Margit Fischer (born 28 July 1943 in Stockholm

Stockholm

Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...

, Sweden

Sweden

Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

) is the wife of Heinz Fischer

Heinz Fischer

Heinz Fischer GColIH is the President of Austria. He took office on 8 July 2004 and was re-elected for a second and last term on 25 April 2010. Before he took office, Fischer was a member of the Social Democratic Party of Austria...

, the federal president of Austria

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...

.

Her parents, Otto and Anna Binder, were social democrats and Jews and had to emigrate to Sweden during the Nazi regime. Mrs Fischer speaks Swedish

Swedish language

Swedish is a North Germanic language, spoken by approximately 10 million people, predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along its coast and on the Åland islands. It is largely mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Danish...

 fluently. In 1949, her family returned to Austria. She attended grammar school in Vienna and started to study arts 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...

. In 1968, she married Heinz Fischer, a social democratic politician. In 2004, her husband was elected federal president and she became first lady

First Lady

First Lady or First Gentlemanis the unofficial title used in some countries for the spouse of an elected head of state.It is not normally used to refer to the spouse or partner of a prime minister; the husband or wife of the British Prime Minister is usually informally referred to as prime...

 of Austria. The couple has two children: Philip (born 1972) and Lisa (born 1975).

Functions in Austria

• Former Vice-President of Rettet das Kind Österreich (Save the Children Austria) (1992-1998)
• Former President of Verein zur Gründung und zum Betrieb einer Erlebnisausstellung zu den Naturwissenschaften (Association for the creation and operation of an interactive exhibition about the natural sciences) (1993-2000)
• Chairman of Österreichischer Frauenrat (Austrian Women's Council) (since 1995)
• Chairman of Science Center Netzwerk (Science Center Network Society) (since 2005)

Awards

• 2006 Grand Cross of Merit Order pro merito Melitensi
  Order pro merito Melitensi
  The Order of Merit pro Merito Melitensi of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta is a knightly order of merit established in 1920. It is awarded to men and women who have brought honour and prestige to the Sovereign Military Order of Malta or actively promoted Christian values or works of charity...
  
   of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta