Thomas Klestil
| Thomas Klestil | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| 10th President of Austria | |
|
In office 8 July 1992 – 6 July 2004 |
|
| Chancellor |
Franz Vranitzky Viktor Klima Wolfgang Schüssel |
| Preceded by | Kurt Waldheim |
| Succeeded by | Presidium (Acting) Heinz Fischer |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
4 November 1932 Vienna, Austria |
| Died | 6 July 2004 (aged 71) Vienna, Austria |
| Nationality | Austrian |
| Political party | Austrian People's Party (ÖVP) |
| Spouse(s) |
Edith Klestil (div.) Margot Klestil-Löffler |
| Religion | Roman Catholicism |
| Signature |  |
Thomas Klestil (German pronunciation: [ˈtoːmas ˈklɛstɪl]; 4 November 1932 – 6 July 2004) was an Austrian diplomat and politician. He was elected the tenth President of Austria (Bundespräsident) in 1992 (on 56.9% of the popular vote) and was re-elected to the position in 1998. His second—and final—term of office was due to end on 8 July 2004, but his death two days prior to his retirement from office cut his term short.
Born in Vienna to a working class family—his father worked for the tramway—Klestil went to school in Landstraße where he made friends with Joe Zawinul. He studied at the Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration and received his doctorate in 1957. After entering the civil service he worked in Austria as well as abroad, for example for OECD. In 1969, he established the Austrian consulate-general in Los Angeles, where he befriended Arnold Schwarzenegger. Fluent in English, Klestil was the Austrian Ambassador to the United Nations (1978–1982) and Ambassador to the United States (1982–1987) prior to his election as president.
After being nominated by the conservative Austrian People's Party to run for Federal President, he succeeded Kurt Waldheim on 8 July 1992. However, in the course of his two terms of office, Klestil's alienation from his own party became increasingly obvious, so much so that there was open antagonism between Federal Chancellor Wolfgang Schüssel and Klestil when, in 2000, the latter had to swear in the newly formed coalition government with Jörg Haider's Austrian Freedom Party. Klestil, who during his election campaign had vowed to be an "active" president, repeatedly criticized the Austrian government and, in an interview with a Swiss daily given in 2003, stated that, theoretically speaking, it was in his power to dismiss the government any time he found it necessary to do so. As a matter of fact the Austrian Constitution does give far-reaching powers to the Federal President, but these had never been exercised by any of Klestil's predecessors.
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