{{Short description|Austrian politician (born 1959)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=February 2017}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = Michael Spindelegger | image = HBM Spindelegger1.jpg | office = [[Vice-Chancellor of Austria]] | chancellor = [[Werner Faymann]] | term_start = 21 April 2011 | term_end = 1 September 2014 | predecessor = [[Josef Pröll]] | successor = [[Reinhold Mitterlehner]] | office1 = [[Federal Ministry of Finance (Austria)|Minister of Finance]] | chancellor1 = [[Werner Faymann]] | term_start1 = 16 December 2013 | term_end1 = 1 September 2014 | predecessor1 = [[Maria Fekter]] | successor1 = [[Hans Jörg Schelling]] | office2 = [[Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs|Minister of Foreign Affairs]] | chancellor2 = [[Werner Faymann]] | term_start2 = 2 December 2008 | term_end2 = 16 December 2013 | predecessor2 = [[Ursula Plassnik]] | successor2 = [[Sebastian Kurz]] | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1959|12|21|df=y}} | birth_place = [[Mödling]], Austria | death_date = | death_place = | party = [[Austrian People's Party|Austrian People's]] | spouse = Margit Spindelegger | children = 2 sons | alma_mater = [[University of Vienna]] }}
'''Michael Spindelegger''' ({{IPA|de-AT|ˈmɪçaeːl ˈʃpɪndl̩ˌɛɡɐ}}; born 21 December 1959) is an Austrian politician. He served in the cabinet of Chancellor [[Werner Faymann]] as [[Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs|foreign minister of Austria]] from 2008 to 2013 and as [[Finance Minister of Austria|finance minister]] from 2013 to 2014; additionally, he held the office of [[Vice-Chancellor of Austria|vice-chancellor]] from 2011 to 2014. Spindelegger was also the leader of the [[Austrian People's Party]] (ÖVP) from 2011 to 2014. In August 2014 he unexpectedly resigned from all political positions. Since 2016, he has been serving as Director General of the Vienna-based [[International Centre for Migration Policy Development]] (ICMPD).
==Early and personal life== Spindelegger was born in [[Mödling]], [[Lower Austria]]. His father Erich, a railway worker and union leader, was mayor of [[Hinterbrühl]], a suburb of Vienna, and represented the Mödling district in the [[National Council (Austria)|National Council]] in the [[Austrian Parliament]].<ref name="The quiet Austrian">Eric Culp (11 May 2011), [http://www.politico.eu/article/the-quiet-austrian/ The quiet Austrian] ''[[European Voice]]''.</ref> He went to school in [[Hinterbrühl]] (1965–1969) and to the Keimgasse ''[[gymnasium (school)|gymnasium]]'' in Mödling (1969–1977). From 1977 to 1978 he served for one year in the [[Austrian Armed Forces]], being trained as a reserve officer. From 1978 he studied law at the [[University of Vienna]], and received a doctorate in law in 1983.<ref name="fmeia">{{cite web|url= http://www.bmeia.gv.at/en/foreign-ministry/foreign-ministry/der-aussenminister/lebenslauf.html|title= Dr. Michael Spindelegger - Curriculum Vitae|publisher= [[Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs (Austria)]]|access-date= 2008-12-17|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110522085248/http://www.bmeia.gv.at/en/foreign-ministry/foreign-ministry/der-aussenminister/lebenslauf.html|archive-date= 22 May 2011|url-status= dead}}</ref> During his studies, he joined a [[List of member fraternities of the Cartellverband|Cartellverband]] Catholic student fraternity at the university.<ref name="The quiet Austrian"/><ref name="standard">{{cite news|url= http://derstandard.at/?id=2642023&sap=2&_pid=5422827|title= Kopf des Tages: Michael Spindelegger|newspaper= [[Der Standard]]|date= 2006-10-31|author= Mayer, Thomas|access-date= 2008-12-17|language= de}}</ref> Spindelegger is married, and has two sons.<ref name="orf">{{cite web|url= http://noe.orf.at/stories/324318/|title= Michael Spindelegger im Porträt|publisher= [[ORF (broadcaster)|ORF]]|date= 2008-11-24|access-date= 2008-12-17|language= de|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110706093744/http://noe.orf.at/stories/324318/|archive-date= 6 July 2011|url-status= dead}}</ref>
==Professional career== From 1982 to 1983, Spindelegger was Assistant Lecturer and Researcher at the Institute of Criminal Law, [[University of Vienna]].
From 1983 to 1984, he worked as a judge's assistant at several Courts of Law in Vienna, and from 1984 to 1987 as a civil servant for the Federal State of [[Lower Austria]].
From 1987 to 1990, he worked for Austrian Defense Minister [[Robert Lichal]], and between 1990 and 1994 for a number of companies in Austria and Germany, including [[Siemens]].<ref name="fmeia" />
==Political career== From 1992 to 1993, Spindelegger was Member of the [[Federal Council of Austria]].
From January 1995 to October 1996, Spindelegger was [[Member of the European Parliament]],<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.europarl.europa.eu/members/archive/alphaOrder/view.do?language=EN&id=2052|title= Michael SPINDELEGGER|publisher= [[European Parliament]]|access-date= 2008-12-17}}</ref> where he served on the [[European Parliament Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs|Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs and Industrial Policy]].
From December 1993 to March 1995, and since October 1996, Spindelegger was a member of the [[National Council of Austria]] (''Nationalrat''). Between October 1996 and October 2006, he was his party's Speaker on Foreign Affairs, and head of the Parliamentary Committee on Foreign Affairs.
From 1991 Spindelegger was the deputy federal chairperson of his party's labour wing, the Austrian Workers' and Employees' Association (ÖAAB) and, from 2009, the organization's federal chairman. From January 2000 to January 2007, he was Member of the [[Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe]], and from January 2002 to October 2006 head of the Austrian delegation.<ref name="fmeia" />
From March 2000 to October 2006, he was vice-chairman of the Austrian People's Party, under the leadership of [[Wolfgang Schüssel]].
On 30 October 2006 Spindelegger became Second Speaker of the Austrian Parliament.<ref>{{cite web|title=Parliament: swearing-in of new Members of Parliament|publisher=Austrian Federal Chancellery|url=http://www.bka.gv.at/site/infodate__06.11.2006/4970/default.aspx|access-date=2008-12-17|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091125172208/http://www.bka.gv.at/site/infodate__06.11.2006/4970/default.aspx|archive-date=25 November 2009|df=dmy-all}}</ref> He held this office until November 2008.<ref name="fmeia" />
===Foreign Minister of Austria, 2008–2013=== [[File:AM Spindelegger trifft armenischen Amtskollegen (8505990059).jpg|thumb|left|Spindelegger with Armenian foreign minister [[Eduard Nalbandyan]], 25 February 2013]] Between 2008 and 2013 Spindelegger served as [[Foreign Minister of Austria]], in April 2011 he additionally took over the post of vice chancellor from [[Josef Pröll]]. He was elected [[ÖVP|ÖVP party chairman]] in May 2011.
In 2011, Austrian police arrested an ex-Soviet officer, [[Mikhail Golovatov]], wanted in Lithuania for war crimes. Golovatov was released the next day. Spindelegger defended the decision to release Golovatov by stating information from Lithuania was too vague.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2011-07-19 |title=Baltic fury over Austria's release of ex-Soviet officer |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-14202371 |access-date=2023-03-06}}</ref> Former Estonian president Toomas Hendrik Ilves has accused Spindelegger of personally intervening in the case with the Austrian border police in order to please the Russian government.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://cepa.org/alexei-navalny-and-the-wests-schroderizatsiya/|title = Alexei Navalny and the West's Schröderizatsiya | CEPA|date = 5 October 2021}}</ref>
As foreign minister, Spindelegger worked closely with international organisations in the field of migration and contributed to the policy debate during the Third EU-Africa Summit in [[Tripoli, Libya|Tripoli]]. After he was appointed as Vice-Chancellor, he created a "State Secretariat for Integration" within the [[Federal Ministry of the Interior (Austria)|Austrian Federal Ministry of Interior]] and nominated [[Sebastian Kurz]] for the position. At this time, he worked closely with the Ministry of Interior on asylum and labour migration issues while also negotiating a re-admission agreement with the Afghan Government.<ref>[http://www.icmpd.org/Director-General.1634.0.html Director General] International Centre for Migration Policy Development.</ref>{{incomplete reference|date=June 2023}} In 2011, Spindelegger appointed the then 24-year-old [[Sebastian Kurz]] as an integration secretary saying later, that he groomed Kurz to be his successor.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Felder |first=Guido |date=2017-10-16 |title=«Ich habe sein Talent früh erkannt»: Der Mann, der Kurz erfunden hat |language=de-CH |url=https://www.blick.ch/politik/ich-habe-sein-talent-frueh-erkannt-der-mann-der-kurz-erfunden-hat-id7469061.html |access-date=2023-06-08}}</ref> [[File:Außenminister Spindelegger in Israel (8640374308).jpg|thumb|left|Spindelegger with Israeli prime minister [[Benyamin Netanyahu]], 11 April 2013]] By 2013, the pace of withdrawing Austrian peacekeeping troops after 39 years of monitoring duty on the [[Golan Heights]] (as part of the [[United Nations Disengagement Observer Force]]) exposed splits between the Social Democrat-led defense ministry and the conservative-led foreign ministry ahead of the national elections that year.<ref>Michael Shields (18 June 2013), [https://www.reuters.com/article/us-syria-crisis-austria-idUSBRE95H08W20130618 Austria may delay peacekeepers' withdrawal from Golan] ''[[Reuters]]''.</ref>
===Finance Minister of Austria, 2013–2014=== Following the [[2013 Austrian legislative election|2013 national elections]], Spindelegger became Austria's finance minister in Faymann's second cabinet.<ref>James Shotter (12 December 2013), [https://www.ft.com/content/59cc4c9c-6321-11e3-a87d-00144feabdc0 Austria set for another grand coalition as parties announce deal] ''[[Financial Times]]''.</ref> He replaced [[Maria Fekter]].
Under Spindelegger's leadership, Austria decided against letting state lender [[Hypo Alpe Adria]] go bust; instead, the government created a "bad bank" for 18 billion euros ($25 billion) of Hypo assets while pressing its home province of Carinthia and holders of subordinated debt to contribute to the costs.<ref>Michael Shields and Angelika Gruber (14 March 2014), [https://www.reuters.com/article/austria-hypo-idUSL6N0MB0ZA20140314 Austria finally rules out letting lender Hypo go bust] ''[[Reuters]]''.</ref>
In July 2014, Spindelegger announced that his fellow conservative [[Johannes Hahn]] would remain Austria's [[Member of the European Commission]] under President [[Jean-Claude Juncker]].<ref>[http://www.politico.eu/article/meet-the-spindeleggers/ Meet the Spindeleggers] ''[[European Voice]]'', 19 February 2014.</ref> Prior to the announcement, there had been rumours that Spindelegger himself would move to the European Commission.<ref>Simon Taylor (2 July 2014), [http://www.politico.eu/article/austrias-hahn-nominated-for-second-commission-term/ Austria’s Hahn nominated for second Commission term] ''[[European Voice]]''.</ref>
Spindelegger resigned at the end of August 2014 following disputes over tax reform. The Social Democrats and some within his party called for a new tax on wealth which he opposed saying that the focus should be on cutting national debt levels that were scheduled to reach 80% of GDP by the end of the year. He said: "The Austrian way must be oriented toward Berlin and not toward Athens." Economic Minister [[Reinhold Mitterlehner]] was chosen as the new head of the party.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://online.wsj.com/articles/austrian-finance-minister-michael-spindelegger-quits-in-tax-reform-dispute-1409046824|title=Austrian Finance Minister Michael Spindelegger Quits in Tax-Reform Dispute|newspaper=Wall Street Journal|date=26 August 2014|last1=Lundeen|first1=Nicole}}</ref> Chancellor [[Werner Faymann]] said he expected the governing coalition to see out its term.<ref>{{cite web |title=Austria's Faymann sees government coalition lasting |website=[[Reuters]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220601152425/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-austria-spindelegger-coalition-idUSKBN0GQ0QA20140826 |archive-date=2022-06-01 |url-status=live |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-austria-spindelegger-coalition-idUSKBN0GQ0QA20140826}}</ref>
==Since 2015== In 2015, Spindelegger became the director of the [[Agency for the Modernisation of Ukraine]] (AMU).<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.wallstreet-online.de/nachricht/7637922-amu-team-starts-programme-work|title = Finanznachrichten - Börse & Wirtschaft aktuell}}</ref>
Since 2016, he has been serving as Director General of the Vienna-based [[International Centre for Migration Policy Development]] (ICMPD).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Director General - ICMPD |url=https://www.icmpd.org/about-us/the-organisation/director-general |access-date=2024-01-29 |website=www.icmpd.org |language=en}}</ref> This organisation was caught in a scandal where journalists found out that one of the ways the it helps to shape EU migration policy is through its support of the coast guards in [[Libya]], [[Morocco]], and [[Tunisia]] - all entities accused of human rights violations and presumably responsible for thousands of illegal pullbacks in the Mediterranean.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-05-22 |title=Investigation reveals how little-known organization supports controversial Libyan and Tunisia coast guards |url=https://www.infomigrants.net/en/post/49086/investigation-reveals-how-littleknown-organization-supports-controversial-libyan-and-tunisia-coast-guards |access-date=2024-01-29 |website=InfoMigrants |language=en}}</ref>
In February 2020, Spindelegger joined around fifty former European prime ministers and foreign ministers in signing an open letter published by British newspaper ''[[The Guardian]]'' to condemn [[U.S. president]] [[Donald Trump]]’s [[2020 Trump Israel–Palestine plan|Middle East peace plan]], saying it would create an [[apartheid]]-like situation in occupied Palestinian territory.<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/feb/27/grave-concern-about-us-plan-to-resolve-israel-palestine-conflict Grave concern about US plan to resolve Israel-Palestine conflict] ''[[The Guardian]]'', 27 February 2020.</ref>
==Recognition== * [[Decoration of Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria|''Grand Decoration of Honour in Silver with Star'' for Services to the Republic of Austria]] (''Großes Silbernes Ehrenzeichen mit dem Stern für Verdienste um die Republik Österreich'') in May 2004.<ref name="ehre">{{Cite web |date=2004-05-04 |title=EHRENZEICHEN FÜR VERDIENTE MANDATERiNNEN |url=http://www.parlament.gv.at/PG/PR/JAHR_2004/PK0310/PK0310.shtml |access-date=2008-12-18 |publisher=Austrian Parliament |language=de}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.parlament.gv.at/PAKT/VHG/XXIV/AB/AB_10542/imfname_251156.pdf | title = Reply to a parliamentary question about the Decoration of Honour | language = de | page=1639 | access-date = 2 December 2012 }}</ref> and (2011) <ref name="ehre" />{{rp|=2015}}
==Notes and references== {{Reflist}}
==External links== {{Commons}} *[http://www.oevp.at/spindelegger Michael Spindelegger]{{Dead link|date=April 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} at the ÖVP website {{in lang|de}} *{{C-SPAN|1031420}}
{{s-start}} {{s-off}} {{s-bef|before=[[Ursula Plassnik]]}} {{s-ttl|title=[[Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs|Minister of Foreign Affairs]]|years=2008–2013}} {{s-aft|after=[[Sebastian Kurz]]}} {{s-bef|before=[[Josef Pröll]]}} {{s-ttl|title=[[Vice-Chancellor of Austria|Vice Chancellor of Austria]]|years=2011–2014}} {{s-aft|after=[[Reinhold Mitterlehner]]}} {{s-bef|before=[[Maria Fekter]]}} {{s-ttl|title=[[Federal Ministry of Finance (Austria)|Minister of Finance]]|years=2013–2014}} {{s-aft|after=[[Hans Jörg Schelling]]}} {{s-ppo}} {{s-bef|before=[[Josef Pröll]]}} {{s-ttl|title=[[Chair of the Austrian People's Party]]|years=2011–2014}} {{s-aft|after=[[Reinhold Mitterlehner]]}} {{s-end}}
{{Vice-Chancellors of Austria}} {{OVPHeads}} {{Cabinet Faymann}} {{Foreign Ministers of Austria}} {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Spindelegger, Michael}} [[Category:1959 births]] [[Category:Austrian People's Party MEPs]] [[Category:Austrian Roman Catholics]] [[Category:Ministers of finance of Austria]] [[Category:Ministers of foreign affairs of Austria]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:Members of the 18th National Council (Austria)]] [[Category:Members of the 19th National Council (Austria)]] [[Category:Members of the 20th National Council (Austria)]] [[Category:Members of the 21st National Council (Austria)]] [[Category:Members of the 22nd National Council (Austria)]] [[Category:Members of the 23rd National Council (Austria)]] [[Category:Members of the 24th National Council (Austria)]] [[Category:Members of the 25th National Council (Austria)]] [[Category:Recipients of the Grand Decoration with Sash for Services to the Republic of Austria]] [[Category:Vice-chancellors of Austria]]