Austrian People's Party

conservative political party in Austria
(Redirected from ÖVP)

The Austrian People's Party[c] is one of the biggest parties in Austria. It was founded in 1945.[2] 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.[3] Former Minister of the Interior Liese Prokop (d. 2006) was also a member.[4]

Austrian People's Party
Österreichische Volkspartei
AbbreviationÖVP
ChairpersonChristian Stocker
Secretary GeneralAlexander Pröll
Parliamentary leaderAugust Wöginger
Leader in the European ParliamentReinhold Lopatka
Founded17 April 1945; 80 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[1][needs update]
Ideology
Political positionCentre-right
European affiliationEuropean People's Party
International affiliationInternational Democracy Union
European Parliament groupEuropean People's Party Group
Colours
  •   Turquoise[a]
  •   Black[b]
Governorships
5 / 9
Landtag Seats
136 / 440
Party flag
Flag of the Austrian People's Party

Leaders

change
Portrait Name Took office Left office Chancellor Ref.
  Leopold Figl 17 April 1945 2 April 1953 Himself (ÖVP) [5][6]
  Julius Raab 2 April 1953 11 April 1961 Himself (ÖVP) [7]
  Alfons Gorbach 11 April 1961 2 April 1964 Himself (ÖVP) [8]
  Josef Klaus 2 April 1964 21 April 1970 Himself (ÖVP) [9]
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)
[10]
  Josef Riegler 24 April 1989 2 July 1991 Franz Vranitzky (SPÖ)
  Erhard Busek 2 July 1991 22 April 1995 [11]
 
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) [12]
  Josef Pröll 28 November 2008 20 May 2011 Alfred Gusenbauer (SPÖ)
Werner Faymann (SPÖ)
[13]
 
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)
[14]
  Sebastian Kurz 15 May 2017 3 December 2021 Christian Kern (SPÖ)
Himself (ÖVP)
Brigitte Bierlein (Independent Bierlein Government)
Himself (ÖVP)
Alexander Schallenberg (ÖVP)
[15]
 
Karl Nehammer 3 December 2021 5 January 2025 Himself (ÖVP) [16]
 
Christian Stocker 5 January 2025 Incumbent Karl Nehammer (ÖVP)

Alexander Schallenberg (ÖVP)

Himself (ÖVP)

Election results

change

National Council

change
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

change
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

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

References

change
  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. 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.