Ignaz Seipel
Encyclopedia
Ignaz Seipel was an Austria
n prelate and politician who served as Chancellor
during the 1920s.
at the University of Vienna
and was ordained a Catholic priest in 1899. He gained his doctorate in theology
in 1903, followed by his habilitation
at the Vienna university, being one of the first scholars writing on business ethics
in the context of Catholic social teaching
. From 1909 until 1917 he taught moral theology
at the University of Salzburg
.
Seipel was a member of the clerical conservative Christian Social Party (CS) established by the Vienna
mayor Karl Lueger
in 1893, and served as cabinet secretary in the Austro-Hungarian
government during World War I
. At that time he also wrote and published a number of famous works, including Nation und Staat (Nation and State) (1916), which helped cement his later prominent role in the party. In these writings, unlike most contemporaries swept up by Wilson
ian rhetoric, he saw the state as the primary vindication of sovereignty, rather than the nation. In October 1918 he was appointed Minister for Labour and Social Affairs in the last Cisleithania
n cabinet under Minister president Heinrich Lammasch
.
After World War I
, Seipel, a member of the constituent assembly of German Austria
, re-established the formerly monarchist
Christian Social Party, now operating – the empire having been lost – in the First Austrian Republic
. Party chairman from 1921 until 1930, he served as chancellor
between 1922 and 1924, and again from 1926 until 1929, then also as Foreign Minister
.
To restore the Austrian economy
, Chancellor Seipel and his delegate Mensdorff-Pouilly-Dietrichstein
on 4 October 1922 signed the Protocol for the reconstruction of Austria
at the League of Nations
: by officially renouncing accession to Germany
, he obtained an international bond. In order to fight the hyperinflation
of the Krone
currency the government at the same time re-implemented the independent National Bank of Austria with the task of securing monetary stability. However, these policies let to growing discontent by socialist workers' organizations, and in June 1924 an attempt was made on Seipel's life by a frustrated worker http://www.nytimes.com/2002/05/19/weekinreview/the-world-past-as-prologue-the-politics-of-assassination.html?scp=376&sq=seipel&st=cse.
Leading a right-wing coalition government
supported by the Greater German People's Party
and the Landbund
, his main policy was the encouragement of cooperation between wealthy industrialists and the paramilitary
units of the nationalist Heimwehr
en. This alignment led to an increase in street violence and armed conflicts with the left-wing Republikanischer Schutzbund
, culminating in the Vienna July Revolt of 1927
claiming numerous casualties. The Social Democratic
opposition thereafter referred to Seipel as the "Bloody Prelate". He finally resigned in 1929 and was succeeded by his party fellow Ernst Streeruwitz
. In the following year he once again served in a short-time term as Foreign Minister in the cabinet of Chancellor Carl Vaugoin.
Seipel died during a stay at a sanatorium in the Vienna Woods. He is buried in an Ehrengrab
at the Vienna Zentralfriedhof
.
's 1922 novel Die Stadt ohne Juden (The City Without Jews
), picturized by Hans Karl Breslauer
in 1924.
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Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n prelate and politician who served as Chancellor
Chancellor of Austria
The Federal Chancellor is the head of government in Austria. Its deputy is the Vice-Chancellor. Before 1918, the equivalent office was the Minister-President of Austria. The Federal Chancellor is considered to be the most powerful political position in Austrian politics.-Appointment:The...
during the 1920s.
Career
Seipel studied theologyTheology
Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...
at the University of Vienna
University of Vienna
The University of Vienna is a public university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world...
and was ordained a Catholic priest in 1899. He gained his doctorate in theology
Theology
Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...
in 1903, followed by his habilitation
Habilitation
Habilitation is the highest academic qualification a scholar can achieve by his or her own pursuit in several European and Asian countries. Earned after obtaining a research doctorate, such as a PhD, habilitation requires the candidate to write a professorial thesis based on independent...
at the Vienna university, being one of the first scholars writing on business ethics
Business ethics
Business ethics is a form of applied ethics or professional ethics that examines ethical principles and moral or ethical problems that arise in a business environment. It applies to all aspects of business conduct and is relevant to the conduct of individuals and entire organizations.Business...
in the context of Catholic social teaching
Catholic social teaching
Catholic social teaching is a body of doctrine developed by the Catholic Church on matters of poverty and wealth, economics, social organization and the role of the state...
. From 1909 until 1917 he taught moral theology
Moral theology
Moral theology is a systematic theological treatment of Christian ethics. It is usually taught on Divinity faculties as a part of the basic curriculum.- External links :*...
at the University of Salzburg
University of Salzburg
The University of Salzburg, or Paris Lodron University after its founder, the Prince Archbishop Paris Lodron, is located in the Austrian city of Salzburg, Salzburgerland, home of Mozart. It is divided into 4 faculties: catholic theology, law, humanities and natural science.Founded in 1622, it...
.
Seipel was a member of the clerical conservative Christian Social Party (CS) established by the Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
mayor Karl Lueger
Karl Lueger
Karl Lueger was an Austrian politician and mayor of Vienna. The populist and anti-Semitic politics of his Christian Social Party are sometimes viewed as a model for Hitler's Nazism.- Career :...
in 1893, and served as cabinet secretary in the Austro-Hungarian
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...
government during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. At that time he also wrote and published a number of famous works, including Nation und Staat (Nation and State) (1916), which helped cement his later prominent role in the party. In these writings, unlike most contemporaries swept up by Wilson
Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of the United States, from 1913 to 1921. A leader of the Progressive Movement, he served as President of Princeton University from 1902 to 1910, and then as the Governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913...
ian rhetoric, he saw the state as the primary vindication of sovereignty, rather than the nation. In October 1918 he was appointed Minister for Labour and Social Affairs in the last Cisleithania
Cisleithania
Cisleithania was a name of the Austrian part of Austria-Hungary, the Dual Monarchy created in 1867 and dissolved in 1918. The name was used by politicians and bureaucrats, but it had no official status...
n cabinet under Minister president Heinrich Lammasch
Heinrich Lammasch
Heinrich Lammasch was an Austrian jurist. He was a professor of criminal and international law, a member of the Hague Arbitration Tribunal, and served as the last Minister-President of Austria for a few weeks in October and November 1918...
.
After World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, Seipel, a member of the constituent assembly of German Austria
German Austria
Republic of German Austria was created following World War I as the initial rump state for areas with a predominantly German-speaking population within what had been the Austro-Hungarian Empire, without the Kingdom of Hungary, which in 1918 had become the Hungarian Democratic Republic.German...
, re-established the formerly monarchist
Monarchism
Monarchism is the advocacy of the establishment, preservation, or restoration of a monarchy as a form of government in a nation. A monarchist is an individual who supports this form of government out of principle, independent from the person, the Monarch.In this system, the Monarch may be the...
Christian Social Party, now operating – the empire having been lost – in the First Austrian Republic
First Austrian Republic
The Republic of Austria encompasses the period of Austrian history following the signing of the Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye of September 1919, the settlement after the end of World War I which put an end to the Republic of German Austria, continuing up to World War II...
. Party chairman from 1921 until 1930, he served as chancellor
Chancellor of Austria
The Federal Chancellor is the head of government in Austria. Its deputy is the Vice-Chancellor. Before 1918, the equivalent office was the Minister-President of Austria. The Federal Chancellor is considered to be the most powerful political position in Austrian politics.-Appointment:The...
between 1922 and 1924, and again from 1926 until 1929, then also as Foreign Minister
Foreign Minister of Austria
The Foreign Minister of Austria is responsible for handling Austria's foreign policy.-Under the First Austrian Republic:* Victor Adler* Otto Bauer* Karl Renner* Michael Mayr* Johann Schober* Walter Breisky* Leopold Hennet* Alfred Grünberger...
.
To restore the Austrian economy
Economy of Austria
Austria is one of the 12 richest countries in the world in terms of GDP per capita, has a well-developed social market economy, and a high standard of living. Until the 1980s, many of Austria's largest industry firms were nationalised; in recent years, however, privatisation has reduced state...
, Chancellor Seipel and his delegate Mensdorff-Pouilly-Dietrichstein
Count Albert von Mensdorff-Pouilly-Dietrichstein
Albert Count von Mensdorff-Pouilly-Dietrichstein , was an Austro-Hungarian diplomat serving as Ambassador to London at the outbreak of the World War I.- Life :...
on 4 October 1922 signed the Protocol for the reconstruction of Austria
Protocol for the reconstruction of Austria
The Protocol for the Reconstruction of Austria was an agreement concludued on 4 October 1922 between the government of Austria and the governments of Great Britain, France, Italy and Czechoslovakia, providing for a gradual reconstruction of Austrian economy under League of Nations supervision. It...
at the League of Nations
League of Nations
The League of Nations was an intergovernmental organization founded as a result of the Paris Peace Conference that ended the First World War. It was the first permanent international organization whose principal mission was to maintain world peace...
: by officially renouncing accession to Germany
Weimar Republic
The Weimar Republic is the name given by historians to the parliamentary republic established in 1919 in Germany to replace the imperial form of government...
, he obtained an international bond. In order to fight the hyperinflation
Hyperinflation
In economics, hyperinflation is inflation that is very high or out of control. While the real values of the specific economic items generally stay the same in terms of relatively stable foreign currencies, in hyperinflationary conditions the general price level within a specific economy increases...
of the Krone
Austrian krone
The Krone was the currency of Austria and Liechtenstein after the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire until the introduction of the Schilling and the Franken, respectively.-Coins:...
currency the government at the same time re-implemented the independent National Bank of Austria with the task of securing monetary stability. However, these policies let to growing discontent by socialist workers' organizations, and in June 1924 an attempt was made on Seipel's life by a frustrated worker http://www.nytimes.com/2002/05/19/weekinreview/the-world-past-as-prologue-the-politics-of-assassination.html?scp=376&sq=seipel&st=cse.
Leading a right-wing coalition government
Coalition government
A coalition government is a cabinet of a parliamentary government in which several political parties cooperate. The usual reason given for this arrangement is that no party on its own can achieve a majority in the parliament...
supported by the Greater German People's Party
Greater German People's Party
The Greater German People's Party was a German nationalist and national liberal party during the First Republic of Austria.-Foundation:...
and the Landbund
Landbund
The Landbund was an Austrian political party during the period of the First Republic .-History:The Landbund was founded in 1919 as Deutsche Bauernpartei and represented liberal and protestant farmers in Styria, Carinthia and Upper Austria...
, his main policy was the encouragement of cooperation between wealthy industrialists and the paramilitary
Paramilitary
A paramilitary is a force whose function and organization are similar to those of a professional military, but which is not considered part of a state's formal armed forces....
units of the nationalist Heimwehr
Heimwehr
The Heimwehr or sometimes Heimatschutz were a Nationalist, initially paramilitary group operating within Austria during the 1920s and 1930s; they were similar in methods, organisation, and ideology to Germany's Freikorps...
en. This alignment led to an increase in street violence and armed conflicts with the left-wing Republikanischer Schutzbund
Republikanischer Schutzbund
The Republikanischer Schutzbund was a paramilitary organization established in 1923 by the Sozialdemokratische Arbeiterpartei Österreichs to secure power in the face of rising political radicalization after World War I....
, culminating in the Vienna July Revolt of 1927
July Revolt of 1927
During the Austrian July Revolt of 1927 Austrian police forces killed 84 protesters, while four policemen died. More than 600 people were injured....
claiming numerous casualties. The Social Democratic
Social Democratic Party of Austria
The Social Democratic Party of Austria is one of the oldest political parties in Austria. The SPÖ is one of the two major parties in Austria, and has ties to trade unions and the Austrian Chamber of Labour. The SPÖ is among the few mainstream European social-democratic parties that have preserved...
opposition thereafter referred to Seipel as the "Bloody Prelate". He finally resigned in 1929 and was succeeded by his party fellow Ernst Streeruwitz
Ernst Streeruwitz
Ernst Streeruwitz, originally Ernst Ritter Streer von Streeruwitz was an Austrian political figure. He served as the Chancellor of Austria in 1929....
. In the following year he once again served in a short-time term as Foreign Minister in the cabinet of Chancellor Carl Vaugoin.
Seipel died during a stay at a sanatorium in the Vienna Woods. He is buried in an Ehrengrab
Ehrengrab
An Ehrengrab is a distinction granted by certain German, Swiss and Austrian cities to one of their citizens for extraordinary services or achievements in their lifetime. If there are no descendants or institutions to care for the gravesite, the communities or cities will take responsibility for...
at the Vienna Zentralfriedhof
Zentralfriedhof
The Zentralfriedhof is one of the largest cemeteries in the world, largest by number of interred in Europe and most famous cemetery among Vienna's nearly 50 cemeteries.-Name and location:...
.
Legacy
Seipel's antisemitic manners were the pattern for the character of Chancellor Dr. Schwerdtfeger in Hugo BettauerHugo Bettauer
Hugo Bettauer , born Maximilian Hugo Bettauer, was a prolific Austrian writer and journalist, who was murdered by a Nazi Party follower on account of his controversial views...
's 1922 novel Die Stadt ohne Juden (The City Without Jews
The City Without Jews
Die Stadt ohne Juden is an Austrian Expressionist film made in 1924 by H. K. Breslauer, based on the book of the same title by Hugo Bettauer. The film is one of the few surviving Expressionist films from Austria, and has therefore been well researched...
), picturized by Hans Karl Breslauer
Hans Karl Breslauer
Hans Karl Breslauer, born Johann Karl Breslauer, later often known as H. K. Breslauer was an early Austrian film director, also an actor, screenwriter and author.- Career as actor and screenwriter :...
in 1924.
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