born Dec. 14, 1870, Unter-Tannowitz, Bohemia, Austria-Hungary
died Dec. 31, 1950, Doebling, Austria
Austrian chancellor (191820, 1945) and president (194550).
A lawyer, he served in the Reichsrat (lower house) from 1907. He became the first chancellor of the new Austrian republic in 1918 but was unable to prevent territorial losses at the end of World War I. In the 1920s he led the right wing of the Social Democratic Party and in 1938 favoured the Anschluss with Germany. In 1945 he worked to reestablish Austrian home rule and was elected president of the republic. He wrote numerous works on government and law.