Wilhelm Miklas (1872-1956)
Federal President from 1928 until 1938
The son of a postal clerk, he was born in Krems, Lower Austria. He studied history and geography in Vienna. In 1907, he started his political career as a member of the Reichsrat, the Austrian Parliament. As a member of the Christian Socialist Party, he joined the State Council in 1918. In 1919, he became Undersecretary of State for Culture in Chancellor Karl Renner’s Cabinet. After having served as Speaker of the National Assembly from 1923 to 1928, Wilhelm Miklas was elected to the federal presidency on 10 December 1928 by the Federal Assembly. In his second term of office, he resigned under pressure from Nazi Germany in March 1938 after German troops had occupied Austria.
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