Austrian socialist politician, federal chancellor 198697. A banker, he entered the political arena through the moderate, left-of-centre Socialist Party of Austria (SPÖ), and became minister of finance in 1984. He succeeded Fred Sinowatz as federal chancellor in 1986, heading an SPÖ-ÖVP (Austrian People's Party) coalition, which was returned in the October 1994 and December 1995 general elections. He resigned in January 1997.
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