Hermann Withalm
 Hermann Withalm    (notary, politician) | |
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| Born | 21 April 1912 Gaunersdorf, Austria |
| Died | 19 August 2003 (Age 91) Austria |
| Nationality | Austrian |
| Alma mater | University of Vienna |
| Party | Austrian People's Party |
Austrian ÖVP politician mooted for top position in party, but failed to get post. Attended Bilderberg/1967 as Vice Chancellor.
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Hermann Withalm was an Austrian politician (ÖVP) and Vice Chancellor from 1968 to 1970. He attended the 1967 Bilderberg conference. He was mooted for the top job in the party in the late 1960s and early 1970s, but failed to reach the post.
Background
As the grandson of the long-standing mayor of his home town and member of the Lower Austrian state parliament, Ignaz Withalm, and coming from the middle of the Lower Austrian Weinviertel region, Hermann Withalm attended the Melk Abbey Gymnasium and the Kalksburg Jesuit Gymnasium, where he graduated from high school in 1930. He then studied law at the University of Vienna (doctorate 1935).
He was a member of the Catholic student association KaV Norica Vienna.[1]
After court and notarial practice in Vienna, Mistelbach and Poysdorf, he was dismissed by the National Socialists in 1938 after the Anschluss and worked on the Reichsautobahn until 1942. After two more years as a trainee in Vienna and Wolkersdorf, he became a public notary in Wolkersdorf in 1947.
Political career
From 1952 he headed the regional organization of the conservative Austrian People's Party and was then General Secretary of the party from 1960 to 1970. He was instrumental in the reform of the ÖVP, which he pushed through with Josef Klaus against the will of conservatives such as Alfons Gorbach. After the 1966 National Council election (absolute majority for the People's Party), he became the ÖVP parliamentary chairman in the National Council.
When the relative majority in the 1970 elections went to the Social Democrats for the first time, Chancellor Josef Klaus resigned and Withalm became his successor as federal party chairman of the ÖVP for almost two years. Withalm owes the nickname Iron Hermann to the journalist Kurt Vorhofer and corresponds to his sharp thinking and his unwavering determination on fundamental issues. From 1953 to 1975 he was a member of parliament and from 1956 to 1959 he was State Secretary in the Ministry of Finance.
He acted as vice chancellor from January 19, 1968 to April 21, 1970 (sole government of the ÖVP, the chancellor was Josef Klaus), before he resumed his duties as a notary. In 1976 he became chairman of the Senior Citizens' Association of the ÖVP and remained so until 1988.
Withalm was originally intended as the ÖVP candidate for the 1974 federal presidential election, and a first election poster with his likeness was already in print. Surprisingly, however, the party executive (at the urging of the Tyrolean governor Eduard Wallnöfer) made Alois Lugger a candidate. He finally lost the election to Rudolf Kirchschläger.[2]
Until 1988, Hermann Withalm was chairman of the Austrian Senior Citizens' Association, it was the last political office he held.[3] He died on August 19, 2003 in Wolkersdorf.
Event Participated in
| Event | Start | End | Location(s) | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bilderberg/1967 | 31 March 1967 | 2 April 1967 | St John's College (Cambridge) UK England | Possibly the only Bilderberg meeting held in a university college rather than a hotel (St. John's College, Cambridge) |
References
- ↑ "Katholische Couleurstudenten in Österreich" = "Borussen-Echo", 269a, Oktober 1982, S. 10 (nur "Nordgau")
- ↑ http://diepresse.com/home/politik/innenpolitik/weltbisgestern/377960/Die-Welt-bis-gestern_Hermann-Withalm_Der-politische-Absturz-des?from=suche.intern.portal
- ↑ http://www.parlament.gv.at/WWER/PAD_01516/index.shtml
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