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Sebastian KurzAustrian statesman and politician
Date of Birth: 27.08.1986
Country:  Austria |
Content:
Early Life and Education
Sebastian Kurz was born on 27 August 1986, in Vienna, Austria, to an engineer father and a teacher mother. Raised in the city's 12th district, Meidling, he attended the Federal Gymnasium on Erlachgasse from 1996.
After graduating in 2004, Kurz completed his mandatory military service from 2004 to 2005. He then enrolled in the Faculty of Law at the University of Vienna, where he entered his thirteenth semester before being appointed as State Secretary for Integration in 2011.
Political Career
Kurz's political journey began at an early age. He joined the Austrian People's Party's youth organization at 17 and headed its Vienna committee by 23. In 2009, he became chairman of the ÖVP's youth organization.
He served on Vienna's City Council from 2010 to 2011, before being appointed to the newly created position of State Secretary for Integration (part of Austria's Federal Ministry of the Interior) in April 2011. In the 2013 Austrian general election, he was elected to the National Council of Austria.
Minister of Foreign Affairs
On 16 December 2013, Kurz was appointed Austria's Foreign Minister in Werner Faymann's second cabinet. The responsibilities of the head of Austria's foreign ministry were expanded at Kurz's request to include social integration issues. Upon being sworn in, Kurz became the youngest government minister in Austria since the republic's foundation, as well as the youngest foreign minister in the European Union and the world.
As Austrian Foreign Minister, Kurz served as Chairperson of the OSCE from 1 January 2017.
Federal Chancellor
In the early parliamentary elections held in Austria on 15 October 2017, the Austrian People's Party led by Kurz emerged victorious. Following the elections, Kurz was appointed Federal Chancellor of Austria.
On 15 December 2017, Kurz reached a coalition agreement with the right-wing Freedom Party of Austria, which received key ministerial portfolios in defense, foreign affairs, and the interior. Kurz was sworn in as Chancellor on 18 December 2017, becoming Europe's youngest head of government.
However, Kurz's time as Chancellor was cut short. On 27 May 2019, the Austrian Parliament passed a vote of no confidence in him amidst the Ibiza-gate scandal. This marked the first time since 1945 that the country's Parliament had dismissed a Chancellor.
Fun Facts
Kurz was a student and lacked a completed higher professional education when he was appointed as a minister.
Austrian newspapers joked about whether the new Foreign Minister could properly balance his work with his studies without doing a disservice to either pursuit.
Upon being sworn in as Federal Chancellor, Kurz was the youngest head of government in the world, and he remained so until the end of his term.
