Brigitte Bierlein died, she was the first female chancellor in Austria

Brigitte Bierlein, Austria’s first female chancellor, has died at the age of 74. The announcement was made by the current head of government

Brigitte Bierleinthe first female chancellor of the Republic ofAustria, she died today at the age of 74. The death of the independent Viennese jurist and politician was announced by the current chancellor Karl Nehammer (OeVP) who recognized: “Bierlein took responsibility in a difficult phase for the love of her homeland: our country owes her a great debt of gratitude.”

Brigitte Bierlein had held the position of chancellor of a caretaker government from 3 June 2019 to 7 January 2020 following the fall of the first government led by the People’s Party Sebastian Kurz. On 27 May 2019, Parliament approved the motion of no confidence presented by the social democrats (SPOe) and later supported by FPOe. The Kurz I government fell following the “‘Ibiza-gate’ broke out on May 17, 2019 involving Heinz-Christian Strache, vice chancellor and leader of the FPOe. Bierlein received the President of the Republic on July 1st 2019, Sergio Mattarella on a state visit to Vienna.