Meet Brigitte Bierlein, Austria’s tough-on-crime, art-collecting, first female chancellor

Austria’s president has nominated the head of its Constitutional Court as the new interim chancellor, after the scandal-hit government of Sebastian Kurz collapsed on Monday following a no-confidence vote.

Judge Brigitte Bierlein was appointed to the top job by President Alexander Van der Bellen on Thursday, following discussions with former chancellor Kurz and opposition leader Pamela Rendi-Wagner.

Speaking after her appointment, Bierlein said her main priority was to maintain stability until September’s election and “build trust between all (political) sides.”

Prior to her selection as Austria’s top technocrat, Bierlein, 69, had served as the Constitutional Court’s vice-president since 2002. Considered a conservative, she was elevated to the role of president by the Kurz coalition in January 2018, becoming its first female leader. She was due to vacate the position this summer as members of the judiciary take mandatory retirement once turning 70.

2004 ©  REUTERS/Herwig Prammer

Austria’s first female chancellor

In her new role, Bierlein will hold the honor of becoming Austria’s first female chancellor. No female lawmaker has headed Austria before, interim or otherwise. Only one woman has held the post of vice-chancellor in Austrian history too. Susanne Reiss-Passer of the right-wing Freedom Party (FPO) was the country’s second-in-command from 2000 to 2003, her tenure cut short by a schism in the party and subsequent snap elections.

A dispassionate crime-fighter

Before her appointment to the Constitutional Court in 2002, Bierlein had worked as a prosecutor since 1977. She earned a reputation as a fervent prosecutor of crime, but an indifferent legal theorist.

This tough attitude extended to her personal life too. Bierlein was once targeted by a mugger and managed to hang on to her handbag, despite sustaining injuries in the scuffle. “I wanted to keep the bag,” she explained to Der Standard, “because of the racketeering, because the credit card was in it.”

An artist

Were it not for financial pressure, Bierlein could have taken to the stage instead of the bench. Despite coming close to joining the University of Applied Arts, Bierlein decided to study law instead, to ease the financial pressure on her parents, a decision she “never regretted.”

In an interview with the Kleine Zeitung, Bierlein said she regularly visits museums, theaters and opera houses, and owns contemporary paintings by Austrian artists Markus Prachensky and Josef Mikl.

She is unmarried and has no children, though she lives with a retired judge in Vienna. She enjoys skiing and sailing in her free time.

2002 ©  REUTERS/Herwig Prammer

Politically unaffiliated

Bierlein never joined a political party, but is known to lean to the right. Most of her major career advancements came under center-right governments, perhaps due to her reputation as a ‘law and order’ prosecutor and judge. Nevertheless, the 69-year-old has been noted for her commitment to impartiality and willingness to work with ideological opponents.

"Independence is a matter of course for me," she told reporters in 2018.

Bierlein’s cabinet is planned to be announced later Thursday and it is expected to be filled with non-political civil servants rather than lawmakers.

Her appointment follows a period of political upheaval in Vienna, after a video sting recorded the head of Kurz’s coalition partner, the Freedom Party (FPO), offer government contracts to a supposed Russian heiress in exchange for buying an Austrian newspaper and flipping its stance to support the FPO.

Tweeting after the announcement, Kurz praised Bierlein for her willingness to serve her country. “Brigitte Bierlein is extremely competent, experienced and a person of integrity. She will provide a stable administration in Austria for the next few months.”

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