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Klestil, Thomas

Thomas Klestil

b. 4 Nov 1932, Vienna
d. 6 Jul 2004, Vienna

Title: Bundespräsident (Federal President)
Term: 8 Jul 1992 - 8 Jul 1998
Chronology: 24 May 1992, elected by direct popular voting [1, pp. 14-15]
  8 Jul 1992, took the oath of office, session of the fourteenth Bundesversammlung (Federal Assembly), Großer Sitzungssaal des Parlaments, Parlamentsgebäude, Vienna
  8 Jul 1998, expiration of term
Term: 8 Jul 1998 - 6 Jul 2004
Chronology: 19 Apr 1998, elected by direct popular voting [1, pp. 16-17]
  8 Jul 1998, took the oath of office, session of the fifteenth Bundesversammlung (Federal Assembly), Großer Sitzungssaal des Parlaments, Parlamentsgebäude, Vienna
  6 Jul 2004, died [2]
Biography:
Originated from a working-class family; attended gymnasium (until 1952); studied economics in the College of World Trade, Vienna; received doctorate (1957); entered state service as an employee of the Office of Federal Chancellor (1957-1959); joined the Austrian mission at the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development in Paris (1959-1962); commercial attaché in the Austrian Embassy in Washington, D.C. (1962-1966); returned to Vienna to become private secretary to the Federal Chancellor Josef Klaus (1966-1969); consul-general in Los Angeles, U.S. (1969-1974); head of department, ministry of foreign affairs (1974-1978); permanent representative of Austria to the UN (1978-1982); ambassador to the United States (1982-1987); secretary general, ministry of foreign affairs (1987-1992); successfully stood as a candidate of the Austrian People's Party (Österreichische Volkspartei, ÖVP) for the presidential election in 1992; served as Bundespräsident from 8 Jul 1992 to 6 Jul 1992; reelected (1998); died in office. Biography source: [3]
Elections:

Candidate Popular vote (26 Apr 1992) Popular vote (24 May 1992)
Rudolf Streicher 1,888,599 1,915,380
Thomas Klestil 1,728,234 2,528,006
Heide Schmidt, geb. Kollmann 761,390 —
Robert Jungk 266,954 —
invalid votes 143,717 149,546
total number of votes cast 4,788,894 4,592,932
Candidate Popular vote (19 Apr 1998)
Thomas Klestil 2,644,034
Gertraud Knoll, geb. Braun 566,551
Heide Schmidt, geb. Kollmann 464,625
Richard Lugner 413,066
Karl Nowak 81,043
invalid votes 181,953
total number of votes cast 4,351,272
Source for election results: [1, pp. 14-17]

[1] "Bundespräsidentenwahl vom 25. April 2004" (Bundesministerium für Inneres, 2004)
[2] Starting from 1996, health problems prevented Klestil from exercising the functions of Bundespräsident on a number of occasions. On 5 Jul 2004, he suffered heart attack and was hospitalized. At this point, the Bundeskanzler Wolfgang Schüssel temporarily assumed the functions of Head of State (5 Jul 2004 - 6 Jul 2004). Following the death of Klestil (23:33 6 Jul 2004), the Kollegium composed of three presidents of the Nationalrat took over.
[3] Österreich-Lexikon (web site).
Last update: 29 Nov 2023
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