Former ÖVP secretary-general Heribert Steinbauer dies at 91

Former Austrian People’s Party (ÖVP) secretary-general Heribert Steinbauer has died aged 91, ORF reported on Thursday. Born in Vienna in 1935, he also led the party’s campaign for Kurt Waldheim.

Steinbauer was the ÖVP’s secretary-general from 1967 to 1970 and then headed its federal party’s political department until 1979. He served in the National Council from 1975 to 1994 and was his parliamentary group’s media spokesperson.

He later worked as a publisher, running Edition Steinbauer. From 1970 to 1975, he was deputy secretary-general of ORF, and he later served on its board of trustees.

ÖVP parliamentary group leader Ernst Gödl praised Steinbauer’s contribution to the party, saying he had helped shape it for decades. Gödl described him as a committed Christian Democrat and an experienced political figure.