Chancellor of Austria
| Federal Chancellor of the Republic of Austria Bundeskanzler der Republik Österreich |
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| Style | Excellency |
| Member of |
Federal Government European Council |
| Residence | Ballhausplatz 2 |
| Seat | Vienna, Austria |
| Appointer | Federal President of the Republic of Austria |
| Term length | No term limit |
| Precursor | Minister-President of Cisleithania |
| Formation |
First Austrian Republic 10 November 1920 |
| First holder |
Karl Renner, as State Chancellor 30 October 1918 |
| Deputy | Vice-Chancellor of Austria |
| Website | bundeskanzler |
The Federal Chancellor (German: Bundeskanzler, sometimes shortened to Kanzler) is the head of government of Austria. In his capacity as chairman of the Austrian Federal Government, the chancellor represents the supreme federal authority of the executive branch. Though formally an equal member of the cabinet, the Chancellor is considered to be the most powerful position in Austrian politics, and as such is the nation's de facto chief executive. His official seat is in the Federal Chancellery.
The current Chancellor is Christian Kern of the Social Democratic Party, who was sworn into office on 17 May 2016.
The use of the term Chancellor (Kanzler, derived from Latin: cancellarius) as head of the chancery writing office can be traced back as far as the ninth century, when under King Louis the German the office of the Archchancellor (Erzkanzler), later Imperial Chancellor (Reichserzkanzler), was created as a high office on the service of the Holy Roman Emperor. The task was usually fulfilled by the Prince-Archbishops of Mainz as Archchancellors of the German lands.
In the course of the Imperial reform, the Habsburg Emperor Maximilian I in 1498 attempted to counter the spiritual power of the Reichserzkanzler with a more secular position of an Imperial Court Chancellor (Hofkanzler), but the two became merged. These were also the times when attempts were made to balance Imperial absolutism by the creation of Imperial Governments (Reichsregiment), ultimately a failure.
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Wikipedia