Christian Kern

Chancellor of Austria

4 January 1966 Vienna, Austria

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17 May 2016 – 18 December 2017

Austrian politician and businessman Christian KernKern in May 2016Chancellor of AustriaIn office 17 May 2016 – 18 December 2017PresidentHeinz Fischer Alexander Van der BellenVice ChancellorReinhold Mitterlehner Wolfgang BrandstetterPreceded by Werner FaymannSucceeded by Sebastian KurzChairman of the Social Democratic PartyIn office 25 June 2016 – 25 September 2018Preceded by Werner FaymannSucceeded by Pamela Rendi-WagnerLeader of the Social Democratic Party in the National CouncilIn office 9 November 2017 – 25 September 2018DeputyAndreas SchiederPreceded by Andreas SchiederSucceeded by Pamela Rendi-Wagner Personal detailsBornChristian Kern (1966-01-04 ) 4 January 1966 (age 55) Vienna, AustriaPolitical partySocial Democratic PartySpouse(s)Karin Wessely ​ ​(m. 1985; div. 1988)​ Eveline SteinbergerChildren3 sons (with Wessely) 1 daughter (with Steinberger)Alma materUniversity of ViennaProfessionPoliticianbusinessmanWebsite Party website Official Twitter Official Facebook Christian Kern (Austrian German pronunciation: ; born 4 January 1966) is an Austrian businessman and former politician who served as Chancellor of Austria from 17 May 2016 to 18 December 2017 and chairman of the Social Democratic Party from 25 June 2016 to 25 September 2018. A business journalist by profession, the member of Austria's Social Democratic Party served as spokesman of the SPÖ's parliamentary group leader in the mid-1990s, before he became a senior manager in Austria's leading electricity company Verbund AG. In 2010, Kern was appointed CEO of the state-owned Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB), chairing the Community of European Railway and Infrastructure Companies (CER) from 2014 onwards. Following the resignation of Werner Faymann amidst the presidential election, the governing Social Democrats nominated Kern for the office of chancellor. Kern was sworn in as Chancellor of Austria on 17 May 2016, vowing to continue the "Grand coalition" with the People's Party (ÖVP), but promising a "New Deal" that would bring about more jobs by cutting red tape while ensuring ordinary workers receive a share of economic prosperity. Kern criticized the Austrian political elite as being power-obsessed and devoid of a meaningful political agenda about the country's future.