Franz Vranitzky (born 4 October 1937) is an Austrian politician. A member of the Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ), he was Chancellor of Austria from 1986 to 1997.

As the son of a foundryman, Vranitzky was born into humble circumstances in Vienna's 17th disttrict. He attended the Realgymnasium Geblergasse and studied economics, graduating in 1960. He financed his studies teaching Latin and English and as a construction worker.

As a young man, Vranitzky played basket ball and was a member of Austria's national team, which in 1960 unsuccessfully tried to qualify for the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome.

In 1962 he joined the Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ).

In 1962, Vranitzky married Christine Christen, with whom he fathered two children.

Vranitzky began his career in 1961 at Siemens-Schuckert, but within the year switched to the National Bank of Austria. In 1969, he received a doctorate in International business studies. The following year, Hannes Androsch, minister of finance under Chancellor Bruno Kreisky had appointed him economic and financial advisor. Vranitzky served as deputy director of the Creditanstalt-Bankverein (1976–1981), briefly as its director general and as director general of the Österreichische Länderbank (1981–1984).

 Jörg Haider (help·info) (German pronunciation: [ˈjœɐ̯k ˈhaɪdɐ]; 26 January 1950 – 11 October 2008) was an Austrian politician. He was Governor of Carinthia on two occasions, the long-time leader of the Austrian Freedom Party (FPÖ) and later Chairman of the Alliance for the Future of Austria (Bündnis Zukunft Österreich, BZÖ), a breakaway party from the FPÖ.

Haider was a controversial figure within Austria and abroad for comments that were widely condemned as praising Nazi policies or as being xenophobic or anti-Semitic. Several countries imposed mild diplomatic sanctions against his party's participation in government alongside Wolfgang Schüssel's ÖVP, starting from 2000. Haider died in a car accident shortly after leading the BZÖ in the Austrian Parliamentary elections.

Haider's parents had been early members of the Nazi Party (NSDAP, German National Socialist Workers' Party, the Austrian affiliate of the German NSDAP). They were from different backgrounds. Haider's father, Robert Haider, was a shoemaker. His mother, Dorothea Rupp, was the daughter of a well-to-do physician and head of the gynaecology ward at the general hospital of Linz.

Werner Faymann (German pronunciation: [ˈvɛɐ̯nɐ ˈfaɪman]; born 4 May 1960) is Chancellor of Austria and chairman of the Social Democratic Party of Austria SPÖ (see Faymann cabinet).

Born in Vienna, Austria,^{[citation needed]} he studied law at the University of Vienna for two years but did not graduate.

From 1985 to 1988 Faymann was a consultant at the Zentralsparkasse Bank (now Bank Austria), which he left to become director and provincial chairman of the Viennese Tenants' counselling. He was also provincial chairman of Socialist Youth Vienna (Sozialistische Jugend Wien) from 1985 until 1994, when he became a member of the Viennese state parliament and municipal council; where he held various positions concerning housing construction and urban renewal.

Franz Voves (born February 28, 1953 in Graz, Styria, Austria) is an Austrian politician of the SPÖ and a former player in the Austrian ice hockey national team. Since October 25, 2005, he has been Governor of Styria (Landeshauptmann der Steiermark). He was vice-governor of Styria from March 12, 2002 to October 24, 2005. March, 2nd 2002 he was elected as the chairman of the SPÖ Styria (Steiermark).

Since 1995, Voves has been a member of the board of the SPÖ in Styria. On 2 March 2002, he became president of the SPÖ Styria and on the 12th of March he became vice-governor of Styria. In the 2005 elections for the Styrian government, Voves and his party got a majority with 41% of the votes, which was the first time since the Second World War that the SPÖ got a majority in an Austrian state election. On the 25nd of October 2005, 45 of the 56 members of the Styrian Landtag voted him governor of Styria.

Erhard Busek (born 25 March 1941 in Vienna, Austria) is a politician from the Christian-conservative People's Party (ÖVP). At present he is Coordinator of the South-Eastern Cooperative Initiative (SECI) and Chairman of the Institute for Danube Region and Central Europe among other things.

Busek was chief of the party and Vice-Chancellor of Austria in the coalition of the Social Democratic Party of Austria with the People's Party between 1991–1995 and was an important reformer of the Austrian Universities. From January 2002 until June 2008 Busek served as Special Co-ordinator of the Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe, the final person to hold the position.

Dr. Erhard Busek was born in Vienna, Austria, on 25 March 1941. He received his law degree from the University of Vienna in 1963. During his studies, he also served as Chairman of the Austrian Youth Council. He is a Roman Catholic. He was a Boy Scout in his youth.

He began his professional career in 1964 as legal adviser to the association of the parliamentarians of the Austrian People’s Party. He then served as Secretary General of the Austrian Federation for Trade and Commerce (1968–1975). In 1975 he was appointed Secretary General of the Austrian People’s Party and was elected Member of Parliament later that year. Erhard Busek gained additional experience in administration between 1968-1976 while with a publishing firm in the economic field. In 1976 Busek entered municipal politics. He was City Councilor and was elected Deputy-Mayor of Vienna in 1978, a position he held until 1987. He was appointed Minister for Science and Research in April 1989. From 1994 until May 1995 Busek was Minister for Education. He was elected Chairman of the Austrian People’s Party in 1991 and served as Vice-Chancellor of Austria from 1991 to 1995. In early 2000 Busek was appointed as Special Representative of the Austrian Government on EU-Enlargement. He served in that position until December 2001.