 |
Franz Josef Jonas
b. 29 Sep 1899, Vienna [1]
d. 24 Apr 1974, Vienna |
| Title: |
Bundespräsident (Federal President) |
| Term: |
9 Jun 1965 - 9 Jun 1971 |
| Chronology: |
23 May 1965, elected by direct popular voting [2, p. 8] |
| |
9 Jun 1965, took the oath of office, session of the ninth Bundesversammlung (Federal Assembly), Großer Sitzungssaal des Parlaments, Parlamentsgebäude, Vienna [3] |
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9 Jun 1971, expiration of term |
| Term: |
9 Jun 1971 - 24 Apr 1974 |
| Chronology: |
25 Apr 1971, elected by direct popular voting [2, p. 9] |
| |
9 Jun 1971, took the oath of office, session of the tenth Bundesversammlung (Federal Assembly), Großer Sitzungssaal des Parlaments, Parlamentsgebäude, Vienna [4] |
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24 Apr 1974, died [5] [6] |
| Biography: |
| Son of a worker; attended schools in the suburbs of Vienna; was trained as typesetter at vocational school; during World War I, served in the army and fought at the Russian and Italian fronts; worked as typesetter and proofreader; cooperated with the Social Democratic Party (Sozialdemokratische Partei, SdP); continued education in high school for workers; served as secretary of the SdP section for Vienna/Floridsdorf (1932-1934); after the coup of 1934, was briefly detained; joined the Revolutionary Socialists; imprisoned (1935) and charged with high treason; released in 1936; worked again as typesetter and then as commercial officer at locomotive works; became a member of local self-governing authority for Vienna/Floridsdorf (1945-1946); head of the Vienna/Floridsdorf district administration (1946-1948); served as Vienna municipal counselor for food (1948-1949) and construction (1949-1951); elected mayor of Vienna (1951-1965); member of the Bundesrat (Federal Council) (1952-1953) from the Socialist Party (Sozialistische Partei Österreichs, SPÖ); member of the Nationalrat (National Council) (1953-1965); elected Bundespräsident (23 May 1965), narrowly defeating the former Bundeskanzler Alfons Gorbach; reelected (25 Apr 1971); served two consecutive terms (9 Jun 1965 - 9 Jun 1971, 9 Jun 1971 - 24 Apr 1974); died in office (24 Apr 1974). Biography source: [7] |
| Elections: |
| Candidate |
Popular vote (23 May 1965) |
| Franz Josef Jonas |
2,324,436 |
| Alfons Gorbach |
2,260,888 |
| invalid votes |
94,103 |
| total number of votes cast |
4,679,427 |
| Candidate |
Popular vote (25 Apr 1971) |
| Franz Josef Jonas |
2,487,239 |
| Kurt Waldheim |
2,224,809 |
| invalid votes |
75,658 |
| total number of votes cast |
4,787,706 |
|
| Source for election results: [2, pp. 8-9] |
| |
| [1] |
Many sources erroneously assert that Franz Josef Jonas was born on 4 Oct 1899 as shown in official register of births. The actual date (29 Sep 1899) found in the prayer book of Jonas' mother was intentionally amended by an employee of the maternity house to coincide with the name-day of Emperor Franz Joseph I. [5, p. 2] |
| [2] |
"Bundespräsidentenwahl vom 25. April 2004" (Bundesministerium für Inneres, 2004) |
| [3] |
Arbeiter Zeitung, Nummer 132, Donnerstag, 10. Juni 1965. |
| [4] |
Arbeiter Zeitung, Nummer 132, Donnerstag, 10. Juni 1971. |
| [5] |
Arbeiter Zeitung, Nummer 97, Donnerstag, 25. April 1974. |
| [6] |
Died shortly after midnight on 24 Apr
1974. |
| [7] |
Österreich-Lexikon (web site). |
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Image: photograph, Präsidentschaftskanzlei, Vienna. |
