Government

Government type:
federal parliamentary republic
Capital:
name: Vienna

Administrative divisions:
9 states (Bundeslaender, singular - Bundesland); Burgenland, Kaernten (Carinthia), Niederoesterreich (Lower Austria), Oberoesterreich (Upper Austria), Salzburg, Steiermark (Styria), Tirol (Tyrol), Vorarlberg, Wien (Vienna)
Independence:
no official date of independence: 976 (Margravate of Austria established); 17 September 1156 (Duchy of Austria founded); 6 January 1453 (Archduchy of Austria acknowledged); 11 August 1804 (Austrian Empire proclaimed); 30 March 1867 (Austro-Hungarian dual monarchy established); 12 November 1918 (First Republic proclaimed); 27 April 1945 (Second Republic proclaimed)
National holiday:
National Day (commemorates passage of the law on permanent neutrality), 26 October (1955)
Constitution:
history: several previous; latest adopted 1 October 1920, revised 1929, replaced May 1934 (authoritarian corporate state), replaced by German Weimar constitution in 1938 following German annexation, reinstated 1 May 1945
amendments: proposed through laws designated “constitutional laws” or through the constitutional process if the amendment is part of another law; approval required by at least a two-thirds majority vote by the National Assembly if one-half of the members are present; a referendum is required only if requested by one-third of the National Council or Federal Council membership; passage by referendum requires absolute majority vote; amended many times, last in 2014 (2016)
Legal system:
civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts by the Constitutional Court
International law organization participation:
accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction; accepts ICCt jurisdiction
Citizenship:
citizenship by birth: no
citizenship by descent only: at least one parent must be a citizen of Austria
dual citizenship recognized: no
residency requirement for naturalization: 10 years
Suffrage:
16 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state: Alexander VAN DER BELLEN (since 26 January 2017)
head of government: Chancellor Sebastian KURZ (since 18 December 2017); Vice Chancellor Heinz-Christian STRACHE (since 18 December 2017)
cabinet: Council of Ministers chosen by the president on the advice of the chancellor
elections/appointments: president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 6-year term (eligible for a second term); elections last held on 24 April 2016 (first round), 22 May 2016 (second round, which was annulled), and 4 December 2016 (second round re-vote); next election to be held in April 2022; chancellor appointed by the president but determined by the majority coalition parties in the Federal Assembly; vice chancellor appointed by the president on the advice of the chancellor
election results: Alexander VAN DER BELLEN elected in second round; percent of vote in first round - Norbet HOFER (FPOe) 35.1%, Alexander VAN DER BELLEN (independent, allied with the Greens) 21.3%, Irmgard GRISS (independent) 18.9%, Rudolf HUNDSTORFER (SPOe) 11.3%, Andreas KHOL (OeVP) 11.1%, Richard LUGNER (independent) 2.3%; percent of vote in second round - Alexander VAN DER BELLEN 53.8%, Norbet HOFER 46.2%
Legislative branch:
description: bicameral Federal Assembly or Bundesversammlung consists of:
National Council or Nationalrat (183 seats; members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by proportional representation vote; members serve 5-year terms)
Federal Council or Bundesrat (61 seats; members appointed by state parliaments with each state receiving 3 to 12 seats in proportion to its population; members serve 5- or 6-year terms)
elections: National Council - last held on 29 September 2013 (next to be held on 15 October 2017); note - an early election was called after the coalition government collapsed
National Council - percent of vote by party - OeVP 31.5%, SPOe 26.9%, FPOe 26%, NEOS 5.3%, PILZ 4.4%, other 5.9%; seats by party - OeVP 62, SPOe 52, FPOe 51, NEOS 10, PILZ 8
election results:
Judicial branch:
highest court(s): Supreme Court of Justice or Oberster Gerichtshof (consists of 85 judges organized into 17 senates or panels of 5 judges each); Constitutional Court or Verfassungsgerichtshof (consists of 20 judges including 6 substitutes; Administrative Court or Verwaltungsgerichtshof - 2 judges plus other members depending on the importance of the case)
judge selection and term of office: Supreme Court judges nominated by executive branch departments and appointed by the president; judges serve for life; Constitutional Court judges nominated by several executive branch departments and approved by the president; judges serve for life; Administrative Court judges recommended by executive branch departments and appointed by the president; terms of judges and members determined by the president
subordinate courts: Courts of Appeal (4); Regional Courts (20); district courts (120); county courts
Political parties and leaders:
Austrian People's Party or OeVP [Sebastian KURZ]
Communist Party of Austria or KPOe [Mirko MESSNER]
Freedom Party of Austria or FPOe [Heinz-Christian STRACHE]
The Greens [Werner KOGLER]
NEOS - The New Austria [Matthias STROLZ]
Pilz List or PILZ [Bruno ROSSMANN and Wolfgang ZINGGL]
Social Democratic Party of Austria or SPOe [Christian KERN]