Bruno Kreisky

Kreisky Bruno Kreisky was born on 22nd January 1911 in Vienna. He was the son of Maximilian Kreisky, the General Director of the Austrian Wool Industry and Textile AG, and of his wife Irene Felix. He thus grew up in a wealthy middle class Viennese Jewish family and was educated at an academic grammar school. However, he was early attracted to socialism and, in 1926, became a member of the Socialist Youth Movement. When, in 1930, he entered the University of Vienna to study law and economics he proved to be a brilliant student, graduating in 1933 and obtaining his doctorate in 1938. In 1934, Bruno Kreisky became a leader of the Revolutionary Socialist Youth. In 1935 he was detained in the Wöllersdorf Anhaltelager by the conservative government for his activities in the Social Democratic Party, which was then banned in Austria. At the time of the German Anschluss of Austria, Dr. Kreisky was arrested and put in protective detention by the Gestapo. He later escaped and made his way to Sweden, where he became a leader of the Austrian refugees. There, on 23rd April 1942, he married Vera Fürth and they had two children, Peter Steffan and Suzanne Christine. From 1946 to 1950 they remained in Sweden where Dr. Kreisky was a member of the Austrian Embassy staff. On 22nd June 1951 he returned to Austria as deputy chief of cabinet in the office of the Federal President, Dr Körner and in 1953, he was appointed State Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In 1955 he was a member of the Austrian negotiating team that flew to Moscow to discuss the State Treaty with the Russians. He then co-chaired the Austrian group at the Ambassadors Conference. He was elected to the Austrian Parliament in 1956 and became both Foreign Minister and Deputy Chairman of the Socialist Party in 1959. On 1st February 1967, Dr.Kreisky became Party Chairman and in March 1970 became the first Social Democrat to serve as the Austrian Federal Chancellor in a minority government which was confirmed with an absolute majority on 10th December 1971. This majority was increased in 1975 and 1979 and under his chancellorship, Austria enjoyed a period of great prosperity; being known as the 'Era Kreisky' when the protection of employment and social security received priority. After he lost his absolute majority in the 1982/3 elections, Dr. Kreisky withdrew from active politics and became very ill. Nevertheless, he chaired a commission on European employment which published its report in 1987. Bruno Kreisky died of a heart ailment on 29th July 1990 in Vienna

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