Foreign Minister of Austria Vice Chancellor
What was the position of Michael Spindelegger from Apr 2011 to Dec 2013?
Michael Spindelegger Michael Spindelegger ( born 21 December 1959 ) is an Austrian politician . He served in the cabinet of Chancellor Werner Faymann as foreign minister of Austria from 2008 to 2013 and as finance minister from 2013 to 2014 ; additionally , he held the office of vice-chancellor from 2011 to 2014 . Spindelegger was also the leader of the Austrian Peoples 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 in the Austrian Parliament . He went to school in Hinterbrühl ( 1965–1969 ) and to the Keimgasse 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 . During his studies , he joined a Cartellverband Catholic student fraternity at the university . Spindelegger is married , and has two sons . 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 judges 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 . 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 , where he served on the 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 partys Speaker on Foreign Affairs , and head of the Parliamentary Committee on Foreign Affairs . From 1991 Spindelegger was the deputy federal chairperson of his partys labour wing , the Austrian Workers and Employees Association ( ÖAAB ) and , from 2009 , the organizations 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 . From March 2000 to October 2006 he was vice-chairman of the Austrian Peoples Party , under the leadership of Wolfgang Schüssel . On 30 October 2006 Spindelegger became Second Speaker of the Austrian Parliament . He held this office until November 2008 . Foreign Minister of Austria , 2008–2013 . 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 Party Chairman in May 2011 . In his capacity 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 . After he was appointed as Vice-Chancellor , he created a State Secretariat for Integration within the 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 . 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 . Finance Minister of Austria , 2013–2014 . Following the 2013 national elections , Spindelegger became Austrias Finance Minister in Faymanns second cabinet . He replaced Maria Fekter . Under Spindeleggers 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 . In July 2014 , Spindelegger announced that his fellow conservative Johannes Hahn would remain Austrias Member of the European Commission under President Jean-Claude Juncker . Prior to the announcement , there had been rumours that Spindelegger himself would move to the European Commission . 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 . Chancellor Werner Faymann said he expected the governing coalition to see out its term . Life after politics . In 2015 , Spindelegger served as director of the Agency for the Modernisation of Ukraine ( AMU ) . Since 2016 , he has been serving as Secretary General of the International Centre for Migration Policy Development in Vienna . 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 Middle East peace plan , saying it would create an apartheid-like situation in occupied Palestinian territory . Recognition . - 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 . - Grand Decoration of Honour in Gold with Sash for Services to the Republic of Austria ( 2011 ) External links . - Michael Spindelegger at the ÖVP website