Former Upper Austrian parliament president Johanna Preinstorfer dies

Johanna Preinstorfer, a former president of Upper Austria’s state parliament, has died, ORF reported, citing the state government. She died on Nov. 12 in her 98th year, the state said Friday.

Preinstorfer was born in Altmünster on June 17, 1929. After training as an agricultural teacher, she taught at the agricultural school in Weyregg am Attersee. Following her marriage in 1960, she worked as a farmer in Ohlsdorf.

She began her political career as a district farmers’ representative in 1971 and became the province’s farmers’ representative two years later. She was also the first woman to join the general assembly of the Upper Austrian Chamber of Agriculture and served as deputy provincial leader of the Austrian Women’s Movement.

Preinstorfer served in the Upper Austrian state parliament from 1973 to 1991. Elected its first female president in 1979, she held the position until she left parliament. She was mayor of Ohlsdorf from 1982 to 1989, becoming the first woman to lead a municipality in Upper Austria.

The state said Preinstorfer placed particular importance on cooperation across party lines and championed agriculture and women working in the sector. Details of her funeral arrangements are expected to be announced in the coming days.