|
Thomas Klestil was the president of Austria from 1992 until his death in July, 2004. Born to a working-class family in Vienna on November 4, 1932, Klestil studied economics, receiving his doctorate in 1957. He worked for various civil service organizations, including the international Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. He served as the Austrian ambassador to the United Nations from 1978-1982, and as ambassador to the United States from 1982-1987. Klestil was nominated by the conservative Austrian People's Party to run for Federal President, succeeding Kurt Waldheim in 1992. However, in the course of his two terms of office, Klestil repeatedly criticized the Austrian government and became alienated from his own party. He eventually clashed with its leader, Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel, and was abandoned by the party that had nominated him for the presidency.
Klestil was known for distancing Austria from its Nazi past and for strengthening Austria's ties with the emerging democracies in Eastern Europe. It was under his leadership that Austria joined the European Union in 1995.
Klestil and his first wife were divorced soon after his election in 1992 and he remarried in 1998. He died at the age of 71, two days before leaving office, and was survived by his wife and by three grown children from his first marriage.
Last updated: March 24, 2009.
© 1999-present by Answers Corporation. All rights reserved.
