First Lady of Austria (German: Ehepartner des österreichischen Bundespräsidenten) is the title attributed to the wife (or, in place of a wife, a designee, such as a daughter) of the president of Austria.[1][2] The current first lady is Doris Schmidauer, wife of President Alexander Van der Bellen, who has held the position since 26 January 2017.[3]
First ladies of the First Austrian Republic (1919–1934)[edit]
Schärf's wife, Hilda Schärf, died in 1956 before he became president. Their daughter, Martha Kyrle, served as First Lady during his tenure in office. President Schärf died in office.
Edith Klestil left Thomas Klestil in January 1994 following revelations of his affair with his aide, Margot Löffler.[4][5][6][7] Edith Klestil was voted Austria's "Woman of the Year" in March 1994.[4] The Klestils divorced on 17 September 1998 after forty year of marriage and a four-year separation.[8]
President Klestil and Margot Löffler initially agreed to separate in January 1994 following the revelations of their affair,[7] but later reconnected. They married on 23 December 1998, just a few months after Klestil's divorce from Edith Klestil. President Klestil died in office on 6 July 2004.[4] Klestil-Löffler, a diplomat, served as Ambassador to the Czech Republic (2004–2009) and Russia (2009–2014).
Schmidauer and Van der Bellen married in December 2015.[9] Schmidauer, who is head of personnel and management of the Green Party Parliamentary Club as of January 2017, has expressed a desire to continue working for the Green Party while she serves as Austria's First Lady.[3][10]
