Austria

Federal Council

Political system
Presidential-Parliamentary
Structure of parliament
Bicameral
IPU membership
Yes

About parliament

Basic information such as the official name of parliament and details of its structure and leadership. Also includes the current breakdown of MPs by sex and age, and provisions for quotas and reserved seats.

Parliament name
Parlament (Parliament)
Chamber name
Bundesrat (Federal Council)
Structure & status of parliament
Upper chamber
Parliamentary term (years)
-

Notes: The term of office of Councillors varies from 5 to 6 years according to the province they represent; they are partially renewed after the provincial elections.

IPU membership

Affiliation periods
from 1890
IPU Geopolitical Group/s
Twelve Plus Group

Speaker

Official title
President of the Federal Council
Speaker
Franz Ebner (Male)
Date of birth: 15 Mar 1979
Term
01 Jul 2024 to 31 Dec 2024

Speaker terms

Click for historical data

Notes:

The Federal Provinces take turns every six months, in alphabetical order, in taking the presidency of the Federal Council. The President is the Member ranking first on the list of Members delegated by the Province currently in the chair.

The presidency starts on 1st January or 1st July.

Secretary general

Official title
Secretary General (Parlamentsdirektor)
Secretary General
Harald Dossi (Male)
Term
01 Mar 2012
Notes

1 March 2012 -

Members

Statutory number of members
60

Notes: Note: The President of the Republic determines the total number of members in the Federal Council as well as the allocation of seats to each of the nine federal provinces. The allocation of seats is based on the ratio between each federal province and the one with the largest population.

Principal mode of designation of members
Indirectly elected
Indirectly elected members
60
Current number of members
60
Men
31
Women
29
Percentage of women
48.3%
Statutory number of members per country
243
Population (in thousands)
9,130
Inhabitants per parliamentarian
37,418

Age

Data on the age of parliamentarians is collected at the start of the legislature, following the most recent elections. This data is not updated during the legislature, except when parliament notifies the IPU of a change in the youngest or oldest member.

Average age of all members
50.8
(2021-12)
Number of members, by age (2021-12)
Breakdown of members by age and gender
18 - 20 21 - 30 31 - 40 41 - 45 46 - 50 51 - 60 61 - 70 71 - 80 81 - 90 91 and over Totals per gender
Male 0 2 5 5 3 14 7 0 0 0 36
Female 0 1 4 2 7 9 1 1 0 0 25
Totals per age interval 0 3 9 7 10 23 8 1 0 0 61
Total <= 45: 19 Total >= 46: 42
Percentage of members, by age
Age at the last election or renewal Overall Male Female
Percentage of MPs 30 years of age or younger
4.9% 3.3% 1.6%
Percentage of MPs 40 years of age or younger
19.7% 11% 8.2%
Percentage of MPs 45 years of age or younger
31.1% 20% 11.5%

Reserved seats and quotas

There are reserved seats in parliament for certain groups
No
Electoral quota for women
No
Youth quota
No information available

Links to additional information

Parliamentary website
List of members
Rules of procedure/Standing Orders
Constitution

Historical data for IPU membership

Historical data for IPU membership
Year IPU membership
2020-09
List of values for 2020-09
No
2019-04
List of values for 2019-04
No
2018-06
List of values for 2018-06
No