Leopold Gratz (* 4 November 1929 in Vienna; "† 2. March 2006 in Vienna) was a Austrian lawyer and politician of the social-democratic party of Austria.

Political career

First years in the policy

The political career of Leopold Gratz began in the year 1963, when it became member of the Upper House of Parliament. It held this function up to the year 1966, before he became for the first time a delegate the national council until 1973. In this time Leopold Gratz was in addition in the years 1970 and 1971 Federal Ministers for instruction and art as well as from 1971 to 1973 club chairman of the

Viennese mayor

When 1973 after the opinion poll not gone out as desired over the trees of the observatory park and the following resignation from mayor Felix Slavik was the Viennese in a crisis, Gratz became a mayor of Vienna. It succeeded to obtain it with the Viennese local council choice from October 1973 for the the up to then best result of the post-war period.

First the term of office of Leopold Gratz was coined/shaped by some successes, which received also internationally attention. Still the projects Danube island and UN town center begun under Felix Slavik were finished placed; the first lines of the new Viennese underground took the enterprise on and in the city center numerous pedestrian precincts, in particular in the road, were furnished. The term of office of Gratz was overshadowed by the AKH scandal, the so far largest Austrian building scandal.

Return to the federal politics and the case Lucona

1984 were replaced Gratz after eleven years in the office as a Viennese mayor by Helmut Zilk and changed again into the federal politics. He became again a delegate the national council and up to the year 1986 Austrian minister of foreign affairs in the coalition of and under Federal Chancellor Fred Sinowatz. Since it had exposed itself in the spring 1986 during the election campaign around the Austrian Federal President strongly against the candidate Kurt forest home (see: Forest home affair), he withdrew immediately after its choice to the Federal President from his office as Austrian ministers of foreign affairs.

After the national council elections in the autumn 1986 Leopold Gratz national council president became, had to withdraw however in the year 1989 from all political offices, since he was complicated with Karl Blecha into the case Lucona. In further consequence Gratz was condemned even because of wrong testimony in the case Lucona to a fine. From then on Gratz withdrew itself nearly completely from the public; old mayor was however still likes and received large Zuspruch with Party Congresses as a Viennese.

In the year 2005 Gratz withdrew from the federation of social-democratic university graduates (BSA), after this had regenerated in a historian report brown marks of this organization. Gratz had been pupil in a National Socialist elite educational establishment (NAPOLA), in the report however had not been loaded. It indicated nevertheless as withdrawal reason, the report was one-sided.

Leopold Gratz deceased to 2. March 2006 in the Viennese hospital Rudolfstiftung at the consequences of a cardiac infarct.

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