Austria Government

What is the capital of Austria?

Country Name	Austria
Full Country Name	Republic of Austria
Local - Long	Republik Oesterreich
Local - Short	Oesterreich
Etymology- history of name	The name Oesterreich means "eastern realm" or "eastern march" and dates to the 10th century; the designation refers to the fact that Austria was the easternmost extension of Bavaria, and, in fact, of all the Germans; the word Austria is a Latinization of the German name
Government Type	Federal parliamentary republic
Capital Name	Vienna
Capital - geographic coordinate	48 12 N, 16 22 E
Capital Time Difference	UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Daylight Savings Time	+1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October
Independence	12 November 1918 (republic proclaimed); notable earlier dates: 976 (Margravate of Austria established); 17 September 1156 (Duchy of Austria founded); 11 August 1804 (Austrian Empire proclaimed)
National Holiday	National Day (commemorates the passage of the law on permanent neutrality), 26 October (1955)
Constitution	History: Several previous; latest adopted 1 October 1920, revised 1929, replaced May 1934 (authoritarian corporate state), replaced by German Weimar constitution in 1938 following German annexation, reinstated 1 May 1945 Amendments: Proposed through laws designated “constitutional laws” or through the constitutional process if the amendment is part of another law; approval is required by at least a two-thirds majority vote by the National Assembly if one-half of the members are present; a referendum is required only if requested by one-third of the National Council or Federal Council membership; passage by referendum requires absolute majority vote; amended many times, last in 2014

Austria Capital City Map

Source: Google Maps

Austria Government and Politics

Who is the president of Austria?

Executive Branch:	Chief of State: President Alexander VAN DER BELLEN (since 26 January 2017) Head of Government: Sebastian KURZ was elected chancellor (on 2 January 2020) Cabinet: Council of Ministers chosen by the president on the advice of the chancellor Elections/Appointments: president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 6-year term (eligible for a second term); elections last held on 24 April 2016 (first round), 22 May 2016 (second round, which was annulled), and 4 December 2016 (second round re-vote) (next election to be held in April 2022); chancellor appointed by the president but determined by the majority coalition parties in the Federal Assembly; vice-chancellor appointed by the president on the advice of the chancellor Election Results: Alexander VAN DER BELLEN was elected in the second round; percent of the vote in the first round - Norbert HOFER (FPOe) 35.1%, Alexander VAN DER BELLEN (independent, allied with the Greens) 21.3%, Irmgard GRISS (independent) 18.9%, Rudolf HUNDSTORFER (SPOe) 11.3%, Andreas KHOL (OeVP) 11.1%, Richard LUGNER (independent) 2.3%; percent of the vote in the second round - Alexander VAN DER BELLEN 53.8%, Norbert HOFER 46.2%
Citizenship Criteria:	Citizenship by Birth: no Citizenship by Descent Only: at least one parent must be a citizen of Austria Dual Citizenship Recognized: no Residency Requirement for Naturalization: 10 years
Legal System:	Civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts by the Constitutional Court
Suffrage:	16 years of age; universal
Legislative Branch:	Description: bicameral Federal Assembly or Bundesversammlung consists of: Federal Council or Bundesrat (61 seats; members appointed by state parliaments with each state receiving 3 to 12 seats in proportion to its population; members serve 5- or 6-year terms) National Council or Nationalrat (183 seats; members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by proportional representation vote; members serve 5-year terms) (e.g. 2019) Elections: Federal Council - last appointed - NA National Council - last held on 29 September 2019 (next to be held in 2024); note - election was originally scheduled for 2022, but President VAN DER BELLEN called for an early election (e.g. 2019) Election Results: Federal Council - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NA; composition - men 44, women 17, percent of women 27.9% National Council - percent of vote by party - OeVP 37.5%, SPOe 21.2%, FPOe 16.2%, The Greens 13.9%, NEOS 8.1%, other 3.1%; seats by party - OeVP 71, SPOe 40, FPOe 31, The Greens 26, NEOS 15; composition - men 115, women 68, percent of women 37.2%; note - total Federal Assembly percent of women 34.8% (e.g. 2019)
Judicial Branch:	Highest Court(s): Supreme Court of Justice or Oberster Gerichtshof (consists of 85 judges organized into 17 senates or panels of 5 judges each); Constitutional Court or Verfassungsgerichtshof (consists of 20 judges including 6 substitutes; Administrative Court or Verwaltungsgerichtshof - 2 judges plus other members depending on the importance of the case) Judge Selection and Term of Office: Supreme Court judges nominated by executive branch departments and appointed by the president; judges serve for life; Constitutional Court judges nominated by several executive branch departments and approved by the president; judges serve for life; Administrative Court judges recommended by executive branch departments and appointed by the president; terms of judges and members determined by the president Subordinate Courts: Courts of Appeal (4); Regional Courts (20); district courts (120); county courts
Regions or States:	9 states (Bundeslaender, singular - Bundesland); Burgenland, Kaernten (Carinthia), Niederoesterreich (Lower Austria), Oberoesterreich (Upper Austria), Salzburg, Steiermark (Styria), Tirol (Tyrol), Vorarlberg, Wien (Vienna)
Political Parties and Leaders:	Austrian People's Party or OeVP [Sebastian KURZ] Communist Party of Austria or KPOe [Mirko MESSNER] Freedom Party of Austria or FPOe [Heinz-Christian STRACHE] The Greens [Werner KOGLER] NEOS - The New Austria [Matthias STROLZ] Pilz List or PILZ [Peter KOLBA] Social Democratic Party of Austria or SPOe [Christian KERN]
International Law Organization Participation:	Accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction; accepts ICCt jurisdiction
International Organization Participation:	ADB (nonregional member), AfDB (nonregional member), Australia Group, BIS, BSEC (observer), CD, CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECB, EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, FATF, G-9, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGAD (partners), ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, MINURSO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OIF (observer), OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club, PCA, PFP, Schengen Convention, SELEC (observer), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNTSO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC
Diplomatic Representation in the US:	Chief of Mission: Ambassador Wolfgang WALDNER (since 28 January 2016) Chancery: 3524 International Court NW, Washington, DC 20008-3035 Telephone: [1] (202) 895-6700 FAX: [1] (202) 895-6750 Consulate(s) General: Los Angeles, New York Consulate(s): Chicago
Diplomatic Representation from US:	Chief of Mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Eugene YOUNG (since 20 January 2017) Embassy: Boltzmanngasse 16, A-1090, Vienna Mailing Address: use the embassy street address Telephone: [43] (1) 31339-0 FAX: [43] (1) 3100682

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