ALFRED GUSENBAUER - Chancellor of Austria, Leader of the Social Democratic Party of Austria
Alfred Gusenbauer is the national head of the SPÖ. His administration was sworn in on 11 January 2007. Since then Alfred Gusenbauer has been Federal Chancellor of the Republic of Austria.
Chancellor Gusenbauer was born on 8 February 1960. Chancellor Gusenbauer studied political sciences, philosophy and law at the University of Vienna and earned his PhD there in 1987. From 1981 to 1990 Alfred Gusenbauer was the executive secretary for the Youth of the Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ); from 1984 to 1990 he was the Federal Chairman of the Socialist Youth (SJ). From 1985 to 1989 Chancellor Gusenbauer served as Vice-president of the International Union of Socialist Youth (IUSY) and was a senior research fellow in the economic policy department of the chamber of labour from 1990 to1999. From 1990 to 1999 Gusenbauer worked for the chamber of workers and employees of the State of Lower Austria; and from 1999 until the end of January 2000 he worked as a party secretary of the SPÖ in the State of Lower Austria.
Chancellor Gusenbauer has been member of the Austrian Parliament since March 1991. He was the Chairman of the Committee for development cooperation of the Austrian Parliament from 1996 to 1999, and has been a member of the Austrian Delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe since 1991. He served as the Chairman of the Social, Health and Family Affairs Committee of the Council of Europe from 1995 to 1998.
Chancellor Gusenbauer was the Secretary-General of the Social Democratic party in Lower Austria from 1999 to 2000 and the leader of the Social Democratic Party of Austria February 2000. Chancellor Gusenbauer has been the leader of the Social Democratic group in the Austrian Parliament since February 2000 and the leader of the Social Democratic party of Austria since April 29th 2000.