Team

The Austrian Ombudsman Board consists of three members who work together as colleagues. They are elected by Parliament for a term of six years and can be re-elected once. The members are independent according to the constitution. They cannot be deselected, recalled, or divested of office. The ombudspersons are sworn in by the Federal President.

Dr. Peter Kostelka, Dr. Maria Theresia Fekter and Mag.^a Terezija Stoisits were elected by the National Council for the term of office from 1 July 2007 to 30 June 2013. After Ombudswoman Fekter became a member of the Federal Government, Dr. Gertrude Brinek was elected as a new member of the Ombudsman Board by the National Council on 10 July 2008 for the remaining term of office until 30 June 2013.

The chair in the Ombudsman Board changes every year at the end of June. At present Dr. Peter Kostelka fulfils this function until the end of June 2011. The chair directs the administration of the house; however, all important matters are deliberated and decided jointly.

At the beginning of their term of office, the members of the Ombudsman Board agree on an allocation of duties. In doing so, each ombudsperson takes over a certain sphere of business and is thus responsible for predefined issues. More than 30 experienced case handlers assist the members in their work.

Peter Kostelka

Ombudsman and I.O.I. Secretary General Dr. Peter Kostelka was born on 1 May 1946 in Bleiberg (Carinthia). He completed his school education in Klagenfurt and then obtained a degree in law from the University of Vienna. He was an Assistant Professor at the Institute of State and Administrative Law of the University of Vienna for two years.

Kostelka began his political career in the Parliamentary Group of the SPÖ, whose secretary he was starting from 1974. In 1990, he was briefly a member of the Federal Council before he was appointed State Secretary in the Federal Chancellery. From 1994 to 2001, Kostelka was a member of the National Council and chair of the Social Democratic Parliamentary Group. He acted as a member and vice president of the Austrian Convention in 2003.

Kostelka has been an ombudsman since 1 July 2001 and has also been active in the Inter­national Ombudsman Institute (I.O.I.) since 2004, first as chair of the European region, and since June 2009 as its Secretary General.

At the federal level, Ombudsman Dr. Peter Kostelka is among other things responsible for social matters. These include health, pension and accident insurance as well as matters concerning handicapped persons and the labour-market administration. The fields of youth and family, national defence, railways, postal administration, and health are also within his remit. At the provincial level, he monitors the social and health administration, youth welfare services, animal welfare, and veterinary matters.

Gertrude Brinek

Ombudswoman Dr. Gertrude Brinek was born on 4 February 1952 in Hollabrunn (Lower Austria). She completed her education at the Federal College of Education and the University of Vienna, where she obtained a doctorate in education, psychology, and art history. After teaching at Viennese elementary and secondary schools for ten years, Brinek moved her professional focus to the University of Vienna in 1983, where she lastly was an assistant professor at the Institute of Educational Science.

Brinek had her first political function starting in 1983 as a District Councillor of the ÖVP in Vienna/Leopoldstadt. She was a member of the National Council from 1988 to 1990, then a member of the Viennese Municipal Council. She returned to the National Council in 1994 and held important parliamentary offices during the next fourteen years. In addition, she was the ÖVP’s spokesperson for science for almost ten years starting in 1999.

Gertrude Brinek was sworn in as an ombudswoman by the Federal President on 14 July 2008. At the federal level, she is responsible for taxes, fees, duties, the administration of justice, and public prosecution. At the provincial level, Brinek monitors local governments and all communal matters (land use planning, building legislation, housing and settlement, provincial and rural roads) as well as cemetery administration and communal or municipal transport services.

Terezija Stoisits

Ombudswoman Mag.^a Terezija Stoisits was born on 14 November 1958 in Stinatz/Stinjaki (Burgenland). She completed her school education in the province of Burgenland and studied law at the University of Vienna. She then directed a department in the Federal Ministry for Education, Arts and Sports.

Stoisits began her political career in 1990 as a member of the National Council, where she held office for the Greens without interruption until 2007. During this period, she was the Greens’ spokeswoman for minorities, migration, and human rights and exercised numerous parliamentary functions: She headed the parliamentary committee on human rights for eight years, was a member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, and participated in the Austrian Convention (Österreich-Konvent).

Stoisits has been an ombudswoman since 1 July 2007. At the federal level, she is responsible for internal affairs (police law, law relating to aliens, legislation on asylum), the environment, agriculture and forestry, trade and operational facilities, schools, universities, arts and culture. At the provincial level, her team monitors road traffic, citizenship, duties and promotions, nature conservation, and agrarian matters.

Stoisits is also on the Board of Trustees of the National Fund of the Republic of Austria for Victims of National Socialism and is Vice President of the Austrian League for Human Rights.

Organisation

The Ombudsman Board consists of three members who work together as colleagues. The chair of the Ombudsman Board changes every year at the end of June. After Dr. Gertrude Brinek, Mag.^a Terezija Stoisits was the chair of the Ombudsman Board until June 2010. Since then, Dr. Peter Kostelka has been fulfilling this task. The chair also directs the management of the house that deals with the administrative matters. However, all important matters are deliberated and resolved jointly.

At present, the Ombudsman Board has 40 female and 22 male employees. Of these, about one-half are experienced legal practitioners who directly assist the members in their activity. Besides the administration, the information service and the secretariats of the ombudspersons also deal with citizens’ concerns. The unit for International Matters and Communication has been acting as the General Secretariat of the International Ombudsman Institute since September 2009.