Leonore Gewessler
Leonore Gewessler | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Gewessler in 2025 | |
| Chairwoman of the Austrian Green Party | |
| Assumed office 29 June 2025 | |
| Preceded by | Werner Kogler |
| Minister for Climate Action, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation and Technology | |
| In office 7 January 2020 – 3 March 2025 | |
| President | Alexander Van der Bellen |
| Chancellor | |
| Preceded by | Andreas Reichhardt |
| Succeeded by | Peter Hanke |
| Member of the National Council | |
| Assumed office 24 October 2024 | |
| In office 23 October 2019 – 7 January 2020 | |
Affiliation | The Greens |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 15 September 1977[1] |
| Party | The Greens – The Green Alternative |
| University of Vienna | |
Leonore Gewessler (German: [lɛoˈnoːʁε ˈgeːvεslɐ]; born 15 September 1977) is an Austrian Green politician who served as Minister for Climate Action, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation and Technology in the Nehammer government.[1]
On 29 June 2025, she was elected as the new Green Party leader with 96.76% of the delegates at a Green Party convention in Vienna.[2]
Early life and education
[edit]Gewessler earned a political science degree (MA) from the University of Vienna.
Political career
[edit]From 2014 until 2019, Gewessler served as head of Austria's largest environmental charity and lobbying group Global 2000. In this capacity, she championed a popular campaign against the expansion of the ageing Soviet-era[clarification needed] Mochovce Nuclear Power Plant in neighbouring Slovakia, just 100 km from the Austrian border.[3] In the negotiations on a coalition government following the 2019 Austrian legislative election, Gewessler was a member of the Green Party's delegation.[3]
In 2022, the Austrian government filed a legal challenge to prevent the European Union from including nuclear energy as a category of green investment.[4] Leonore Gewessler said the categorization was "greenwashing."[4] Defenders of the categorization see nuclear energy, which produces low carbon emissions relative to many energy sources, as key to reducing greenhouse-gas emissions.[5]
Role in the passing of the Nature Restoration Law
[edit]On 17 June 2024, Gewessler played a pivotal role in the passage of the European Union's Nature Restoration Law, a key element of the European Green Deal aimed at restoring 20% of the EU's land and sea by the end of the decade. Despite significant opposition, including a joint statement by Austria's federal states against the law,[6] Gewessler announced her support for it, citing her inability to reconcile letting the opportunity pass without having tried everything. This decision, however, placed her in a contentious legal grey area due to opposition from most Austrian federal states and her coalition partners, the centre-right Austrian People's Party (ÖVP).[7]
After Gewessler's vote, the Austrian People's Party filed a lawsuit against her, accusing her of malfeasance in office and announced a complaint with the European Court of Justice (ECJ) to render Gewessler's vote of the law void.[8] Although the impact of an ECJ complaint was questionable, a conviction for malfeasance in office could carry a sentence of imprisonment of up to 10 years.[9]
References
[edit]- ^ a b "Leonore Gewessler, BA, Biografie". www.parlament.gv.at (in German). Retrieved 5 June 2025.
- ^ "Leonore Gewessler mit 96,76 Prozent zur neuen Bundessprecherin der Grünen gewählt". derstandard.at (in German). 29 June 2025. Retrieved 29 June 2025.
- ^ a b Sam Jones (March 2, 2020), Austrian Greens’ ‘super minister’ takes the reins Financial Times.
- ^ a b Tidey, Alice (10 October 2022). "Austria launches legal case over EU's 'greenwashing' of nuclear & gas". euronews. Retrieved 21 October 2022.
- ^ Williams, Matthias; Abnett, Kate (10 October 2022). "Austria seeks allies for legal challenge to EU green investment rules". Reuters. Retrieved 21 October 2022.
- ^ "EU-Renaturierungsgesetz: Bundesländerblockade bleibt aufrecht". ORF (in German). 17 June 2024. Retrieved 28 May 2024.
- ^ Niranjan, Ajit (17 June 2024). "EU passes law to restore 20% of bloc's land and sea by end of decade". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 17 June 2024.
- ^ "ÖVP brachte Strafanzeige gegen Gewessler ein". Kleine Zeitung (in German). 17 June 2024. Retrieved 21 June 2024.
- ^ "ÖVP brachte Strafanzeige gegen Gewessler ein". Euractiv (in German). 20 June 2024. Retrieved 20 June 2024.
External links
[edit]- Leonore Gewessler on the Austrian Parliament website
The Nehammer cabinet | ||
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The Kurz II cabinet | ||
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- 1977 births
- 21st-century Austrian women politicians
- Austrian environmentalists
- Government ministers of Austria
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- Members of the 27th National Council (Austria)
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