingdom of Hungary.
Education
He obtained his Matura in 2004 at the GRG 12 Erlgasse and subsequently completed mandatory military service in 2005. Following the same year, Kurz attended the faculty of law (Juridicum) at the University of Vienna, but did not graduate there since he voluntarily left. Kurz joined politics when he entered the Young People's Party (JVP) in 2003.
Career
In 2009 Kurz was elected chairman of the youth branch of the Austrian People's Party. Between 2010 and 2011 he was a member of Vienna's city council, where he focused on generational fairness and ensuring pensions. In April 2011, he was appointed to the newly created post of State Secretary for Integration (part of the Ministry of the Interior).
In December 2013, Kurz became Austria's foreign minister, whose portfolio at his request was widened to include social integration.
His first trip abroad was Croatia, marking the continuous Austrian support for that country's accession to the European Union. In February 2014, he hosted the first of several rounds of negotiations on the nuclear program of Iran in Vienna, strengthening Austria's position as a place of dialogue.
The negotiations were successfully concluded on 14 July 2015, when the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action was signed by Iran, the P5+1 and the European Union. Following the signature Sebastian Kurz said he was pleased with the outcome of the talks with Iran, and expressed his hope that “the Vienna Agreement will act as catalyst towards the global nuclear disarmament ambitions”.
During his first year in office, Kurz chaired the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe until May 2014. In May 2014, as Chairman of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, Sebastian Kurz invited 30 ministers of foreign affairs, among them Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and his Ukrainian colleague Andrii Deshchytsia, to Vienna in order to negotiate solutions to end the Ukrainian crisis.
As part of the Humanitarian Initiative, Kurz hosted the Vienna Conference on the Humanitarian Impact of Nuclear Weapons in late 2014. Following his proposal, Vienna later hosted the negotiations leading to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action for the nuclear program of Iran in 2015. In November 2014, Sebastian Kurz was appointed to lead the European People's Party foreign affairs ministers together with Elmar Brok, chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee in the EP.
In the course of the European migrant crisis in 2015, Kurz called for more effective control of the EU's external borders and presented a 50-point plan towards integration with a special focus on the areas of language and education, labour and the job market, rule of law and values.
In 2015, he proposed a new law prohibiting the foreign funding of mosques or payment of imams' salaries, and regulation of the version of the Quran that may be used in Austria. The law provides Muslims with additional rights, such as the right to halal food and pastoral care in the military. Kurz said the changes were intended to "clearly combat" the influence of radical Islam in Austria. The law passed by the Austrian parliament in February 2015 did not call for an authorized version of the Quran.
Amid the Turkish government purge against members of its own civil and military service in reaction to a failed coup d'état in July 2016, Kurz summoned Turkey's ambassador to explain Ankara's links to demonstrations of thousands of people in Austria in support of Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
Kurz was appointed acting party leader after former head Reinhold Mitterlehner stepped down in May 2017. He was later formally elected chairman, receiving 98.7 percent of the votes at a party convention in Linz. The delegates approved changes to the party statute, which put more power in the party leader’s hands, including the power to set party policy, the power to appoint party ministers, and the power to name candidates to stand for election.
Politics
In 2013, Kurz was appointed Foreign Minister and became the youngest person to ever hold this position in Austrian history. After the resignation of Vice-Chancellor Reinhold Mitterlehner as chairmen of the People's Party in May 2017, Kurz was appointed his successor. Mitterlehner's withdrawal from all political posts triggered the end of the Kern government and thus lead to the early 2017 legislative election, in which Kurz participated as top candidate of his party, gaining tremendous popularity with his core topics immigration and social politics. Ultimately his party, under the campaign alias "Sebastian Kurz List – the new People's Party", achieved the first place in the election, receiving 31.5% of the vote.
Views
As leader of the largest party after the election, Kurz was charged with the formation of a new government by President Alexander Van der Bellen and started to look out for a coalition partner to ensure a majority in the legislature. The search and subsequent negotiations turned out quick and his party went into a coalition government with the Freedom Party. Kurz was sworn in as chancellor on 18 December 2017 alongside with his new government. During his chancellorship, Kurz enabled the 12 hours working day, initiated a fusion of all Austrian social insurances, enacted the "Family Bonus Plus", abolished the smoking ban, prohibited headscarfs in the public, amended family subsidy for European foreigners, installed the monitoring compact, established compulsory German language classes and rejected the Global Compact for Migration. As chancellor, Kurz has frequently been described as publicly restrained.
His style of governing is regarded as active and expeditious by supporters, but uncooperative and hasty by opposers. His popular support increased during his chancellorship, although his policies have strongly been criticized by the opposition, trade unions as well as foreign politicians and not least by members of his own party.
Membership
He is a member of the Austrian People's Party (ÖVP). In 2010, Kurz became a member of the Viennese state and city legislature. Following a reorganization of cabinet Faymann I in 2011, he became state secretary for integration in the Ministry of the Interior. In 2013, Kurz shortly served as a member of the National Council.