List of Federal Presidents of Austria

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First Republic (1918 to 1934)

The first head of state was elected by the Bundesversammlung (consisting of the members of the National Council and of the Federal Council). The most important assignment of the Bundesversammlung was the election of the president.

In 1920 the period of office for the president was set to four years, with one optional re-election. In 1929 a novellation extended the period of office to 6 years. In addition to that, the president was now to be elected directly by the citizens. During the Ständestaat from 1934 to 1938 president Miklas stayed in office without further elections.

Second Republic (1945 to now)

The allied council did not accept a novellation in 1945, which was meant to restore the version of 1929. That is why the first president of the second republic was not elected directly, but instead again by the Bundesversammlung.

In 1951 the president was directly elected by the citizens for the first time in the country's history.

Timeline

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DateFormat = yyyy Period = from:1945 till:2005 TimeAxis = orientation:vertical ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:5 start:1945

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See also

• History of Austria
• Politics of Austria
• Chancellor of Austria
• Lists of incumbents