Vienna City Guide

Page 5

Vienna City Guide

Government

Austria is a parliamentary republic with the Federal President (“Bundespräsident”) as the

head of state and the Federal Chancellor (“Bundeskanzler”) as the head of the government.

Austria’s Parliament consists of two chambers: the so-called “Nationalrat” (National Council)

and “Bundesrat” (Federal Council). Each Austrian 16 years or older can elect the members

of the National Council for a term of five years. The Federal Council’s members are elected

by the legislatures of each of Austria’s nine federal states for a term of four to six years.

Since 1955 Austria is a member of the United Nations and since 1995 a member of the

European Union.

The biggest parties that dominate Austrian political life are:

ÖVP –

Österreichische Volkspartei

(Christian Democrats)

SPÖ –

Sozialdemokratische Partei

Österreichs (Social Democrats)

FPÖ –

Freiheitliche Partei Österreichs

(National Conservatives)

Die Grünen –

Die Grünen – Die Grüne Alternative

(Green party)

BZÖ –

Bündnis Zukunft Österreich

(National Conservatives)