Alexander Van der Bellen
Alexander Van der Bellen (born 18 January 1944) is an Austrian politician and economist. He is the President of Austria since 2017. He won the 2016 election after multiple court battles and narrow victories.[1] He was sworn into office on 26 January 2017 officially becoming the president. Van der Bellen is the country's second green president and the first to be directly elected by popular vote.[2] He was re-elected in 2022.
Alexander Van der Bellen | |
|---|---|
 Alexander Van der Bellen in 2023 | |
| President of Austria | |
| Assumed office 26 January 2017 | |
| Chancellor | Christian Kern Sebastian Kurz Brigitte Bierlein Sebastian Kurz Alexander Schallenberg Karl Nehammer |
| Preceded by | Heinz Fischer |
| Leader of the Green Party | |
| In office December 1997 – 3 October 2008 | |
| Preceded by | Christoph Chorherr |
| Succeeded by | Eva Glawischnig-Piesczek |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 18 January 1944 Vienna, Nazi Germany (now Austria) |
| Political party | Social Democratic Party (Before 1992) Green Party (1992–2016) Independent (2016–present) |
| Spouse(s) | Brigitte (Divorced) Doris Schmidauer (2015–present) |
| Children | 2 |
| Alma mater | University of Innsbruck |
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Early life
Van der Bellen was born in Vienna. His father was Russian and his mother was Estonian. He is the son of aristocratic refugees from Russia's Bolshevik Revolution.[3] They first escaped from Pskov to Estonia.[3]
In 1962, he graduated from the Akademisches Gymnasium in Innsbruck. He studied economics at the University of Innsbruck. He received a doctorate in 1970.
Political career
Van der Bellen is a retired professor of economics at the University of Vienna. He is a member of the Austrian Green Party. He served as a member of the National Council from 1994 to 2012. He was the chairman of the parliamentary club and federal spokesperson of his party from 1997 to 2008.[4][5]
Presidency (since 2017)
He ran as a nominally independent candidate supported by the Green Party in the 2016 presidential election, and finished second in the first round before winning the second round against far-right candidate Norbert Hofer.[1] A second election was ordered since the votes were too narrow. In December 2016, Van der Bellen won the election with more votes. He became the first Austrian president to be directly elected by popular vote.[2] He took office on 26 January 2017.
He was re-elected in October 2022 with almost 57% of the vote.
Political views
Van der Bellen supports green and social liberal policies, and is supportive of the European Union.[6]
Alexander Van Der Bellen Media
Alexander Van der Bellen
Van der Bellen meets with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo at the Hofburg Imperial Palace in Vienna on 14 August 2020.
Van der Bellen with Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin on 17 February 2023
Van der Bellen with Israeli President Isaac Herzog on 5 September 2023
Ribbon bar of the Decoration of Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria, Grand Decoration of Honour in Gold with Star
Ribbon bar of the Decoration of Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria, Grand Star
Ribbon bars of the Order of Leopold
Ribbon bar of the Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana, 1st Class
Ribbon bar: Order of Merit of the Italian Republic – Knight Grand Cross Decorated with Grand Cordon (since 2001).
Order of Merit (Liechtenstein) Ribbon.Bar
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References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Austria presidential election result: Alexander Van der Bellen wins over far-right candidate Norbert Hofer". The Independent. 23 May 2016.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Connolly, Kate; Oltermann, Philip; Henley, Jon (23 May 2016). Austria elects Green candidate as president in narrow defeat for far right. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/may/23/far-right-candidate-defeated-austrian-presidential-election-norbert-hofer. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Austria far right thwarted, Van der Bellen elected president". BBC. Retrieved 25 November 2023.
- ↑ "Biographical data". Die Grünen. Archived from the original on 2008-09-14. Retrieved 2008-08-19.
- ↑ "Van der Bellen sichtlich bewegt". Archived from the original on 2008-10-06. Retrieved 2016-05-23.
- ↑ "Die Grünen - "Wenn es die EU nicht gäbe, müsste man sie erfinden"". Die Grünen. Archived from the original on 2016-05-28. Retrieved 2016-05-23.
Other websites
Media related to Alexander Van der Bellen at Wikimedia Commons