Susanne Riess Explained

Susanne Riess
Office:Vice-Chancellor of Austria
Chancellor:Wolfgang Schüssel
Term Start:4 February 2000
Term End:28 February 2003
Predecessor:Wolfgang Schüssel
Successor:Herbert Haupt
Office1:Minister of Sport
Chancellor1:Wolfgang Schüssel
Term Start1:3 April 2000
Term End1:28 February 2003
Predecessor1:Franz Morak
Successor1:Karl Schweitzer
Office2:Chair of the Freedom Party
Term Start2:1 May 2000
Term End2:8 September 2002
Predecessor2:Jörg Haider
Successor2:Mathias Reichhold
Birth Date:3 January 1961
Birth Place:Braunau am Inn, Austria
Party:Freedom Party

Susanne Riess (born 3 January 1961 in Braunau am Inn)[1] is a former Austrian politician of the Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ). Riess-Passer is now CEO of the Wüstenrot-Gruppe.

Career

In the first government headed by Chancellor Wolfgang Schüssel, which was inaugurated in 2000, she became Vice Chancellor[2] and minister of public services and sports, representing her party in the coalition with Schüssel's Austrian People's Party (ÖVP). The Freedom Party had finished second in the 1999 election, so its leader, Jörg Haider, should have become Chancellor in any coalition with the ÖVP which finished third. However, Haider yielded to Schüssel in order to appease international opinion. Although this should have put him in line to become Vice-Chancellor, he realised he was too controversial to have any role in the government. He thus resigned as party leader in favour of Riess-Passer, who had been FPÖ managing chairwoman since 1996.

In the course of the formation of the government in 2000, she became chairwoman and leader of the FPÖ. She was known for being loyal to Haider,[3] [4] which earned her the nickname Königskobra (King Cobra).[5]

After severe disagreements with her former political mentor Haider in Summer 2002[6] (the so-called Knittelfeld Putsch), she resigned from all of her posts, as did finance minister Karl-Heinz Grasser and the party spokesman in parliament, Peter Westenthaler.[7] After the 2002 elections, she remained Vice Chancellor on a provisional basis until the coalition between ÖVP and FPÖ was renewed in early 2003, and has since had no involvement in politics.

Since 2004, Riess-Passer has been the CEO of the Wüstenrot-Gruppe.[8] Riess-Hahn was also on the advisory board of the later bankrupt Signa Holding.[9]

Personal life

In 2022 she married European Commissioner Johannes Hahn.[10]

Notes and References

  1. http://www.parlament.gv.at/WWER/PAD_01688/ Biography on the Austrian parliament's site
  2. Web site: World Austrians take Haiders resignation in stride . CNNWorld . March 30, 2000 . 2011-01-14 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20101018180850/http://articles.cnn.com/2000-02-29/world/austria.haider.03_1_new-coalition-minister-protests?_s=PM:WORLD . October 18, 2010 .
  3. News: Resignation Ploy in Austria. New York Times . March 2, 2000. 2011-01-14 .
  4. Web site: The politician who cries wolf . BBC News . Catherine. Miller. November 26, 2002. 2011-01-14 .
  5. News: No 1586 Susanne Riess-Passer . The Guardian . March 2, 2000 . 2011-01-14 .
  6. Web site: Austrian far-right picks new chief . CNNWorld . September 18, 2002 . 2011-01-14 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20121003002617/http://articles.cnn.com/2002-09-18/world/austria.freedom_1_susanne-riess-passer-freedom-party-joerg-haider?_s=PM:WORLD . October 3, 2012 .
  7. News: Austrian Far-Right Leaders Resign, Shaking Up Governing Coalition. New York Times. September 9, 2002 . 2011-01-14 .
  8. Web site: Dr. Susanne Riess-Passer . SIGNA Holding. www.signa.at . 2011-01-14 .
  9. Web site: Bei der Signa verschwinden wichtige Informationen von der Website . 2023-12-04 . DER STANDARD . de-AT.
  10. Web site: Hochzeit Dr. Susanne Riess-Hahn und Dr. Johannes Hahn . 2022-08-06. 2022-08-06. Börse Social Network. de.